Page 24 - Concise Encyclopedia of Robotics

Analytical Engine
motion. Many robots, however, can move only to certain points along a
line, on a plane, or in space. This motion is digital. Some robots can move
in an analogical fashion, but the necessary hardware is generally more
complicated than for digital motion.
The illustration shows an example of analog motion in a plane.
Compare DIGITAL MOTION.
y

x

Analogical motion

ANALYTICAL ENGINE
The analytical engine was a primitive calculating machine designed by
Charles Babbage in the nineteenth century. Babbage never completed the
task of building this device to perfection, but the idea was to employ
punched cards to make, and print out, calculations, in a manner similar
to the earliest digital computers. Babbage is considered to be the first
engineer to work on a true digital calculator.
One of the main problems for Babbage was that electricity was not
available. The machines had to use mechanical parts exclusively. These
wore out with frequent, repetitive use.Another problem was that Babbage
liked to dismantle things completely in order to start over with new designs,

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