As I was reading this, I immediately thought back to the steampunk rovers article posted on HN not too long ago. Using mechanical or fluidics technology could allow us explore places we haven't had access to before.
My next thought was, what about random mechanical malfunctions? We face this with electronic devices too: electromagnetic interference, cosmic rays, etc. It's all about understanding the operating conditions where the device will be used and designing accordingly. It seems like most of the techniques we have learned in the electronics world have an analogous approach in mechanical computing.
It's fun to think about the possibilities, and will be interesting to watch how old tech like this could be used in the future.
My next thought was, what about random mechanical malfunctions? We face this with electronic devices too: electromagnetic interference, cosmic rays, etc. It's all about understanding the operating conditions where the device will be used and designing accordingly. It seems like most of the techniques we have learned in the electronics world have an analogous approach in mechanical computing.
It's fun to think about the possibilities, and will be interesting to watch how old tech like this could be used in the future.