Show HN: What would mechanical programming look like?
This is pretty interesting. One problem I think the field of mechanical engineering has is that there is no high-level hardware description language to describe mechanical devices. Sure we have things like modelica which come close, but there are some pretty big disadvantages. It is very difficult to describe a work piece being moved through a factory and having operations performed on it with modelica. It is even a challenge to formally describe what mechanical devices do!<p>Honestly, I think Charles Babbage may have made the most progress in this area with his mechanical notation[0]. It is crazy that Babbage was able to design a the difference engine without any CAD software!<p>[0]<a href="http://blog.plan28.org/2014/11/babbages-language-of-thought.html" rel="nofollow">http://blog.plan28.org/2014/11/babbages-language-of-thought....</a>