This reminds me of something I read about the other day (probably also from HN), a mechanical exploratory rover: https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/a-clockwork-rover

This reminds me of something I read about the other day (probably also from HN), a mechanical exploratory rover: https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/a-clockwork-rover-for-venus https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/a-clockwork-rover-for-venus This really helps visualize how one might make "computation" with mechanical parts possible!