Single-board computer

A desktop computer has a motherboard, a separate graphics card, drives and fans. A single-board computer puts the processor, memory and connectors on one small board that runs off a phone charger.

Robot makers like them because they cost tens of dollars rather than hundreds. In the Flourish One, such a board runs the robot while the heavy thinking is sent out to rented computers over the internet.

The trade-off is power. A small board can steer wheels and arms, but it cannot run a large AI model on its own, so the robot needs a network connection to do its cleverest work.