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They cunningly chose to exclude the encoder from the cost guess in that PDF. I went to an industrial show where Renshaw had a stand and had a look at the encoder set these guys are using. They fitted an encoder set to a pro scope in Oz while they were here, and these have been used on a few scopes around the world. The cost of ONE encoder set my friends, is $7000 !!!, thats $14000 for a pair (although possibly not necessary for DEC).
Direct drives with output encoders is not a new idea, its the obvious optimum solution, and has been common in Industrial Automation for a long time.
What keeps it away from amatuer astronomy, is the encoder cost. Output encoders at the resolution required for Astrophotography are quite new and increadibly difficult to manufacture.
You wont see Direct drive/output encoder mounts for the amature market (at a reasonable price anyway, say at or less than a PME) anytime soon, unless there is a revolution in encoder design.
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