Sometimes, realising that what seems new is actually old can be surprising and fascinating. Take robots as an example. They are now at an advanced stage compared to 10 years ago and that speed of development is increasing. But the concept of a robot as a device that is engineered to serve a duty, construct something or purely entertain is very old. The Automaton is a term often used to describe these historical objects.
Few examples of automatons made prior to the 16th century remain, but numerous documents record their onetime existence. Among the earliest references is to a wooden model of a pigeon constructed by Archytas of Tarentum (flourished 400–350 BCE), a Greek friend of Plato. The bird was apparently suspended from the end of a pivoted bar, and the whole apparatus revolved by means of a jet of steam or compressed air. More complete information about other devices is found in the writings of Heron of Alexandria (flourished 1st century CE), who described devices actuated by water, falling weights, and steam.
In the 12th and 13th centuries, Arabic polymath Al-Jazari designed and built some of the Islamic Golden Age’s most astounding mechanical creations. According to his “Book of Knowledge of Ingenious Mechanical Devices,” published in 1206, he also designed a water-powered automaton orchestra that could float on a lake and provide music during parties. The contraption included a four-piece band—a harpist, a flautist and two drummers—accompanied by a crew of mechanical oarsman who “rowed” the musicians around the lake. The waterborne orchestra operated via a rotating drum with pegs that triggered levers to produce different sounds, and other elements allowed the musicians and crewmen to make realistic body movements. Since the pegs on the rotating drum system could be replaced to create different songs, some have argued Al-Jazari’s robot band was one of history’s first programmable computers.
In the early 16th century there was renewed interest in the manufacture of automatons, largely stemming from the influence of Eastern examples brought to Europe through trade with the Orient and the translation from the ancient Greek of the 1st-century-CE writings on mechanical objects by Heron of Alexandria.
Among the more elaborate mechanical devices popularized in the 18th century were tableaux mécaniques, or mechanical pictures. These framed painted landscapes, in which figures, windmills, and so forth spring to life by means of hidden clockwork, remained popular through the 19th century. A tableau designed for Mme de Pompadour (1759; Conservatoire National des Arts et Métiers, Paris) is a prime example of this type of automaton. Closely related to the tableaux mécaniques are mechanical theatres, the most extravagant of these having been built in the gardens of Hellbrunn, near Salzburg, Austria. Consisting of 113 hydraulically operated figures, it was assembled between 1748 and 1752.
George Moore’s steam man. Petrol-fired boiler operated a 1/2 hp engine. Exhaust through helmet, steam exhaust through cigar. Walking speed 7-9 mph. 1893 La Science Illustree Paris. Photo: Photo12/UIG 
A painting on paper in color and gold leaf from al-Jazari’s ‘ Kitab fi marifat al-hiyal al-handasiyya’ (The Book of Knowledge of Ingenious Mechanical Devices). The various elements that comprise this water-powered clock move and make a sound every half hour. Photo: Pictures from History/UIG 
The Turk, also known as the Mechanical Turk or Automaton Chess Player, was a fake chess-playing machine constructed in the late 18th century, made by Wolfgang von Kempelen / Der Schachautomat von Wolfgang von Kempelen, Schachtürke, Mechanischer Schachspieler, scheinbarer Schachroboter, 1770, Historisch, historical, digital improved reproduction of an original from the 19th century / digitale Reproduktion einer Originalvorlage aus dem 19. Jahrhundert,. 
Automaton in the Form of a Triumphal Chariot Drawn by Four Horses, ca. 1760-70, British, Gilt bronze, brilliants, Length: 14 5/8 in. (37.1 cm), Metalwork-Gilt Bronze, A spring-driven device above the right front wheel activates that wheel and two shafts beneath the horses, propelling the chariot forward and causing each pair of horses to bob back and forth. As the shafts are jointed, the chariot can be steered by turning the lead horses to the right or left. Photo: Sepia Times/UIG 
An engraving depicting Robert Houdin’s automaton – chess player. 19th century. Photo: Universal History Archive/UIG 
An engraving depicting Maskelyne & Cooke’s automaton on show at the Egyptian Halls. London. 19th century. Photo: Universal History Archive/UIG 
Automaton clock in the form of a lion, German, Augsburg, Clockmaker: Karl Schmidt (German, ca. 1590–1635/36). Photo: Sepia Times/UIG 
An engraving depicting Professor Faber’s speaking automaton. The Euphonia. Showing the bellows behind the torso and the inventor operating the mechanism. 19th century. Photo: Universal History Archive/UIG 
An engraving depicting a clockwork-driven Indian magician. The magician tapped an inverted ‘basket’ with his wand and then raised the basket to display a bird, a female figure, a snake, or a bunch of fruit. 19th century. Photo: Universal History Archive/UIG 
Automaton, ca. 1820, Switzerland, Swiss, Gold, enamel, diamond, ruby, L. 6.2 cm (2 7/16 in.), Accessory, Gold and green enamel automaton in the form of a frog and set with pearls. Ruby eyes. Mechanism operates the legs to cause the frog to jump and croak. Photo: Sepia Times/UIG 
An engraving depicting the ‘Conjuror’ automaton who made bells appear and disappear under glasses. Below is the mechanism which was operated by falling sand. 19th century. Photo: Universal History Archive/UIG 
An engraving depicting a clockwork swimming doll, showing the mechanism. 19th century. Photo: Universal History Archive/UIG 
A woodcut engraving depicting an automaton which was powered by liquid libations and heat. Dated 17th century. Photo: Universal History Archive/UIG 
A woodcut engraving depicting an automaton which made Hercules club a dragon. Dated 17th century. Photo: Universal History Archive/UIG 
An engraving depicting a sectional view of a clockwork automaton swan and automaton group of a man and woman in a carriage drawn by a horse. 19th century. Photo: Universal History Archive/UIG 
Paullus Schiller, Automaton clock in the form of Urania, Muse of Astronomy, German, Nuremberg, Paullus Schiller (German, 1583–1634). 
Mechanical Automata devices for rotating movements, within a diorama. Illustration from Fludd’s ‘Utriusque Cosmi, Maioris’ 1617-1621. Robert Fludd, also known as Robertus de Fluctibus (1574 – 1637), was a prominent English Paracelsian physician with both scientific and occult interests. Photo: Universal History Archive/UIG
With the exception of a few works by Peter Carl Fabergé (died 1920), the production of costly artistic automatons virtually ceased in the late 19th and early 20th centuries because of the diminishing number of skilled craftsmen as well as rich patrons to support them.
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