The Canard Digérateur of Jacques de Vaucanson, hailed in 1739 as the first automaton capable of digestion.

This article is about a self-operating machine. For other uses of Automaton, see Automaton (disambiguation).

An automaton (plural: automata) is a self-operating machine. The word is sometimes used to describe a robot, more specifically an autonomous robot. Used colloquially, it refers to a mindless follower. Image File history File links Duck_of_Vaucanson. ... Image File history File links Duck_of_Vaucanson. ... Vaucansons duck The Canard Digérateur or Digesting Duck was an automaton duck created by Jacques de Vaucanson in 1739. ... Jacques de Vaucanson (February 24, 1709-November 21, 1782) was a French engineer and inventor who is credited with creating the worlds first true robots, as well as for creating the first completely automated loom. ... For the industrial process, see anaerobic digestion. ... Look up automaton in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... For other uses, see robot (disambiguation). ... Autonomous robots are robots which can perform desired tasks in unstructured environments without continuous human guidance. ...

Etymology

The word Automaton, is derived from the Greek αὐτόματος, automatos, “acting of one’s own will” is more often used to describe non-electronic moving machines, especially those that have been made to resemble human or animal actions, such as the jacks on old public striking clocks, or the cuckoo and any other animated figures on a cuckoo clock. For other uses, see Clock (disambiguation). ... Genera See text. ... Cuckoo clock, a so-called Jagdstück, Black Forest, ca. ...

Ancient automata

The automata of Ancient Greece were intended as toys or tools for demonstrating basic scientific principles, including those built by Hero of Alexandria (sometimes known as Heron). When his writings on hydraulics, pneumatics, and mechanics were translated into Latin in the sixteenth century, Hero’s readers initiated reconstruction of his machines, which included siphons, a fire engine, a water organ, and various steam-powered devices. Ancient Greece is a period in Greek history that lasted for around nine hundred years. ... ‹ The template below (Expand) is being considered for deletion. ... Table of Hydraulics and Hydrostatics, from the 1728 Cyclopaedia. ... Table of Pneumaticks, 1728 Cyclopaedia This article is about the tool. ... For other uses, see Mechanic (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Latin (disambiguation). ... Not to be confused with Psiphon. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... A steam engine is a heat engine that makes use of the potential energy that exists as pressure in steam, converting it to mechanical work. ...

Complex mechanical devices are known to have existed in ancient Greece, though the only surviving example is the Antikythera mechanism. It is thought to have come from Rhodes, where there was apparently a tradition of mechanical engineering. The island was renowned for its automata; to quote Pindar's seventh Olympic Ode: Ancient Greece is a period in Greek history that lasted for around nine hundred years. ... The Antikythera mechanism (main fragment). ... Rhodes (Greek: Ρόδος Rhódhos; Italian Rodi; [[Ladino language| ) is the largest of the Dodecanese islands in terms of both land area and population, situated in eastern Aegean Sea. ... Pindar (or Pindarus) (probably born 522 BC in Cynoscephalae, a village in Boeotia; died 443 BC in Argos), was perhaps the greatest of the nine lyric poets of ancient Greece. ...

The animated figures stand

Adorning every public street

And seem to breathe in stone, or

move their marble feet.

There are also examples from myth: Daedalus used quicksilver to install a voice in his statues. Hephaestus created automata for his workshop; Talos, an artificial man of bronze; and, according to Hesiod, the woman Pandora. Daedalus and Icarus, by Charles Paul Landon, 1799 (Musée des Beaux-Arts et de la Dentelle, Alençon) In Greek mythology, Daedalus (Latin, also Hellenized Latin Daedalos, Greek Daidalos (Δαίδαλος) meaning cunning worker, and Etruscan Taitle) was a most skillful artificer, so skillful that he was said to have invented... General Name, Symbol, Number mercury, Hg, 80 Chemical series transition metals Group, Period, Block 12, 6, d Appearance silvery Standard atomic weight 200. ... This image is a candidate for speedy deletion. ... Winged Talos armed with a stone. ... Roman bronze bust, the so-called Pseudo-Seneca, now identified by some as possibly Hesiod Hesiod (Hesiodos, ) was an early Greek poet and rhapsode, who presumably lived around 700 BC. Hesiod and Homer, with whom Hesiod is often paired, have been considered the earliest Greek poets whose work has survived... For other uses, see Pandora (disambiguation) and Pandoras box (disambiguation). ...

In ancient China, a curious account on automata is found in the Lie Zi text, written in the 3rd century BC. Within it there is a description of a much earlier encounter between King Mu of Zhou (1023-957 BC) and a mechanical engineer known as Yan Shi, an 'artificer'. The latter proudly presented the king with a life-size, human-shaped figure of his mechanical 'handiwork' (Wade-Giles spelling): China is the worlds oldest continuous major civilization, with written records dating back about 3,500 years and with 5,000 years being commonly used by Chinese as the age of their civilization. ... King Mo of Zhou (ch 周穆王 zhōu mò wáng) or King Mo of Chou was the fifth sovereign of the Chinese Zhou Dynasty. ... Centuries: 12th century BC - 11th century BC - 10th century BC Decades: 1070s BC 1060s BC 1050s BC 1040s BC 1030s BC - 1020s BC - 1010s BC 1000s BC 990s BC 980s BC 970s BC Events and trends 1027 BC - Traditional date for the end of the Shang Dynasty in China. ... Centuries: 11th century BC - 10th century BC - 9th century BC Decades: 1000s BC 990s BC 980s BC 970s BC 960s BC - 950s BC - 940s BC 930s BC 920s BC 910s BC 900s BC Events and trends 959 BC - Psusennes II succeeds Siamun as king of Egypt. ... Wade-Giles, sometimes abbreviated Wade, is a Romanization (phonetic notation and transliteration) system for the Chinese language based on Mandarin. ...

The king stared at the figure in astonishment. It walked with rapid strides, moving its head up and down, so that anyone would have taken it for a live human being. The artificer touched its chin, and it began singing, perfectly in tune. He touched its hand, and it began posturing, keeping perfect time...As the performance was drawing to an end, the robot winked its eye and made advances to the ladies in attendance, whereupon the king became incensed and would have had Yen Shih [Yan Shi] executed on the spot had not the latter, in mortal fear, instantly taken the robot to pieces to let him see what it really was. And, indeed, it turned out to be only a construction of leather, wood, glue and lacquer, variously coloured white, black, red and blue. Examining it closely, the king found all the internal organs complete—liver, gall, heart, lungs, spleen, kidneys, stomach and intestines; and over these again, muscles, bones and limbs with their joints, skin, teeth and hair, all of them artificial...The king tried the effect of taking away the heart, and found that the mouth could no longer speak; he took away the liver and the eyes could no longer see; he took away the kidneys and the legs lost their power of locomotion. The king was delighted.^[1]

Medieval Persian alchemist Jabir ibn Hayyan included recipes for constructing artificial snakes, scorpions, and humans which would be subject to their creator's control in his coded Book of Stones. For other uses of this term see: Persia (disambiguation) The Persian Empire is the name used to refer to a number of historic dynasties that have ruled the country of Persia (Iran). ... For other uses, see Alchemy (disambiguation). ... 15th century European portrait of Geber, Codici Ashburnhamiani 1166, Biblioteca Medicea Laurenziana, Florence Abu Musa Jabir Ibn Hayyan, in Latin Geber, was one of the most notable Islamic alchemists. ... For other uses, see Snake (disambiguation). ... Superfamilies Pseudochactoidea Buthoidea Chaeriloidea Chactoidea Iuroidea Scorpionoidea See classification for families. ... This article is about modern humans. ...

Automata from the 13th to 19th centuries

Al-Jazari is credited for the first recorded designs of a programmable automaton in 1206, used for a set of humanoid automata.^[2] Diagram from The Book of Knowledge of Ingenious Mechanical Devices by al-Jazari. ... “Programming” redirects here. ... Hondas ASIMO, an example of a humanoid robot A humanoid robot is a robot with its overall appearance based on that of the human body. ...

Villard de Honnecourt, in his 1230s sketchbook, show plans for animal automata and an angel that perpetually turns to face the sun. Self-portrait (?) of Villard de Honnecourt from The Portfolio of Villard de Honnecourt (about 1230) Villard de Honnecourt was possibly a 13th century itinerant master-builder of Picardy in northern France, whose surviving portfolio of drawings (ca 1230s?) is in the Bibliothèque Nationale, Paris (MS Fr 19093). ...

Leonardo da Vinci sketched a more complex automaton around the year 1495. The design of Leonardo's robot was not rediscovered until the 1950s. The robot, which appears in Leonardo's sketches, could, if built successfully, move its arms, twist its head, and sit up. The device was built and it actually functioned. “Da Vinci” redirects here. ... 1495 was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Leonardos robot refers to a humanoid automaton designed by Leonardo da Vinci around the year 1495. ... The 1950s decade refers to the years 1950 to 1959 inclusive. ...

The Renaissance witnessed a considerable revival of interest in automata. Hero's treatises were edited and translated into Latin and Italian. Numerous clockwork automata were manufactured in the sixteenth century, principally by the goldsmiths of the Free Imperial Cities of central Europe. These wondrous devices found a home in the cabinets of curiosities or Wunderkammern of the princely courts of Europe. Hydraulic and pneumatic automata, similar to those described by Hero, were created for garden grottoes. The Renaissance (French for rebirth, or Rinascimento in Italian), was a cultural movement in Italy (and in Europe in general) that began in the late Middle Ages, and spanned roughly the 14th through the 17th century. ... ‹ The template below (Expand) is being considered for deletion. ... In the Holy Roman Empire, an imperial free city (in Dutch: vrije rijksstad, German: freie Reichsstadt) was a city formally responsible to the emperor only — as opposed to the majority of cities in the Empire, which belonged to a territory and were thus governed by one of the many princes... Musei Wormiani Historia, the frontispiece from the Museum Wormianum depicting Ole Worms cabinet of curiosities. ... Musei Wormiani Historia, the frontispiece from the Museum Wormianum depicting Ole Worms cabinet of curiosities. ...

A new attitude towards automata is to be found in Descartes when he suggested that the bodies of animals are nothing more than complex machines - the bones, muscles and organs could be replaced with cogs, pistons and cams. Thus mechanism became the standard to which Nature and the organism was compared. Seventeenth-century France was the birthplace of those ingenious mechanical toys that were to become prototypes for the engines of the industrial revolution. Thus, in 1649, when Louis XIV was still a child, an artisan named Camus designed for him a miniature coach, and horses complete with footmen, page and a lady within the coach; all these figures exhibited a perfect movement. According to P. Labat, General de Gennes constructed, in 1688, in addition to machines for gunnery and navigation, a peacock that walked and ate. The Jesuit Athanasius Kircher produced many automatons to create jesuit shows, including a statue which spoke and listened via a speaking tube. René Descartes René Descartes (IPA: , March 31, 1596 – February 11, 1650), also known as Cartesius, worked as a philosopher and mathematician. ... In philosophy, mechanism is a theory that all natural phenomena can be explained by physical causes. ... “Natural” redirects here. ... “Life on Earth” redirects here. ... // Events January 30 - King Charles I of England, Scotland and Ireland is beheaded. ... “Louis XIV” redirects here. ... Camus may mean: Albert Camus The Camus people of Kenya, living around Lake Baringo The Camus language, a Maa language spoken by the Camus Camus, County Galway, a Gaeltacht village in the west of Ireland Camus, Singer Songwiter This is a disambiguation page: a list of articles associated with the... // Events A high-powered conspiracy of notables, the Immortal Seven, invite William and Mary to depose James II of England. ... The Society of Jesus (Latin: Societas Iesu), commonly known as the Jesuits, is a Roman Catholic religious order. ... Athanasius Kircher (sometimes spelt Kirchner) (May 2, 1601?–27 November 1680) was a 17th century German Jesuit scholar who published around 40 works, most notably in the fields of oriental studies, geology and medicine. ... A speaking tube or voicepipe is a device based around two cones connected by an air pipe through which speech can be transmitted over an extended distance. ...

The world's first successfully-built biomechanical automaton is considered to be The Flute Player, invented by the French engineer Jacques de Vaucanson in 1737. He also constructed a mechanical duck that gave the false illusion of eating and defecating, seeming to endorse Cartesian ideas that animals are no more than machines of flesh. Jacques de Vaucanson (February 24, 1709-November 21, 1782) was a French engineer and inventor who is credited with creating the worlds first true robots, as well as for creating the first completely automated loom. ... Events 12 February — The San Carlo, the oldest working opera house in Europe, is inaugurated. ... Vaucansons duck The Shitting Duck of France was an automaton duck created by Jacques de Vaucanson in 1739. ...

In 1769, a chess-playing machine called the Turk, created by Wolfgang von Kempelen, made the rounds of the courts of Europe purporting to be an automaton. The Turk was operated from inside by a hidden human director, and was not a true automaton. 1769 was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... Wolfgang von (de Pámánd) Kempelen or Ján Vlk Kempelen or Farkas Kempelen (born 23 January 1734 in Pressburg (today Bratislava), died 26 March 1804 in Vienna) was an author and inventor, who became most famous for his construction of the Mechanical Turk, which was a first-class... For other uses, see Europe (disambiguation). ...

Other 18th century automaton makers include the prolific Frenchman Pierre Jaquet-Droz (see Jaquet-Droz automata) and his contemporary Henri Maillardet. Maillardet, a Swiss mechanician, created an automaton capable of drawing four pictures and writing three poems. Maillardet's Automaton is now part of the collections at the Franklin Institute Science Museum in Philadelphia. This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... The Jaquet-Droz automata The Jaquet-Droz automata, among all the numerous automata built by Pierre Jaquet-Droz and his son Henri-Louis, refer to three doll automata built between 1768 and 1774 by the Jaquet-Droz and Jean-Frédéric Leschot, the Musician, the drawer and the writer. ... Henri Maillardet (1745-?) was a Swiss mechanician of the 18th century who worked in London producing clocks and other mechanisms. ... Franklin Institute Front steps as seen from the adjacent Moore College This article is about the science museum in Philadelphia. ... For other uses, see Philadelphia (disambiguation) and Philly. ...

Tea-serving Japanese automaton, "karakuri", with mechanism (right), 19th century.

According to philosopher Michel Foucault, Frederick the Great, king of Prussia from 1740 to 1786, was "obsessed" with automata ^[3]. According to Manuel de Landa, "he put together his armies as a well-oiled clockwork mechanism whose components were robot-like warriors." Image File history File links TeaAutomatAndMechanism. ... Image File history File links TeaAutomatAndMechanism. ... Karakuri are mechanized puppets or automata from Japan. ... Michel Foucault (IPA pronunciation: ) (October 15, 1926 – June 25, 1984) was a French philosopher and historian. ... Frederick II (German: ; January 24, 1712 – August 17, 1786) was a King of Prussia (1740–1786) from the Hohenzollern dynasty. ... Anthem Preußenlied, Heil dir im Siegerkranz (both unofficial) The Kingdom of Prussia at its greatest extent, at the time of the formation of the German Empire, 1871 Capital Berlin Government Monarchy King  - 1701 — 1713 Frederick I (first)  - 1888 — 1918 William II (last) Prime minister  - 1848 Adolf Heinrich von Arnim... Events May 31 - Friedrich II comes to power in Prussia upon the death of his father, Friedrich Wilhelm I. October 20 - Maria Theresia of Austria inherits the Habsburg hereditary dominions (Austria, Bohemia, Hungary and present-day Belgium). ... 1786 was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... Manuel DeLanda, (born 1952 in Mexico City), is a writer, artist and distinguished philosopher who has lived in New York since 1975. ... Gear with escapment mechanism For other uses, see Clockwork (disambiguation). ...

Japan adopted automata during the Edo period (1603-1867); they were known as Karakuri. The Edo period ), also called Tokugawa period, is a division of Japanese history running from 1603 to 1868. ... Karakuri are mechanized puppets or automata from Japan. ...

The famous magician Jean Eugene Robert-Houdin (1805 - 1871) was known for creating automata for his stage shows. Jean Eugène Robert-Houdin Jean Eugène Robert-Houdin, (December 6, 1805 - 1871) was a French magician, born in Blois, France, where he also died. ...

The period 1860 to 1910 is known as "The Golden Age of Automata". During this period many small family based companies of Automata makers thrived in Paris. From their workshops they exported thousands of clockwork automata and mechanical singing birds around the world. It is these French automata that are collected today, although now rare and expensive they attract collectors worldwide. The main French makers were Vichy, Roullet & Decamps, Lambert, Phalibois, Renou and Bontems.

Contemporary automata

Contemporary automata continue this tradition with an emphasis on art, rather than technological sophistication. Contemporary automata are represented by the works of Cabaret Mechanical Theatre in the United Kingdom and Dug North and Chomick+Meder in the United States. Cabaret Mechanical Theatre is a museum displaying a collection of contemporary United Kingdom. ... Dug North (né Douglas Ian North) - American artist known for hand-cranked animated sculpture known as Contemporary automata. North draws inspiration from the masterworks of automatists such as Pierre Jacquet-Droz and Henri Maillardet. ...

A fascinating evolution of the mechanized toys developed during the 18th and 19th century is represented by automata made with paper. The possibility to export the complete design throughout the world with a simple click of the mouse gives paper automata (and in general paper modelling) a great impact. Despite the relative simplicity of the material, paper automata intrinsically are objects with a high degree of technology, where the principles of mechanics meet the artistic creativity. Popular sites where you can find paper automata are, among others: CeraCera, paperPino, Flying Pig, Paper Machines Saka Karakuri.

Other historic examples

Other notable examples of automata include Archytas's dove, mentioned by Aulus Gellius, Noct. Att. L. 10; and Regiomontanus's wooden eagle and iron fly, the former which, as Hakewill relates, flew forth of the city, met the emperor, saluted him, and returned. It is said that the iron fly flew out of Regiomontanus's hands at a feast, and taking a round, returned to him.^[4] Similar Chinese accounts of flying automata are written of the 5th century BC Mohist philosopher Mozi and his contemporary Lu Ban, who made artificial wooden birds (ma yuan) that could successfully fly according to the Han Fei Zi and other texts.^[5] Archytas Archytas (428 BC - 347 BC) was a Greek philosopher, mathematician, astronomer, statesman, strategist and commander-in-chief. ... Aulus Gellius ( 125 - after 180), Latin author and grammarian, possibly of African origin, probably born and certainly brought up at Rome. ... Johannes Müller von Königsberg (June 6, 1436 – July 6, 1476), known by his Latin pseudonym Regiomontanus, was an important German mathematician, astronomer and astrologer. ... George Hakewill (1578 – 1649) was an English clergyman and author. ... Founded by Mo Zi (whose actual surname was Di, and whose given name was Mo), Mohism (墨家), or Moism, is a Chinese philosophy that evolved at the same time as Confucianism, Taoism and Legalism (Hundred Schools of Thought). ... Mozi (Chinese: ; pinyin: ; Wade-Giles: Mo Tzu, Lat. ... Lu Ban (Chinese: 鲁班; Pinyin: LÇ” Bān, ?-?) was a famous architect of ancient China. ...

The Smithsonian Institution has in its collection a clockwork monk, about 15 inches high, possibly dating as early as 1560. The monk is driven by a key-wound spring and walks the path of a square, striking his chest with his right arm, while raising and lowering a small wooden cross and rosary in his left hand, turning and nodding his head, rolling his eyes, and mouthing silent obsequies. From time to time, he brings the cross to his lips and kisses it. It is believed that the monk was manufactured by Juanelo Turriano, mechanician to the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V. The Smithsonian Institution Building or Castle on the National Mall serves as the Institutions headquarters. ... Events February 27 - The Treaty of Berwick, which would expel the French from Scotland, is signed by England and the Congregation of Scotland The first tulip bulb was brought from Turkey to the Netherlands. ... The Holy Roman Emperor was, with some variation, the ruler of the Holy Roman Empire, the predecessor of modern Germany, during its existence from the 10th century until its collapse in 1806. ... For the Carlist claimant King Carlos V, see Infante Carlos, Count of Molina. ...

^[6]

Automata in popular culture

Automata crop up in numerous fictional works, including:

• The Crooked Hinge (1938) by detective novelist John Dickson Carr. It combines a seemingly impossible throat-slashing with elements of witchcraft, an automaton (locked in a bookcloset in the attic) modelled on Maelzel's Chess Player, and the story of the Tichborne Claimant.
• L. Frank Baum's Tik-Tok, the "Mechanical Man of Oz", is a sentient man made of clockwork.
• K. W. Jeter's 1987 Infernal Devices features an intelligent automaton called the Paganinicon.
• In August Eschenburg, Pulitzer Prize-winning author, Steven Millhauser, writes the story of a clockmaker's son who spent his life building fantastical automata in 1870s Germany.
• Michael, the automaton, Benjamin Parker's 2007 novel considers a human automaton.
• In the 1993 role-playing game Ultima VII Part Two: Serpent Isle, automata were used by the local inhabitants. It was possible to create an automata via the create automata spell, which could then join your party.
• In 2000 video role-playing game Grandia II, the automata were soulless battle machines invented during the war between Granas and Valmar (good and evil god, respectively) about 10,000 years prior to the events of the game. One of them, Tio, joins the player's party at a certain point.
• In 2002 adventure game Syberia and its sequel, Syberia II, the automata were a key plot device crucial to completing the main quest.
• In the 2003 PC strategy game Age of Mythology: The Titans, the automata are Atlantean myth units that can repair one another.
• In 2006, Square Enix introduced the Automaton into the world of Final Fantasy XI Online as a new gameplay feature in the Treasures of Aht Urhgan Expansion Pack.
• In the PC game Arcanum you can uppgrade your mechanical spider into a steam-powered automaton
• Automata feature as a higher level enemy in the videogame Morrowind.
• Popular children's and young adult author Philip Pullman has written a book entitled Clockwork, which deals with automata.
• The 2006 Doctor Who episode The Girl in the Fireplace featured dangerous space-age automata from the 51st Century running rampant in the 18th century.
• The Vinci nation from the 2006 real time strategy game Rise of Legends use automata such as the Clockwork Man and Clockwork Spider to supplement their army.
• In the Anime Love Hina, there is an automaton called Moé that looks like a 1900-styled doll and is capable of autonomous movement. The doll was obtained in 1900 at the World's Fair in Paris, France by the great-grandfather of Keitaro (the main character of the series). It is seen in Episode 20, where Kaolla Su identifies it as an automaton.
• In the 1972 movie Sleuth, Andrew Wyke's manor house contains many antique automata.
• In the 1982 futuristic science fiction movie Blade Runner, geneticist J.F. Sebastian lives in an abandoned and crumbling but palatial apartment which he stocks full of robots, but also clockwork automata and cuckoo clocks.
• In the Mortal Kombat series, 3 characters (Smoke, Cyrax and Sektor) are automata.
• In Neuromancer, William Gibson describes an elaborately and elegantly constructed talking head employing mechanical synthesis.
• Automatons feature heavily in the fantasy card game Magic: The Gathering. The game features an entire sub-class of animate artificial creations, called artifact creatures; these range from clockwork automata to traditional clay golems. The game also deals with an expanse of parallel dimensions, including two worlds (Mirrodin and Phyrexia) inhabited by sentient machines.
• In The Invention of Hugo Cabret, the plot revolves around a child's attempt to fix an automaton.
• The comic series Girl Genius features automata called "clanks" very heavily.

• A Case of Curiosities, Alan Kurzweil's 1991 novel, features an automaton called The Talking Turk.

The Crooked Hinge is a novel (1938) by detective novelist John Dickson Carr, often counted among the greatest mysteries of the so-called Golden Age. ... The Four False Weapons (1948), 1961 Pan paperback edition. ... Tichborne Claimant was the 19th century case of Arthur Orton (1834-1898), an impostor who claimed to be missing heir Sir Roger Tichborne (1829-1854). ... Lyman Frank Baum (May 15, 1856 – May 6, 1919) was an American author, actor, and independent filmmaker best known as the creator, along with illustrator W. W. Denslow, of one of the most popular books ever written in American childrens literature, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, better known today... Tik-Tok of Oz For the novel by John Sladek, see Tik-Tok (novel). ... Oz is a fantasy region containing four countries under the rule of one monarch. ... Kevin Wayne Jeter (born 1950) is an American science fiction and horror author known for his literary writing style, dark themes, and paranoid, unsympathetic characters. ... George, the son of a Victorian genius, inherits his fathers watchmaking shop and soon discovers his fathers work was not limited to watch mechanics. ... Steven Millhauser (born 3 August 1943 in New York City) is perhaps one of modern American fictions most elusive characters. ... The Avatar enters Britannia Ultima VII is the seventh of the Ultima series of computer role-playing games. ... Grandia II ) is a video game in the Grandia series made by Game Arts. ... Grandia II ) is a video game in the Grandia series made by Game Arts. ... For a region of Russia, see Siberia. ... Syberia II is a 2004 adventure game by MC2-Microïds, and is a sequel to Syberia. ... Age of Mythology (AoM) is a real-time strategy computer game in the popular Age of Empires series. ... Treasures of Aht Urhgan is the third expansion in the successful MMORPG franchise, Final Fantasy XI. Released at the Tokyo Game Show on September 16, 2005, it introduces a new job class to the game, which, from early observation, looks as if it is the Blue Mage, which is in... A personal computer (PC) is a computer whose price, size, and capabilities make it useful for individuals. ... Arcanum: of Steamworks and Magick Obscura is a computer role-playing game developed in 2001 by Troika Games, and published by Sierra Entertainment. ... The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind (aka Morrowind) is a computer role-playing game by Bethesda Softworks, and the third in The Elder Scrolls series of games. ... Philip Pullman CBE (born October 19, 1946) is an English writer. ... For other uses, see Doctor Who (disambiguation). ... The Girl in the Fireplace is an episode in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. ... The Vinci are one of three main civilizations in the 2006 PC real-time strategy game, Rise of Nations: Rise of Legends. ... Dune 2 (1992), an early RTS A real-time strategy (RTS) game is a type of computer strategy game which does not have turns like conventional turn-based strategy video or board games. ... Rise of Nations: Rise of Legends is a RTS, or Real-Time Strategy game for the PC by game company Big Huge Games and published by Microsoft. ... Serialized in Weekly Shonen Magazine Original run October 21, 1998 – October 31, 2001 No. ... Sleuth is the 1972 film adaptation of the Tony Award-winning play by British playwright Anthony Shaffer, who wrote the screenplay. ... This article is about the 1982 film. ... Mortal Kombat series is a series of fighting video games made by Midway, starting with Mortal Kombat for the arcade, Super NES and Sega Genesis in 1992. ... Smoke is a fictional character in the Mortal Kombat fighting game series. ... Cyrax is a fictional character in the Mortal Kombat fighting game series. ... Sektor is a character in the Mortal Kombat fighting game series. ... For the 1988 video game, see Neuromancer (video game). ... For other persons named William Gibson, see William Gibson (disambiguation). ... Magic: The Gathering (colloq. ... Mirrodin is the name of Magic: The Gathering expansion set. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... Girl Genius is an ongoing comic book series written and drawn by Phil and Kaja Foglio and published by their company, Studio Foglio LLC under the imprint Airship Entertainment. ...

References

• Needham, Joseph (1986). Science and Civilization in China: Volume 2. Taipei: Caves Books Ltd.

See also

• Animatronics
• Automata theory
• Cellular automaton
• Cybernetics
• Deterministic Context-Free Language
• Finite state automaton
• Mechatronics
• Pushdown automaton
• Robot
• Silver Swan
• Reaction Diffusion

Image File history File links Animation2. ... Audio-Animatronics or just animatronics is a form of robotics created by Disneys Imagineers for several shows and attractions at Disney theme parks, and subsequently expanded on and used by other companies. ... “Automata” redirects here. ... A cellular automaton (plural: cellular automata) is a discrete model studied in computability theory, mathematics, and theoretical biology. ... For other uses, see Cybernetics (disambiguation). ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... In the theory of computation, a finite state machine (FSM) or finite state automaton (FSA) is an abstract machine that has only a finite, constant amount of memory. ... Mechatronics is the synergistic combination of mechanical engineering (mecha for mechanisms, i. ... In automata theory, a pushdown automaton (PDA) is a finite automaton that can make use of a stack containing data. ... For other uses, see robot (disambiguation). ... The Silver Swan. ... Reaction–diffusion systems are mathematical models that describe how the concentration of one or more substances change under the influence of two processes: chemical reactions in which the substances are converted into each other, and diffusion which causes the substances to spread out in space. ...

External links

• CeraCera
• Flying Pig
• The Automata and Art Bots mailing list home page
• History
• http://www.automatomania.com
• paperPino
• Automata from XIX Century
• The unofficial Jaquet-Droz Home Page
• Maillardet's Automaton
• Japanese Karakuri
• Paper Karakuri
• Cabaret Mechanical Theatre
• Dug North
• Chomick+Meder
• Steve Stackpole
• Dan Torpey
• [1]
• Exhaustive international bibliography about automata on Takey's website
• J. Douglas Bruce, 'Human Automata in Classical Tradition and Mediaeval Romance', Modern Philology, Vol. 10, No. 4 (Apr., 1913), pp. 511-526
• M. B. Ogle, 'The Perilous Bridge and Human Automata', Modern Language Notes, Vol. 35, No. 3 (Mar., 1920), pp. 129-136