Automaton
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An automaton is a relatively self-operating machine or control mechanism designed to automatically follow a sequence of operations or respond to predetermined instructions. Some automata, such as bell
The book About automata by Hero of Alexandria (1589)
Automaton in the Swiss Museum CIMA
First Strasbourg clock rooster, worked from 1352 to 1789
Clockwork crayfish automaton, made in Augsburg in 1589, Technical Instrument Museum, Dresden
Antikythera mechanism
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The Antikythera mechanism is an ancient Greek hand-powered orrery built in the 2nd century BC and discovered in 1901. It is the oldest known example of an analogue computer. It could be used to predic
Automaton
…was famous for his inventions. Complex mechanical devices are known to have existed in Hellenistic Greece, though the only surviving example is the Antikythera mechanism, the earliest known analog computer. The clockwork is thought to have come originally from Rhodes, where there was apparently a tradition of mechanical…
Derek J. de Solla Price (1922–1983) with a model of the Antikythera mechanism
Computer-generated front panel of the Freeth model
Front panel of a 2007 re-creation
Computer-generated back panel