The Book of Ingenious Devices is a large illustrated work on mechanical devices, including automata, published in 850 by the three brothers of Persian descent, the Banū Mūsā brothers working at the House of Wisdom in Baghdad, Iraq, under the Abbasid Caliphate. The book described about one hundred devices and how to use them.

A machine is a physical system that uses power to apply forces and control movement to perform an action. The term is commonly applied to artificial devices, such as those employing engines or motors, but also to natural biological macromolecules, such as molecular machines. Machines can be driven by animals and people, by natural forces such as wind and water, and by chemical, thermal, or electrical power, and include a system of mechanisms that shape the actuator input to achieve a specific application of output forces and movement. They can also include computers and sensors that monitor performance and plan movement, often called mechanical systems.