Hi everybody,

Alhamdullillah It is Friday, hopefully it would be barakah and safe Friday to you all.
Do you know what era was the first automation created?
I brought this up maybe because I am the type of ‘history reminder’, meaning that in order to
understand something, we have to know its history and background.

Automata part 1 : Ancient Era

Automation is self operating machines, relatively. (Wikipedia), it was started (not created) in Greek
Myth by Hephaestus, also with legend of Talos, also by Daedalus with his quicksilver and King Alkinous
of Phaiakians.
Later on, Kteisibios, head of the great library of Alexandria, create the first cuckoo clock, with automated
owl movement. (manual book shown in upper left picture, credit to Wikipedia)
In the same era of Hellenistic Greece, first complex mechanical device of Antikythera mechanism was
created as the earliest known analog computer. (upper right picture, credit to Wikipedia)
Also found originally from Rhodes, Corinth of Sicily, and in Jewish legend, King Solomon’s throne with its
mechanical animals hailed him as he sits on it.
While in China, in around 4th century, King Mu of Zhou was told having an engineer known as Yan Shi. He
made a man look-alike statue that can move its head up and down, singing when its chin touched and
posturing when its hand touched. In 5th century, Han Fei Zi wrote about artificial wooden bird that could
successfully fly

Later on I will discuss the digesting duck on below picture invented by Jacques De Vaucanson, which is
unveiled in 1739 in France (credit picture to Wikipedia)

Automata part 2 : Medieval era

Constantine Porphyrogenitus has mechanical moved animal in his throne room, also in mid-8 th century,
first wind powered automata built. It is in Baghdad, Iraq. Yes, Moslem scientist also take a big part on
developing mechanical moved animal like singing bird and others. It was Jabir Ibn Hayyan who started it
in favor of Abbassiyah Sultan, Khalifah al Muqtadir.
In year 1066, Chinese inventor, Su Song built a water clock that chimed every hour based on its hydraulic
mechanical function.
While in year 1206, other moslem scientist, Al Jazari also created automatic music player that play on a
boat floating in the lake. He then created more like automatic handwasher that nowadays used as
modern toilet. It is mention in his book, Book of Knowledge of Ingenious Mechanical Devices (1206)
At the end of thirteenth century, Robert II, Count of Artois, built a garden that is full of automata
mechanical device in a form of birds, fountains and other scenery
It is proven that automata and mechanical device has been a strong interest among scientist that time.

Automata part 3 : Renaissance era

“When the long arm reach twelve, automatically a mechanic bird go out and sounding voice cuckoo-
cuckoo”

Do you know that in early year of 14th century, automation discovery still continue to move forward with
taking so many form, mostly take the form of animal and clock. Why?
It is big possibilities that we already gained so much understanding about animal anatomy that time. For
the clock, with clock mechanism technology already invented, it is easy to develop other functions
following the existing one. It is one of early finding of automation in renaissance era.

Fascinating isn’t it? Or maybe we didn’t even notice it. Yes it is one of first automation in the world, it is
the beginning of mechanical arm that assemble car in Toyota factory

All of this automation tend to make people becoming more easier for doing or seeing something.
Automated animal is just one gimmick that beautify all the machines behind it.
It is the beauty of ideas and executed as human’s creation.
Nowadays, the clock can tell us how health or how tired we are, it also reminds us for an appointment
or if somebody might have called our smartphone.

It all started with “cuckoo-cuckoo”