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Modern robots are already far from their predecessors, and it is impossible to recognize the history of the first mechanized devices in them. Nevertheless, these were very interesting automata and robots that used the most unpredictable principles and mechanisms in their work. Among them there is even an artificial duck! Learn about seven original devices from earlier times, some of which are still in use today, and some of which have been lost and are kept only in memory and literary evidence.

Knight Leonardo da Vinci

The great painter and inventor Leonardo developed many unique devices. His creations even included a hydraulic clock and a robotic lion. The most outstanding of all was an artificial man in the form of an armed Germanic knight. It was assumed that it would be moved by a mechanism with cables, with the help of which the robot would move its head, bend its arms and raise its visor. Not a single complete draft of the machine's circuit diagram has survived to this day, but evidence confirms that Da Vinci actually built such a knight in 1495. In 2002, robot specialist Mark Rosheim tried to restore the device from scraps of notes. The device turned out to be working, which allows us to consider Leonardo da Vinci a pioneer of robotics. Not all of his inventions were successful, but this one really works and can impress anyone who is interested in robots and all kinds of mechanisms - it can compete with many modern devices of a similar nature.

Mechanical Monk

The mechanical monk, which appeared in the sixteenth century, was the result of a kept promise by King Philip II. His son was suffering from a head injury, and the king vowed that he would create a miracle if the boy recovered. When health truly returned, King Philip II ordered a figure of the Franciscan monk Diego de Alcala from a watchmaker. By 1560 it was finished. The figurine was controlled by a tensioned cable with various weights and levels, as well as three small wheels hidden under the monastic robe. The monk could move his legs to create the appearance of walking, and also moved his eyes, lips and nodded his head. The figurine plausibly created the impression of a praying person. The device still works and is on display at the Smithsonian Mechanical Museum in Washington.

Al-Jazari Flying Band

The Arab mathematician Al-Jazari created unique mechanical figurines at the end of the twelfth century. He created a robot that could pour wine, a clock controlled by water, and a hand-washing mechanism that dispensed soap and towels on its own. The crown jewel of the collection was an automatic orchestra that could float on water and play music as it moved. It included four instruments - a harp, a flute and two drums. In addition, the orchestra housed mechanical rowers who would move the device across the lake. The mechanism was based on a rotating drum that moved cables, resulting in the creation of different sounds. Special elements made the musicians and rowers move realistically. By changing the drum, it was possible to change the melody being played. It turns out that Al-Jazari's orchestra was one of the first programmable computers in history. Unfortunately, not a single figure has survived to this day; the drawings and diagrams have disappeared. It remains impossible to reproduce the device or find out the exact principle of its operation to this day - the greatest invention of Muslim culture exists only in literary works.

Dove of Archytas

Archytas was a famous mathematician and politician. According to some sources, he could also be the founder of robotics. 350 BC he invented a wooden dove that moved under the influence of steam. He could flap his wings and fly into the air. Schemes and prototypes have not survived to this day, so modern scientists can only guess how the device worked. Some believe that the pigeon moved on a rope, under the influence of compressed air placed inside. Be that as it may, the ancient device still impresses the imagination - it is one of the first robots in history. There were no attempts to reproduce the device.

Silver Swan

An amazing device that still works today was created in 1773. Using a complex system of clockwork mechanisms, the bird-shaped robot can move like a real swan swimming through a stormy stream. The bird bends its neck and opens its beak with impressive realism, and many small mechanisms throughout the body create the illusion of water moving on its sides with fish moving in it, which the swan seems to catch and eat. Inside there is a music box that accompanies the performance with sounds.

Robots by Jacques Droz

Swiss inventor Pierre Jacques Droz became famous as the creator of luxury watches, but besides them, he also created three unique mechanical figures. The first was a doll created in 1768. It was a figurine in the form of a boy sitting at a desk. Using a complex system of thousands of moving parts, the robot could dip a pen into ink and write up to forty letters on a piece of paper, which were programmed in advance. Then two more dolls were created that operated on a similar principle - the artist’s doll could draw a portrait of King Louis the Fifteenth, and the musician performed five different songs on a miniature organ. Each robot had an expressive face with eyes that moved in response to the doll's actions. The music-playing doll could even breathe and bow. Droz's robots amazed courtiers until the end of the eighteenth century, and then were transferred to the museum, where they are still kept. Surprisingly, they still work.

Vacançon's duck

In 1730, French inventor Jacques Waccanson captivated audiences with several incredible robots. He created a mechanical flutist who used artificial lungs to perform a repertoire of twelve songs. Then a robot was created that played the trumpet and drum. He performed melodies faster than any living person. Vacanson's masterpiece - a mechanical duck - appeared in 1739. This bird could flap its wings, splash in a pool of water and eat grain from the hands of spectators. She “digested” the grains and defecated in compressed lumps on a silver plate. The amazing mechanism worked with the help of many parts and elements. A flexible rubber tube served as the intestine, which provided the main focus - eating and digesting food. The duck made its creator so famous that he introduced it to royal families throughout Europe. Vacanson was respected by Voltaire himself, who compared the inventor to Prometheus and noted that Vacanson's duck represented the glory of France.

The word "robot" was first coined by Karel Capek in the science fiction play R.U.R., or Rossum's Universal Robots, to describe an artificial human. The word "robot" comes from the Czech word robotnik, which means "worker".

Modern robots keep pace with the modern revolution and advances in artificial intelligence. But basic analog mechanisms that mimic human or animal actions have been around for a long time.

Even if you have no interest in robotics at all, these ancient devices should fascinate you with their ingenuity. Created without the benefit of electricity or precision machinery, they are a testament to humanity's limitless creative potential.

Moving statues

The literature of antiquity is replete with stories about artificial people. Possible references include the humanoid maids in Homer's Iliad and the moving statues created by Daedalus, the father of the legendary Icarus. The Greeks also mentioned that the god Hephaestus made the Cretan king Minos a giant bronze man named Talos who protected his kingdom.

Talos was practically invulnerable, and his only weak point was his heel, where a blood vein ran close to the metal skin. Talos was destroyed by piercing his ankle and cutting his vein.

Stories of moving statues in ancient Egypt describe one made by the priests of Ammon around 1100 BC. e. The statue chose the next pharaoh by extending its hand and pointing at a male member of the royal family. Moving statues were obviously very useful for religious propaganda. In Egypt they were considered vessels with the help of which souls were reincarnated.

Perhaps these machines were far from mythological. Written evidence indicates that the ancient Egyptians had enough knowledge of basic mechanical principles to build non-digital robots, or so-called automatons. The usual method of construction involved a system of cables and pulleys. The sacred flame was ignited, heating and expanding the air, which activated the system.

Over the centuries, this process has been improved and honed. The Greek Ctesibius of Alexandria built an automaton controlled by a cam mechanism (disc-shaped devices) that allowed him to sit or stand by changing his posture. None of Ctesibius's works, even written ones, have survived to this day, but later ancient engineers referred to his plans for automata powered by hydraulics, steam and pneumatics. The technology of the time allowed automata to perform only a limited number of the same movements, but we can still trace the robots' origins back to Ctesibius.

"Claw"

Strictly speaking, Archimedes' crane-like weapon was not a robot, since it required a crane operator. However, the Claw was the forerunner of the industrial robotic arm found in modern factories. The Talon lifted enemy ships out of the water and turned them over.

It was developed specifically against the Roman invaders of Syracuse in 213 BC. e. The historian Polybius described the scene when Roman ships approached the city walls facing the sea. A giant hand swooped down on the enemy fleet and “lifted the bow of the ship out of the water and set it upright on the stern.” The operator then “secured the machine, rendering it immobile, and then activated some mechanism that released the hook and chain. The ships then either capsized and floated poorly, or were filled with confusion and seawater.”

Archimedes' claw

Plutarch adds: “A terrible spectacle was often observed: the ship rose from the water into the air and rotated in one place until every man was shaken out and thrown in an indefinite direction.”

The Claw was a brilliant execution of Archimedes' two great laws - the law of leverage and the law of buoyancy, which together could capsize multi-ton ships. Knowledge of forces and balance was used to calculate the small amount of force to be applied.

In fact, we have no direct evidence that Archimedes ever created this superweapon, and ancient historians, of course, could significantly exaggerate his merits, even if such a device really existed. But recent experiments by engineers have proven that the Talon was technologically possible at that time.

Philo's Maid

Greek inventor Philo of Byzantium, who died around 220 BC. BC, was known as the Mechanicus, due to his impressive engineering achievements. Most of the information about him is known to us from his only surviving work, the nine-volume collection “Collection of Mechanics.” He lived after Ctesibius and continued his predecessor's research in the field of hydraulics and pneumatics.

Book five, “Pneumatics” (a treatise on devices operating on air or water pressure), describes a female robot that Philo created. She held a jug of wine in her right hand. Once a goblet was placed on her left hand, she would pour wine into it, add water, and mix the water if the owner so desired. Through a complex network of containers, tubes, air pipes, and sinuous springs that interacted with weight, air pressure, and vacuum, Philo built an automaton that could do useful work rather than simply be a prop in religious ceremonies.

However, the availability of cheap slave labor quickly eliminated the need for robots. Robotics had to wait until a later time to realize its potential. Philo's work influenced the next generation of scientists, including Heron of Alexandria. Also, his ideas passed through the centuries and inspired Islamic science in the Middle Ages.

Programmable robot of Heron of Alexandria

Heron of Alexandria (10 - 70 AD) was perhaps the finest inventor of antiquity. Among his ingenious devices are coin-operated holy water dispensers (the prototype of modern vending machines), automatic veries, and a simple steam turbine (Heron's engine, or aeolipile), which was powered by steam 1,700 years before the invention of the steam engine by James Watt. One of Heron's most brilliant inventions was the first programmable robot, which he created back in 60 AD. e.

The device was a three-wheeled cart that carried other robots to the stage, where they performed for the audience. A load was suspended from a rope, wrapped around two independent axles of the cart. Using pegs, Heron could change the way the rope wound around the axle. This allowed him to pre-program the robot's move and direction. In the course of his experiments, Heron learned one simple but important truth: friction can interfere with the robot's movement, so a smooth surface is needed.

Computer scientist Noel Sharkey from the University of Sheffield believes this rope-based control system is equivalent to modern binary programming. Old punch cards worked on the same principle.

The Knight and the Lion by Leonardo da Vinci

No discussion of ancient robots is complete without mentioning the merits of Leonardo da Vinci. Given Da Vinci's genius, it is not surprising that he tried his hand at creating artificial people and animals.

Leonardo studied Heron's work and combined his knowledge with his own knowledge of anatomy, metalworking and sculpture to create his own artificial creatures. Thanks to his understanding of the mechanics of human and animal movements (kinesiology), Leonardo was able to build mechanical models of muscles and joints. Several missing pages from Leonardo's Codex Atlanticus notebook may have been devoted to robotics.

For a competition in Milan, Leonardo built his own armored knight, which could move independently. With the help of pulleys, scales and gears, the knight could sit down, stand up, move his head and raise his visor. Using fragments of descriptions that remained from those times, roboticist Marc Rosheim recreated the knight in 2002. Leonardo's robotic designs were so effective that they inspired Rosheim's own robots at NASA.

Another of Leonardo's creations was a lion presented to King Francis I of France in 1515. The lion could walk on its own. When he stopped, his chest opened and bouquets of roses and lilies appeared in it. In 2009, the lion was recreated according to Leonardo's drawings.

Praying monk

Gianello Torriano was one of the best Italian watchmakers of the 16th century. He entered the service of Emperor Charles V in 1529 and went with him to the monastery at San Justre after Charles's abdication in 1555. Torriano tried to ease the emperor's depression by creating small automatons for his amusement.

Torriano had miniature soldiers who fought on the dinner table. It is reported that he carved small birds from wood, and they flew around the room and even on the street. One automaton, the Lady Lute Player, can be seen in the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna. He no longer works, but he can still take small steps in a straight or curved line, strum the lute with his right hand and tilt his head.

The Smithsonian Institution, however, has a working device attributed to Torriano - a 39-centimeter praying monk. An automaton made of wood and iron walks around the square and beats itself in the chest with its right hand, fingering its rosary with its left, sometimes kissing them. He may turn and nod his head, roll his eyes and whisper quiet prayers.

Legend has it that when Don Carlos, the young son of Philip II, was dying from a head injury caused by a fall, Philip and all of Spain prayed for a miracle. Next to the boy were placed the relics of the monk Diego de Alcala, who had been dead for a hundred years. That night the spirit of a monk appeared to Don Carlos and told him that the boy would recover. Don Carlos regained consciousness and subsequently recovered. The grateful Philip commissioned Torriano to create the image of Saint Diego. The Praying Monk, a scientific miracle, was Philip's answer to a sacred miracle. The city of San Diego in California was also named after Diego de Alcala.

Karakuri ningyo

The Japanese love for robots goes deep into the past. The first Japanese robot was created in the Edo era (1603 - 1868). It was called karakuri ningyo (mechanical doll) and was assembled from wood, strings and screws. The Japanese also borrowed Western clockwork for this automaton.

Even more common were zashiki karakuri, small household robots whose purpose was to entertain the Japanese. They could shoot arrows, for example. Some karakuri could even treat guests to tea. If we recall Philo's mechanism, the Karakuri robots were also activated after placing the cup on the automaton's hand. And if you remember Heron's robotic cart, thanks to a customizable string, it was possible to program karakuri to move along the mat in two directions.

There were also karakuri dashis that were used during religious processions at festivals, like the moving statue of Ctesibius. These automatons acted out ancient myths and legends. Butai karakuri, or theatrical automatons, were also used for performances. The Japanese really liked these miniature actors, whose movements people tried to imitate - and not vice versa, as you might think.

"Flutist"

Voltaire called the mechanical genius Jacques de Vaucanson the “New Prometheus” for his incredible power to grant life to inanimate matter. While still just a child, Jacques studied the church clock while waiting for his mother to finish confession. Jacques memorized all the details of the watch and recreated them at home. Having matured a little, he began experimenting with automata. One day, Jacques fell ill and an android flute player appeared to him in his delirium. Once Jacques was on his feet, he immediately began making the robot a reality.

First introduced on February 11, 1738, the Flute Player was a virtually impossible machine to build; Considering that the flute is one of the most complex instruments, playing in harmony with real people was indescribably difficult for “The Flutist.” However, Jacques de Vaucanson managed to create a robot so that it could play 12 different melodies. All mechanisms were built to imitate every muscle involved in playing the flute.

Using a system of bellows, pipes and scales, Jacques could control the air flowing through the passages. He designed lips that could open and close and move back and forth. The metal tongue regulated the air flow and created pauses. Jacques' robot actually breathed.

The problem Jacques encountered was with the fingers - the wooden fingers were too stiff to produce the desired sounds, even though all the levers worked correctly. To imitate real fingers, Jacques covered the wooden limbs with real leather, making them soft.

Jacques de Vaucanson made other automata, the most famous of which was a duck that defecated after eating. But unlike The Flute Player, the duck was more of a fun trinket than a worthwhile project to recreate the functions of a living creature.

"Writer"

At the Museum of Art and History in Neuchâtel, west of Bern, Switzerland, a three-year-old barefoot boy sits at a mahogany table and writes out complete words with a quill pen in his right hand. What at first glance appears to be an adorable toy doll is actually a marvel of engineering: the ancestor of the modern computer. Take a closer look and see how his eyes follow what his hands are doing. A boy shakes a quill pen after dipping it into an inkwell.

Created by Swiss-born watchmaker Pierre Jaquet-Droz in the late 1770s, the Writer is made up of 6,000 individual components that work together to create a completely self-contained programmable typewriter. The boy can write any text of forty words in four lines, thanks to 40 cams, which only work as a reader. This system allows you to write text without any outside intervention. The “writer” can even stop in the middle of a line and start writing a new text.

Jacquet-Droz knew how to surprise people with his automatons. At the court of King Ferdinand VI of Spain, people were convinced that Jaquet-Droz's creatures were a kind of witchcraft. To avoid accusations of witchcraft from the Inquisition, Jaquet-Droz invited the Grand Inquisitor and presented him with the robot and its inner workings for study. No magic.

"The Writer" was one of three androids created by Jaquet-Droz from 1767 to 1774. The other two, less complex than the Writer, are represented by the Lady Musician and the Draftsman. These robots are interesting because of the miniaturization of their internal mechanisms. All of them are contained in bodies, and not on furniture nearby, as was usually the case. Miniaturization required more complex customization of all parts of the mechanism, but thanks to this, the robots continue to function 200 years after their creation. And this is why they are amazing.

"Boy Drawing"

On display at the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia, the more than two-hundred-year-old automaton "Boy Drawing" continues the tradition of mechanical magic begun by "The Writer." “Boy Drawing” is a masterpiece by another Swiss watchmaker, Henri Mallardet. Like The Writer, it inspired Martin Scorsese's film Hugo, in which the automaton plays a supporting role.

"The Drawing Boy" is stunning in its complexity. A collection of rotating brass cams precisely controls incredibly smooth and realistic hand movements. This is not simple geometry like moving your hand on the x, y or z axis. To draw a straight diagonal line, for example, the hand needs to constantly turn, otherwise it will draw an arc.

Once the robot is turned on, it can draw within three minutes. The process involves many jaws, and if a different pattern is needed, the machine must move the entire stack of jaws 3 millimeters to move to another stack, otherwise the whole process will be disrupted. Incredible precision is achieved by the fact that almost all parts were made by hand. Drawing Boy can write three poems (two in French and one in English) and complete four drawings, including a Chinese temple.

A few simple cams control eye and head movements. During the pictorial process, the boy stops for the moment when the stack of fists shifts, raises his head and looks into the distance for a moment, as if thinking about what to draw next. Then he lowers his head and the hand continues to create.

Leonardo da Vinci (April 15, 1452 – May 2, 1519) was one of the most famous Italian artists, inventors, architects and writers of the Renaissance. Today I present to your attention a list of ten of his greatest and most amazing inventions for which he became famous.

10. Robot Knight

9. Propeller

8. City of the future

7. Self-propelled cart

6. Tank

5. Diving suit

4. Machine gun

3. Ornithopter

2. Parachute

In 1483, Leonardo da Vinci drew a sketch of a pyramidal parachute - a “tent” made of starched linen measuring 12x12 cubits. As he himself indicated, thanks to this device a person could fall from any height and not be injured. The surprising thing is that these calculations are close to the dimensions of a modern parachute.

1. Bearing