Before there were robots, there were automata.
Automata are old-fashioned robot like contraptions, and they tend to make the news from time to time.
The latest example is a 360° video featurette from the BBC about The House of Automata. Here’s a link to that video.
The Strange Dolls That Come to Life (BBC Global)
Personally, I find the creatures like the ones in that video a bit creepy.
It turns out that I’m not alone. Here’s a whole video about creepy automatons.
The thing I find even creepier than the bots in the video is what people paid for them!
It must be an acquired taste.
While many automata of a certain age tend to be kind of creepy, some aren’t so bad. In fact, they come in all shapes and sizes, and some of them can be quite pretty as well as fascinating.
A great place to see that as well as to learn about automata is at the Morris Museum in Morristown, NJ. That’s because Murtogh Guinness, of Guinness beer fame, was an avid collector of automata and their close relatives, mechanical musical instruments. He left his entire collection of more than 700 gadgets to the Mooris Museum.
Here’s a video and link about that motherload of automata.
The Midnight Archive (YouTube Channel)
The Midnight Archive (Official Website)
Here’s a link to the history of Pierre Jaquet-Droz’s lovely artists mentioned in the video.
Pierre Jaquet-Droz’s Writer, Lady Musician and Draftsman (History of Computers)
While it doesn’t always make the news, there is a surprisingly large community of fans of both old and new automata. There’s even a yearly AutomataCon at the Morris Museum.
