Editing Robot (section)

=== Early beginnings ===
Many ancient mythologies, and most modern religions include artificial people, such as the mechanical servants built by the Greek god [[Hephaestus]]<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=h5tKJvApybsC&q=hephaestus+handmaidens&pg=PA114|title=Ancient Greek Ideas on Speech, Language, and Civilization|author=Deborah Levine Gera|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=2003|isbn=978-0-19-925616-7|access-date=25 September 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161205062218/https://books.google.com/books?id=h5tKJvApybsC&pg=PA114&lpg=PA114&dq=hephaestus+handmaidens|archive-date=5 December 2016|url-status=live}}</ref> ([[Vulcan (mythology)|Vulcan]] to the Romans), the clay [[golem]]s of Jewish legend and clay giants of Norse legend, and [[Galatea (mythology)|Galatea]], the mythical statue of [[Pygmalion (mythology)|Pygmalion]] that came to life. Since circa 400 BC, myths of [[Crete]] include [[Talos]], a man of bronze who guarded the island from pirates.
[[File:Automatic servant of Philo of Byzantium, Kotsanas Museum of Ancient Greek Archaeology.jpg|left|thumb|A hypothetical reconstuction of [[Philo of Byzantium|Philo's]] automatic robot servant (3rd c. B.C.) in [[Museum of Ancient Greek Technology|Kotsanas Museum of Ancient Greek Technology]], [[Athens]], Greece.]]
In the 4th century BC, the [[Greek mathematics|Greek]] mathematician [[Archytas]] of Tarentum postulated a mechanical steam-operated bird he called "The Pigeon".<ref>''Noct. Att. L.'' 10</ref>  The Greek engineer [[Ctesibius]] (c. 270 BC) "applied a knowledge of pneumatics and hydraulics to produce the first organ and water clocks with moving figures."<ref name="robot-evolution">{{cite book|first=Mark E.|last=Rosheim|date=1994|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IxtL54iiDPUC&pg=2|title=Robot evolution: the development of anthrobotics|publisher=Wiley-IEEE|isbn=0-471-02622-0}}</ref>{{rp|page=2}}<ref>"{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/cbbcnews/hi/find_out/guides/tech/robots/newsid_3914000/3914569.stm|title=Robots then and now|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101220114656/http://news.bbc.co.uk/cbbcnews/hi/find_out/guides/tech/robots/newsid_3914000/3914569.stm|archive-date=2010-12-20|url-status=live|website=BBC|date=22 July 2004 }}</ref> [[Philo of Byzantium]] described a washstand automaton. [[Hero of Alexandria]] {{nowrap|(10–70 AD)}}, a Greek mathematician and inventor, created numerous user-configurable automated devices, and described machines powered by air pressure, steam and water, including a "speaking" automaton.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://mathshistory.st-andrews.ac.uk/Biographies/Heron/ | author=O'Connor, J.J. and E.F. Robertson | title=Heron biography | access-date=26 September 2023 | work=The MacTutor History of Mathematics archive}}</ref>

In ancient China, the 3rd-century text of the ''Lie Zi'' describes an account of humanoid automata, involving a much earlier encounter between Chinese emperor [[King Mu of Zhou]] and a mechanical engineer known as Yan Shi, an 'artificer'.<ref name="needham volume 2 53" /> Yan Shi proudly presented the king with a life-size, human-shaped figure of his mechanical 'handiwork' made of leather, wood, and artificial organs.<ref name="needham volume 2 53">{{cite book|last=Needham|first=Joseph|author-link=Joseph Needham|year=1991|title=Science and Civilisation in China: Volume 2, History of Scientific Thought|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-0-521-05800-1}}</ref> There are also accounts of flying automata in the ''Han Fei Zi'' and other texts, which attributes the 5th century BC [[Mohism|Mohist]] philosopher [[Mozi]] and his contemporary [[Lu Ban]] with the invention of artificial wooden birds (''ma yuan'') that could successfully fly.<ref name="needham volume 2 54">Needham, Volume 2, 54.</ref> 

[[File:Bulletin - United States National Museum (1959) (20481431946).jpg|thumb|upright|[[Su Song]]'s astronomical clock tower showing the mechanical figurines which chimed the hours]]

In 1066, the Chinese inventor [[Su Song]] built a [[water clock]] in the form of a tower which featured mechanical figurines which chimed the hours.<ref name=Fowler>{{cite journal|title=The Museum of Music: A History of Mechanical Instruments|first=Charles B.|last=Fowler|journal=Music Educators Journal|volume=54|issue=2|date=October 1967|pages=45–49|doi=10.2307/3391092|jstor=3391092|s2cid=190524140 | issn=0027-4321 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nist.gov/pml/time-and-frequency-division/popular-links/walk-through-time/walk-through-time-early-clocks |title=Early Clocks |work=A Walk Through Time |date=12 August 2009 |access-date=13 October 2022 |publisher=NIST Physics Laboratory}}</ref><ref name=NSAJAutomata>{{cite journal|date=6 July 2007 |title=The programmable robot of ancient Greece |journal=New Scientist|pages=32–35|url=https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg19526111-600-the-programmable-robot-of-ancient-greece/}}</ref> His mechanism had a programmable drum machine with pegs ([[Cam (mechanism)|cam]]s) that bumped into little [[lever]]s that operated percussion instruments. The drummer could be made to play different rhythms and different drum patterns by moving the pegs to different locations.<ref name=NSAJAutomata />

''[[Samarangana Sutradhara]]'', a [[Sanskrit]] treatise by [[Bhoja]] (11th century), includes a chapter about the construction of mechanical contrivances ([[automata]]), including mechanical bees and birds, fountains shaped like humans and animals, and male and female dolls that refilled oil lamps, danced, played instruments, and re-enacted scenes from Hindu mythology.<ref>{{cite book|last=Varadpande|first=Manohar Laxman|year=1987|title=History of Indian Theatre, Volume 1|page=68|publisher=Abhinav Publications |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SyxOHOCVcVkC&pg=PA68|isbn=978-81-7017-221-5}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last= Wujastyk|first=Dominik|year=2003|title=The Roots of Ayurveda: Selections from Sanskrit Medical Writings|page=222|publisher=Penguin |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TaZCwjtmzZYC&q=automata&pg=PA222|isbn=978-0-14-044824-5}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Needham|first=Joseph|year=1965|title=Science and Civilisation in China: Volume 4, Physics and Physical Technology Part 2, Mechanical Engineering|page=164|publisher=Cambridge University Press |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SeGyrCfYs2AC&q=bhoja+automata&pg=PA164|isbn=978-0-521-05803-2}}</ref> The 11th century [[Lokapannatti]] tells of how the Buddha's relics were protected by mechanical robots (bhuta vahana yanta), from the kingdom of Roma visaya (Rome); until they were disarmed by King [[Ashoka]].<ref>{{Cite book |title=Relics of the Buddha|first=J.S. |last=Strong|author-link=John S. Strong |year=2007 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_KLAxmR8PZAC |publisher=[[Princeton University Press]]|isbn=978-0-691-11764-5 |pages=133–134, 143}}</ref>

[[File:Al-Jazari - A Musical Toy.jpg|thumb|Al-Jazari – a musical toy]]

13th century [[List of Muslim scientists|Muslim scientist]] [[Ismail al-Jazari]] created several automated devices. He built automated moving peacocks driven by hydropower.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/al-Jazari|title=Al-Jazarī {{!}} Arab inventor|website=Encyclopædia Britannica|access-date=15 June 2019}}</ref> He also invented the earliest known automatic gates, which were driven by hydropower,<ref name=Turner>{{cite book|author=Howard R. Turner |date=1997|title=Science in Medieval Islam: An Illustrated Introduction|page=81|publisher=[[University of Texas Press]]|isbn=0-292-78149-0}}</ref> created automatic doors as part of one of his elaborate [[water clock]]s.<ref name=Hill2>{{cite magazine|first=Donald|last=Hill|author-link=Donald Hill|title=Mechanical Engineering in the Medieval Near East|magazine=[[Scientific American]]|date=May 1991|pages=64–69}} ([[cf.]] {{cite web|first=Donald|last=Hill|author-link=Donald Hill|url=http://home.swipnet.se/islam/articles/HistoryofSciences.htm#IX.%20Mechanical%20Engineering|title=History of Sciences in the Islamic World|at=IX. Mechanical Engineering|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071225091836/http://home.swipnet.se/islam/articles/HistoryofSciences.htm#IX.%20Mechanical%20Engineering|archive-date=25 December 2007|url-status=dead}})</ref> One of al-Jazari's [[Humanoid robot|humanoid automata]] was a waitress that could serve water, tea or drinks. The drink was stored in a tank with a reservoir from where the drink drips into a bucket and, after seven minutes, into a cup, after which the waitress appears out of an automatic door serving the drink.<ref>{{cite AV media|title=Ancient Discoveries Islamic Science Part1|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v2HcjanNWFM |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211211/v2HcjanNWFM| archive-date=2021-12-11 |url-status=live|access-date=15 June 2019}}{{cbignore}}</ref> Al-Jazari invented a hand washing [[automaton]] incorporating a flush mechanism now used in modern [[flush toilet]]s. It features a female [[Humanoid robot|humanoid automaton]] standing by a basin filled with water. When the user pulls the lever, the water drains and the female automaton refills the basin.<ref name="robot-evolution" />

Mark E. Rosheim summarizes the advances in [[robotics]] made by Muslim engineers, especially al-Jazari, as follows:<blockquote>Unlike the Greek designs, these Arab examples reveal an interest, not only in dramatic illusion, but in manipulating the environment for human comfort. Thus, the greatest contribution the Arabs made, besides preserving, disseminating and building on the work of the Greeks, was the concept of practical application. This was the key element that was missing in Greek robotic science.<ref name="robot-evolution" />{{rp|page=9}}</blockquote>
[[File:Leonardo-Robot3.jpg|thumb|upright|Model of [[Leonardo's robot]] with inner workings. Possibly constructed by [[Leonardo da Vinci]] around 1495.<ref name=nih>{{cite journal |title=The da Vinci robot | journal = J. Endourol.| volume = 20| issue = 12| pages = 986–90|quote=... the date of the design and possible construction of this robot was 1495 ... Beginning in the 1950s, investigators at the University of California began to ponder the significance of some of da Vinci's markings on what appeared to be technical drawings ... It is now known that da Vinci's robot would have had the outer appearance of a Germanic knight. | pmid=17206888 | doi=10.1089/end.2006.20.986 | date=December 2006| last1 = Moran| first1 = M. E.}}</ref>]] In the 14th century, the coronation of [[Richard II of England]] featured an automata angel.<ref name="Truitt 2015 p. 136">{{cite book | last=Truitt | first=E.R. | title=Medieval Robots: Mechanism, Magic, Nature, and Art | publisher=University of Pennsylvania Press, Incorporated | series=The Middle Ages Series | year=2015 | isbn=978-0-8122-9140-7 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=scd0CAAAQBAJ&pg=PA136 | access-date=2023-01-21 | page=136}}</ref>

In [[Renaissance]] Italy, [[Leonardo da Vinci]] (1452–1519) sketched plans for a humanoid robot around 1495. Da Vinci's notebooks, rediscovered in the 1950s, contained detailed drawings of a mechanical knight now known as [[Leonardo's robot]], able to sit up, wave its arms and move its head and jaw.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.leonardo3.net/leonardo/books%20I%20robot%20di%20Leonardo%20-%20Taddei%20Mario%20-%20english%20Leonardo%20robots%201.html|title=Leonardo da Vinci's Robots|publisher=Leonardo3.net|access-date=25 September 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080924162924/http://www.leonardo3.net/leonardo/books%20I%20robot%20di%20Leonardo%20-%20Taddei%20Mario%20-%20english%20Leonardo%20robots%201.html|archive-date=24 September 2008|url-status=dead}}</ref> The design was probably based on anatomical research recorded in his ''[[Vitruvian Man]]''. It is not known whether he attempted to build it. According to ''[[Encyclopædia Britannica]]'', [[Leonardo da Vinci]] may have been influenced by the classic automata of al-Jazari.<ref name=":0" />

In Japan, complex animal and human automata were built between the 17th to 19th centuries, with many described in the 18th century ''Karakuri zui'' (''Illustrated Machinery'', 1796). One such automaton was the [[karakuri ningyō]], a mechanized [[puppet]].<ref>{{cite book|first=Jane Marie|last=Law|title=Puppets of Nostalgia – The Life, Death and Rebirth of the Japanese Awaji Ningyo Tradition|date=1997|publisher=[[Princeton University Press]]|isbn=978-0-691-02894-1}}</ref> Different variations of the karakuri existed: the ''Butai karakuri'', which were used in theatre, the ''Zashiki karakuri'', which were small and used in homes, and the ''Dashi karakuri'' which were used in religious festivals, where the puppets were used to perform reenactments of traditional [[mythology|myths]] and [[legend]]s.

In France, between 1738 and 1739, [[Jacques de Vaucanson]] exhibited several life-sized automatons: a flute player, a pipe player and a duck. The mechanical duck could flap its wings, crane its neck, and swallow food from the exhibitor's hand, and it gave the illusion of digesting its food by excreting matter stored in a hidden compartment.<ref>{{cite web|last=Wood|first=Gabby|url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2002/feb/16/extract.gabywood|title=Living Dolls: A Magical History Of The Quest For Mechanical Life|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161220154456/https://www.theguardian.com/books/2002/feb/16/extract.gabywood|archive-date=20 December 2016|url-status=live|website=[[The Guardian]]|date=16 February 2002}}</ref> About 30 years later in Switzerland the clockmaker [[Pierre Jaquet-Droz]] made several complex mechanical figures that could write and play music. Several of these devices still exist and work.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.messynessychic.com/2018/02/21/the-boy-robot-of-1774/?__s=zht5pogfqikwkrfgcene|title=The Boy Robot of 1774|date=21 February 2018}}</ref>