When we think of modern robots, the first things that come to mind are usually the very austere industrial kind or some whimsical children’s toy. But at one time, robots were meant for the amusement of wealthy collectors and art enthusiasts. This stunning caterpillar automaton from approximately 1820 is a wonder of both artistry and workmanship.

The working automaton, called the Ethiopian Caterpillar, was built by famed Swiss watch maker Henri Maillardet. It was built for wealthy Chinese aristocrats, as evidenced by its opulent ornamentation: rubies, diamonds, emeralds, pearls, and turquoise all set in gold. The caterpillar’s eleven jointed ring segments combine to form a “body” that undulates like a real caterpillar as it moves along on a set of tiny wheels.

The work is impressive, especially considering that it is nearly 200 years old. When the Ethiopian Caterpillar was sold at auction in 2010, it fetched a price of more than $415,000. It joins five other such caterpillars known to exist, all of which reside in prestigious art collections.

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Hugo Gernsback is known as one of the founders of science fiction, and his predictions and imagined gadgets were unlike anything the world had ever before imagined. One of his best-loved subjects was robots, though in the 1920s they were more commonly known as “automatons.” This conceptual radio-controlled police automaton was dreamed up by Gernsback in 1924 as the next generation of law enforcement. The wacky design was supposed to be a towering, bullet-proof monument to authority and crowd control.

Gernsback’s Radio Automaton would have been controlled from a remote location via radio waves. Its locomotion was achieved through jointed knees and feet equipped with caterpillar tracks. The internal design would have included a gyroscope to keep it upright along with a gasoline engine and a loudspeaker. Where it really gets scary, though, is the weapons. Each arm of the robot included lead balls attached to rotating disks which were meant to be used as “police clubs.” Pressurized tear gas was stored in the body to be dispensed through a curiously phallic nozzle. Gernsback saw them controlling unruly mobs and fighting wars, but of course, the ill-fated Radio Automaton went the way of most other robot designs of the early 20th century.

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The sophisticated electronic toys in stores today are impressive enough, but the 18th century automata of Pierre Jaquet-Droz are truly amazing. The Musician, The Draughtsman and The Writer are three mechanical dolls built by Jaquet-Droz, his son Henri-Louis and Jean-Frederic Leschot between 1768 and 1774 as advertisements for sophisticated watches. Their mechanisms are shockingly advanced for their time, and today they are thought of as distant ancestors of the modern computer. All three currently reside in the Musée d’Art et d’Histoire of Neuchâtel, in Switzerland.

The Writer is the most complex of the trio of mechanical dolls. He writes custom text of up to 40 characters which are programmed one by one using a coding wheel. The Writer’s eyes follow the text as he writes and he periodically dips his goose feather quill in ink, then shakes it to prevent drips.

The Draughtsman is able to draw four different images using a system of changeable cams. His image library includes Louis XV, a royal couple, Cupid in a butterfly-drawn chariot, and a dog with the words “Mon Toutou” (“My Doggy”). He blows on the pencil periodically to remove accumulated dust.

The Musician is a beautiful young girl who plays an organ. The music is not recorded; rather, it is actually created by the doll’s fingers pressing the keys of her custom-made instrument. Her movements are amazingly realistic, including following her finger movements with her eyes, “breathing,” and balancing her torso as a real piano player would do.

The post Like Clockwork: Incredible 18th Century Swiss Automatons first appeared on Gajitz.