Talking heads from metal seeking alms wooden monks, artificial oracles and ceramic moving men - robot-like creatures were created by unknown geniuses millennia before us. Who were these unique master, who is ahead of his time?

The bronze Vityaz or clay guy

We all know from childhood stories of Greek mythology about the bronze protector of Crete Talos, created by Hephaestus by order of Zeus. God Hephaestus created the first real laboratory for mechanical wonders. He was glorified by the blacksmith and was able to bring their creations to life. It was created not only protectors, and servants that, for example, helped table layout.

Where are the origins of the Russian tales of clay guy? The Potter formed it for yourself and wife because they had no children. The guy was huge and there was everything: parents, neighbors... And it would all bad, but he ate a goat, which had ripped his belly and released all who were inside the clay monster free.
Unlike our clay guy, Golem made of clay, on the contrary, served his nation and defended it according to the ancient Jewish legend. Were these characters really technical genius creations or just a clever hoax?

About mechanical servants wrote Homer in his famous "Iliad". In Ancient China, according to legend, was created dolls that took mental commands and did the wishes of their masters. Plato and Aristotle in his writings have anticipated the creation of mechanical thinking machines in the future on the basis of their own experiences. Fortunately, reliable information about the existence of androids in ancient times are stored in the libraries of the world.

It is known that the Egyptians in the III Millennium BC invented to set the priests in the statues off oracles uterine tone predicted the future to people. A friend of Plato, mathematician), created the wood pigeon, which was set in motion pressure jets of steam. The Roman poet Claudius described the miracle created by Archimedes. It was about a glass sphere with the image of the sky, which was moving the heavenly bodies. The machine was set in motion by water.

Collector of alms

In China was discovered a book written in the IX century. It's called Chao Qian Ye Zai. The study of this valuable work, documentary describing the events of that time, engaged in the research center of China in Bavaria. Among other things, the book describes a Chinese artist Yang WLAN, famous for incredible resourcefulness and Golden hands.

Once he managed to make a wooden figure of a monk who was holding a bowl in his hands and asked for alms. When the vessel was filled with coins, the monk said: "the Alms collected". Thousands of people came to the city where he stood talking monk. To hear the wooden figure of talking, they endlessly throwing money into the alms bowl. So skillfully created a mechanism collected more charity than ordinary beggar.
In the same book tells about the wizard by the name of king lang Ling who was doing a mechanical musical instruments. In the VII century he created a robot that was humming the tune himself danced to it. Face robot't like the Chinese.

Talking heads, dancers and aircraft

In medieval Europe were known several ingenious creators. They managed to create a talking heads, moving arms and aircraft. In 1495 the great Leonardo da Vinci designed a mechanical man, waving his hands and turned the head.
Later in Germany appeared Hans Boulemane, which is considered a follower of Leonardo. In addition, it is the legislator of a fashion on a humanoid mechanisms that play musical instruments.

The robot from Dresden

French writer Antoine de Rivarol in 1783 described talking heads, created by the Abbot Michalem: "In the castle temple you can watch fantastic mechanism. It attracts connoisseurs and those who like to look for a miracle. This two heads of ore that say these proposals, and very clearly. They are incredible size, and their voices inhuman". Skillful craftsman MikaL spent 30 years building your brilliant creation. As he forced the head to say, is unknown. However, Rivarol wrote about came with the heads of the giant keyboards and metal cylinders, which were measured intervals for the pronunciation of words.

To us also got letters of the great poet Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, who shared their impressions about
talking heads with Duke Karl August from Vienna. However, here we were talking about talking heads, invented by Baron Camelina in the beginning of XVIII century. They were set in motion the "terrible" machine, and talked with the help of a complex system podobnyh furs. It is noteworthy that used in the letters of the expression "to inflate fur" as figurative means "to lie, to deceive anyone."
Swiss watchmakers Pierre Jaquet Droz, and his son Henri for several years has created perhaps the three most famous androids: - writer, painter and musician, driven clockwork device with clockwork spring.

The scribe is a real technological wonder about 70 centimeters in height. Boy about five sitting at the little table and holding a quill pen. By order of the audience he carefully maneuvered on paper any letters or text dipped the pen in the ink and tilting the head. The mechanism was hidden in the back and allowed you to write complex words and phrases to 40 characters long.

The painter took a pencil on a sheet, from time to time stopped, thoughtfully beheld the image, and then blew on the paper to remove the mote. Among other figures he has performed and a portrait of king Louis XV. Girl-musician sat at the harmonium. Her fingers ran over the keys, and the head was turned, as if watching the movement of hands. Father and son Draw arranged the real tour for their wonderful mechanisms throughout Europe, famous enriched. But among the appreciative audience were people who called all this is the work of the devil.
In Russian publications, there is the original version of the origin of the word "Android". The fact that the son of Pierre's name was Henri Draw, and he continued in his father in the production of original mechanical humanoid dolls. Allegedly on his behalf happened the word itself. Actually, it comes from the Greek words ??????, which means "people", and ???? - "the same".

James Bruce - a descendant of the famous Scottish family and General of Moscow - one of the Russian masters. Self-taught and the leader; he, however, was not only a statesman in the yard of Peter the great, but also an engineer, cartographer, the linguist and astrologer. According to some, James Bruce also created various mechanical wonders. On the last floor of the dir tower in Moscow, where his laboratory, Bruce worked on the aircraft. According to witnesses, can often be seen departing from its Windows dragons with human heads.

"Iron man" Ivan the terrible

Letter to the foreign merchants who visited Ivan the terrible, it is known that some of the "iron man" served the king at the table. Long time was considered, that it is a figurative expression, emphasizing the endurance of the Russians. But it turns out that the mechanical servant really had in Russia. "Iron man" was served food on the table, a coat on his shoulders, was even able to sweep the yard. Its mechanism was created from gears and springs. Due to the fact that there are numerous historical evidence of the miracles of technology, you can easily trace the history of the emergence of androids, stretching far into the past. And so the future they are fantastic!
Nina KONEV