DO THE ROBOT
Top Gear|April 2023
Clockmaking and robotics have more in common than you'd think...
- Richard Holt
DO THE ROBOT

The internet loves a robot video. They walk, talk – some even dance and do a spot of parkour. Very entertaining. But you can’t help feeling that by this stage we’d be a bit further down the line. Take the car as an example: in 1886, you could outrun Carl Benz’s three-wheeler on foot; a century later we had the Porsche 959.

If robots had improved at this pace, they’d be moving among us undetected by now because we have been trying to make automated humans for literally thousands of years – with many of the early attempts by clock and watchmakers. In the 3rd century BC, a Greek inventor called Tesibius made a water clock that was the most accurate way of measuring time until the advent of the pendulum clock in the 17th century. He also created automata for fun, like a statue that could stand up and sit down.

A 12th-century Mesopotamian scholar called Ismail al-Jazari made more advances in clockmaking and proto-robotics, even combining both with a water clock complete with little figures playing drums and cymbals. He also made a robot waitress that could pour drinks. If that is not enough clever stuff for one person, he is also credited with inventing the camshaft, which went on to prove fairly useful.

この蚘事は Top Gear の April 2023 版に掲茉されおいたす。

7 日間の Magzter GOLD 無料トラむアルを開始しお、䜕千もの厳遞されたプレミアム ストヌリヌ、9,000 以䞊の雑誌や新聞にアクセスしおください。

この蚘事は Top Gear の April 2023 版に掲茉されおいたす。

7 日間の Magzter GOLD 無料トラむアルを開始しお、䜕千もの厳遞されたプレミアム ストヌリヌ、9,000 以䞊の雑誌や新聞にアクセスしおください。

TOP GEARのその他の蚘事すべお衚瀺
ELECTROMECHANIC
BBC Top Gear UK

ELECTROMECHANIC

Meet the electric restomod that you can create at home it's so easy you can do the conversion in a day, apparently

time-read
5 分  |
January 2025
ALL THE SMALL THINGS
BBC Top Gear UK

ALL THE SMALL THINGS

Word is there's no such thing as a decent, small, simple, reasonably priced car these days. Allow TopGear to investigate

time-read
5 分  |
January 2025
VOLKSWAGEN ID.BUZZ 7-SEAT
BBC Top Gear UK

VOLKSWAGEN ID.BUZZ 7-SEAT

Volkswagen’s new seven seater ID.Buzz is now the family mover it always should have been

time-read
2 分  |
January 2025
BMW M5
BBC Top Gear UK

BMW M5

TO THE POINT: THE NEW BMW M5 IS AN excellent car. It's very fast, confident, endlessly configurable and now offers a not inconsequential 40ish miles of electric-only running for happy tax returns.

time-read
2 分  |
January 2025
VAUXHALL GRANDLAND vs FORD EXPLORER
BBC Top Gear UK

VAUXHALL GRANDLAND vs FORD EXPLORER

These two brands have been the 'pile it high, sell it cheap' kings of the UK market for decades, but their new core models take a very different tack...

time-read
7 分  |
January 2025
CAR OF THE YEAR - 5 STAR
BBC Top Gear UK

CAR OF THE YEAR - 5 STAR

Yep, Renault's retro-chic new supermini with an optional wicker baguette holder Scoops the grand prix...

time-read
5 分  |
January 2025
MEANWHILE... IN THE FUTURE
BBC Top Gear UK

MEANWHILE... IN THE FUTURE

Catching rockets with chopsticks isn't the only autonomous tech going on in Elon Musk's world...

time-read
3 分  |
January 2025
KING OF THE HILLS
BBC Top Gear UK

KING OF THE HILLS

You wait for one 800+bhp super GT, then two rock up at once. It's the Aston/Ferrari showdown we've all been waiting for...

time-read
8 分  |
January 2025
PACKAGE
BBC Top Gear UK

PACKAGE

What better way to test the Hyundai Santa Fe's SUV-ness than hand delivering TopGear magazine to each and every subscriber in... New Zealand?

time-read
10 分  |
January 2025
MYTH BUSTER
BBC Top Gear UK

MYTH BUSTER

\"THE GOLF GTI WAS THE OG HOT HATCH\"

time-read
2 分  |
January 2025