Fo Guang Shan Buddha Museum

An Exhibition on Automated Puppets

Automation – a word that sounds quite contemporary. However, if you look at this concept more broadly, you can easily say that the history of automation dates back to the ancient times. The name itself takes us back to ancient Greece, which is considered to be its homeland. In Greek automatos means “automatic”. Nowadays, automation is a part of the world of new technologies. It is inseparably related to computers, steering and control, as well as industrial management systems. It is used in manufacturing, services, and transport… It can cover for humans in both physical and mental work. And what was it like in the past? What did automation use to look like in the ancient times and centuries ago? Here are some curiosities that shed some light on it. Perhaps some of them will turn out to be inspiring.