The idea to create anthropomorphic robots is today often associated with the uncanny geminoids of Hiroshi Ishiguro. However, the idea to build anthropomorphic automatons is of course much older. Most famous is probably the chess player automaton The Turk by von Kempelen in 1769.
An illustration of the workings of the model. The various parts were directed by a human via interior levers and machinery. This is a distorted measurement based on Racknitz’s calculations, showing an impossible design in relation to the actual dimensions of the machine. Standage, 88 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Less known is the French tradition to use anthropomorphic automatons for advertising purposes. A recent BBC piece shows some rare and interesting clips from an exhibition at the Musée de l’automate de Souillac. Recommended! Here is a different version of the video.
… and if you cannot get enough of the early automatons … check this site out.
Related articles
- “Von Kempelen and His Discovery ” – Edgar Allan Poe (biblioklept.org)
- Push Down Automatons “guess” – what does that mean? (cs.stackexchange.com)
- Automaton equivalent of the $\pi $ Calculus? (cs.stackexchange.com)
- The Arcade Of Automatons (thefirstgates.com)
- Mechanemorphism (multisenserealism.com)
Affective Computing Science 
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