Pierre Jaquet-Droz is an 18th century Swiss-born watchmaker who created a series of technically exquisite automata. Together with his sons, he developed The Writer, the Draughtsman, and The Musician, three marvelously complex devices that fascinated the people of his day. One of these, The Writer, has been revived and modernized and is available for sale.
The tiny automaton is no larger than a smartphone and can perform a single, seemingly simple task: duplicating the owner’s signature. What’s impressive about it however is the fact that it does so without cameras, or sensors, or any other electronic components you’d expect. The machine is wound up manually and has a four-digit security code which releases an arm-and-pen mechanism when activated. Powered by a handmade set of cams (internal machinery), the automaton writes the signature on a piece of paper.
Of course, this is not intended to be used practically. It’s not like people need any help with putting their John Hancock to paper, while trying to use such a machine to actually sign documents when you can’t or don’t feel like traveling is a sure-fire way invite fraud. More likely, this automaton is intended for collectors and people who generally appreciate the skill and ingenuity that went into making it.
[TheCoolist]
