VIDEO: BUILDING ANCIENT ROBOTS WITH INGENIOUS TRADITIONAL ENGINEERING

In a country, known for their intricate watchmaking, one man is taking the mastery of machinery to another level, and to another era. Meet François Junod, a craftsman bringing back the ancient art of automata.

Building automata date back to ancient Egypt and are thought to be one of the earliest forays into robotics. It was first developed as a form of entertainment royalty, Automata are complex mechanical sculptures that combine watchmaking and anatomy to create objects that seemingly come alive.

Jundo is assembling mechanical masterpieces out of his studio in Switzerland, taking the historical craft into the future. The automatons are entirely mechanical creations without circuit board or electronics.

François Junod makes automata in the same style, and his workshop is full of tools and machines for cutting and working metal and for modelling and sculpting figures. There's something magical, wizardly almost, about these automatons, starting with the Ancient Egyptian's sand-driven through which the divinities were materialised.

In the video below you will get to learn more about François Junod and the way he creates these ancient robots and how they come alive with every bit of engineering.