Ismail al-Jazari, the Muslim Scientist who Invented Robotics
- medium.com
VIVA – The Muslim scientist Ismail al-Jazari in the 12th century invented fountains that could be programmed on and off, to humanoid robots that could offer towels to guests. He served as an engineer in the service of the regional rulers, the Artuqids. This dynasty once extended its empire to Syria.
However, during his lifetime, the power of the Artuqids was under the influence of the Zangid Dynasty, a more powerful neighbor, and later succeeded by the Muslim hero, Saladin.
Despite the upheaval of the Crusades and the turbulent relations between the various Muslim powers, the brilliant engineer's life was spent peacefully serving several Artuqid kings, for whom Al-Jazari managed to design more than a hundred intelligent devices.
Unlike other practical inventors of the time, who left little record of their work, Ismail al-Jazari had a passion for documenting his work and explaining how he made his marvelous machines.
Jam air besar temuan ilmuwan muslim al-Jazari
- medium.com
In 1206, taking advantage of a quarter century of remarkable results, Al-Jazari gave the world a catalog of 'incomparable machines', now known as The Book of Knowledge of Ingenious Mechanical Devices. It is the only source of biographical information that exists on al-Jazari. The text exalts him as Badi al-Zaman (unique and unrivaled) and al-Shaykh (learned and worthy), but it also acknowledges the debt he owed to “ancient scholars and wise men.”
One of its most famous devices is a large water clock featuring an elephant carrying its driver and a tower with a person inside. Simple water clocks were already in use in ancient Egypt and Babylon.
Another fantastic invention of al-Jazari has attracted special interest from historians of science because it is considered by many to be the first programmable 'robot' in history, as launched from the National Geographic website, Tuesday, December 20, 2022.
Just like a music box, this invention takes the form of a boat with four 'musicians' consisting of a harpist, a flute player, and two drummers, designed to play songs to entertain. The mechanism that powered the drummers could be programmed to play different beats. Such devices were toys for the wealthy in his day.
Ismail Al-Jazari died in 1206. He also presented The Book of Knowledge to the sultan and is remembered for it.
