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So cute!
http://www.karakuri.info/zashiki/
"The most famous were produced in the mid to late Edo period with Western clockwork mechanisms, though sand, mercury and even steam power were used. The 'Chahakobi Ningyo', or tea-serving doll is perhaps the most famous, and was the first 'home entertainment' robot used in Japan...When the host placed a teacup on the tea tray held by the doll, it would move straight to the guest, and when the guest took the tea it would stop and wait. When the guest drank the tea and put the cup back on the tray, it would turn around and go back to the host. Once activated, it moves its dragging foot, and advances nodding its head up and down. In addition, it was also equipped with a mechanism by which the host, having measured by eye the distance to the guest, could set in advance the place where it would turn around. It used a cam and spring rather than a bevel gear to change directions. (SCHDOT 1988, p 61) Traditionally, the spring used in the mechanism was made from the baleen of a whale.
http://www.karakuri.info/zashiki/
"The most famous were produced in the mid to late Edo period with Western clockwork mechanisms, though sand, mercury and even steam power were used. The 'Chahakobi Ningyo', or tea-serving doll is perhaps the most famous, and was the first 'home entertainment' robot used in Japan...When the host placed a teacup on the tea tray held by the doll, it would move straight to the guest, and when the guest took the tea it would stop and wait. When the guest drank the tea and put the cup back on the tray, it would turn around and go back to the host. Once activated, it moves its dragging foot, and advances nodding its head up and down. In addition, it was also equipped with a mechanism by which the host, having measured by eye the distance to the guest, could set in advance the place where it would turn around. It used a cam and spring rather than a bevel gear to change directions. (SCHDOT 1988, p 61) Traditionally, the spring used in the mechanism was made from the baleen of a whale.
Under the current classification system of the JIRA (Japan Industrial Robot Association), the Chahakobi Ningyo is a fixed sequence robot. (SCHODT 1988, p 57) The tea-serving doll is not only excellent from a mechanical perspective, but it also displays an intriguingly human essence. Historically, its existence provided entertainment, and functioned as a way of deepening communication between a host and guest."
