Editing Automaton (section)

==Clocks==
{{main|Automaton clock}}

Automaton clocks are clocks which feature automatons within or around the housing and typically activate around the beginning of each hour, at each half hour, or at each quarter hour. They were largely produced from the 1st century BC to the end of the Victorian times in Europe. Older clocks typically featured religious characters or other mythical characters such as Death or Father Time. As time progressed, however, automaton clocks began to feature influential characters at the time of creation, such as kings, famous composers, or industrialists. Examples of automaton clocks include [[chariot clock]]s and [[cuckoo clock]]s. The [[Cuckooland Museum]] exhibits autonomous clocks. While automaton clocks are largely perceived to have been in use during medieval times in Europe, they are largely produced in Japan today.

In [[Automata theory]], clocks are regarded as [[timed automaton]]s, a type of [[Finite-state machine|finite automaton]]. Automaton clocks being finite essentially means that automaton clocks have a certain number of states in which they can exist.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Wang |first=Jiacun |title=Formal Methods in Computer Science |publisher=CRC Press |year=2019 |isbn=978-1-4987-7532-8 |pages=34}}</ref> The exact number is the number of combinations possible on a clock with the hour, minute, and second hand: 43,200. The title of timed automaton declares that the automaton changes states at a set rate, which for clocks is 1 state change every second. Clock automata only takes as input the time displayed by the previous state. The automata uses this input to produce the next state, a display of time 1 second later than the previous. Clock automata often also use the previous state's input to 'decide' whether or not the next state requires merely changing the hands on the clock, or if a special function is required, such as a mechanical bird popping out of a house like in cuckoo clocks.<ref>{{Cite web |title=How Do Cuckoo Clocks Work? |url=https://www.cuckooclocks.com/blog2.asp |access-date=2024-06-02 |website=www.cuckooclocks.com}}</ref> This choice is evaluated through the position of complex gears, cams, axles, and other mechanical devices within the automaton.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Munchow |first=Joshua |date=2020-07-19 |title=All About Automata: Mechanical Magic (With Action Videos) |url=https://quillandpad.com/2020/07/19/all-about-automata-mechanical-magic-with-action-videos/ |access-date=2024-06-02 |website=Quill & Pad |language=en-US}}</ref>