Worthy custodians of the engineering knowledge they inherited from the Chinese, Indians and Byzantines, the Muslims made considerable contributions to the development of fine technology, including the design and implementation of segmental gears, sinking floats and many clever hydraulic devices.A fascination with intricate mechanisms, and particularly anything automated, resulted in an array of intriguing, imaginative, and often humorousmachines.

These gems of mechanical wizardry, and the enterprising mentality behind them, provided the formula that would eventually stimulate modern day automation.