The automaton at the Franklin Institute will make a rare working appearance tomorrow, Tuesday, at 3 p.m.
The little robot, made between 1800 and 1810, is an early (though not the earliest) stab at artificial intelligence. He draws and writes. For conservation reasons, he doesn't get out much any more. But his caretaker, Charles Penniman, will crank him into operation in his current home, the "Amazing Machine" exhibition at the Franklin Institute.
The automaton, by the way, won himself a starring role in Brian Selznick's "The Invention of Hugo Cabret," a pretty wonderful book whose narrative is told, in large part, through long stretches of illustration-only pages.
