Antikythera Mechanism Research Articles

Enhanced and Combined Representations in Extended Reality through Creative Industries

The urgent need for research and study with nondestructive and noninvasive methods and the preservation of cultural heritage led to the development and application of methodologies for the multi-level digitization of cultural elements. Photogrammetry and three-dimensional scanning offer photorealistic and accurate digital representations, while X-rays and computed tomography reveal properties and characteristics of the internal and invisible structure of objects. However, the investigation of and access to these datasets are, in several cases, limited due to the increased computing resources and the special knowledge required for their processing and analysis. The evolution of immersive technologies and the creative industry of video games offers unique user experiences. Game engines are the ideal platform to host the development of easy-to-use applications that combine heterogeneous data while simultaneously integrating immersive and emerging technologies. This article seeks to shed light on how heterogeneous digital representations of 3D imaging and tomography can be harmoniously combined in a virtual space and, through simple interactions, provide holistic knowledge and enhanced experience to end users. This research builds on previous experience concerning the virtual museum for the Antikythera Mechanism and describes a conceptual framework for the design and development of an affordable and easy-to-use display tool for combined representations of heterogeneous datasets in the virtual space. Our solution was validated by 62 users who participated in tests and evaluations. The results show that the proposed methodology met its objectives. Apart from cultural heritage, the specific methodology could be easily extended and adapted for training purposes in a wide field of application, such as in education, health, engineering, industry, and more.

Re-imagining intelligent machines in an anthropocentric-ecocentric continuum: The case for ecocentric intelligent machines

The history of machines traces back to the dawn of human civilization, reflecting the intertwined journey of exploration, invention, and discoveries. From ancient simple machines to remarkable innovations like the Antikythera mechanism and automatons, the evolution of machines has been a testament to human ingenuity. In the 21st century, a new era of machines emerges, characterized by intelligence, connectivity, and autonomy.The purpose of the article is two-fold. Firstly, it provides a historical view of the evolution of machines and aims to characterize their future functional attributes in a rapidly changing, technology-driven 21st-century society. Secondly, it discusses the need to prioritize the eco-centered and sustainable design of these systems as opposed to traditional performance-centered practices. To this end, the article starts by presenting a literature review on the evolution and the characteristics of future intelligent machines. We argue that there is a need to reconsider the purpose of the future intelligent machines in the anthropocentrism–ecocentrism continuum. To support this argument, the current approaches to designing these systems and the sustainability concerns related to future characteristics of them are discussed. The article concludes with remarks on different strategies aiming to provide a roadmap to aid the creators of the future connected, intelligent, and autonomous systems to maximize their positive impact and ensure continuous growth of technological development while protecting the environment and addressing societal needs.

The Artistic Complexity of the Antikythera Mechanism: A Comprehensive Tutorial

Recovered in 1901, from a first-century BC shipwreck, the Antikythera Mechanism is considered to be the oldest extant complex geared device. It was constructed in ~150 BCE and was essentially an analog computer, an astronomical and calendrical device, designed to predict astronomical phenomena, such as lunar and solar eclipses, to maintain calendar accuracy and to predict the dates of Panhellenic Games. The device was operated manually by a user, setting a date in a dial. All necessary calculations were made using a set of gears (at least 39), while the results were displayed on several scientific scales. The Mechanism’s miniature size, the elaborate gear trains, the use of eccentrical gears and the employment of a pin–and–slot gear system to calculate the anomalous orbit of the Moon, demonstrate that the Greek mechanicians of the Hellenistic period had become far more skillful in designing geared devices than the surviving written sources imply. Geared devices matching the complexity of the Antikythera Mechanism would not appear again in Europe until the mechanical clocks of the thirteenth century. The aim of this paper is to present this ancient elaborate device in the most comprehensible way.

The artistic complexity of the Antikythera Mechanism: a comprehensive tutorial

Recovered in 1901, from a first-century BC shipwreck, the Antikythera Mechanism is considered to be the oldest extant complex geared device. It was constructed in ~150 BCE and was essentially an analog computer, an astronomical and calendrical device, designed to predict astronomical phenomena, such as lunar and solar eclipses, to maintain calendar accuracy and to predict the dates of Panhellenic Games. The device was operated manually by a user, setting a date in a dial. All necessary calculations were made using a set of gears (at least 39), while the results were displayed on several scientific scales. The Mechanism’s miniature size, the elaborate gear trains, the use of eccentrical gears and the employment of a pin–and–slot gear system to calculate the anomalous orbit of the Moon, demonstrate that the Greek mechanicians of the Hellenistic period had become far more skillful in designing geared devices than the surviving written sources imply. Geared devices matching the complexity of the Antikythera Mechanism would not appear again in Europe until the mechanical clocks of the thirteenth century. The aim of this paper is to present this ancient elaborate device in the most comprehensible way.

Transforming computed tomography scans into a full-immersive virtual museum for the Antikythera Mechanism

The extended research of the Computed Tomography (CT) scans of the fragments of the Antikythera Mechanism was the cornerstone for revealing the structure and functions of the first mechanical computer. In this article we present a unique methodology for the transformation of CT-scans files into photorealistic three-dimensional (3D) objects where other techniques, such as photogrammetry or 3D scanning, cannot be applied due to specific obstacles. These digital assets were reconstructed in the Lab, by using the CT-scans dataset for mesh generation, and only two high-resolution images for applying the textured materials. A quantitative evaluation from 62 volunteers’ testers of the Virtual Museum that hosts the digital representations of the fragments of the Antikythera Mechanism, confirms the high level of the achieved photorealism, in addition to usability, usefulness, and level of satisfaction.

Evolution of Timekeeping from Water Clock to Quartz Clock - the Curious Case of the Bulova ACCUTRON 214 the First Transistorized Wristwatch

The technological discoveries and developments since dawn of civilization that resulted in the modern wristwatch are linked to the evolution of Science itself. A history of over 6000 years filled with amazing technical prowess since the emergence of the first cities in Mesopotamia established by the \v{S}umer civilization. Usage of gears for timekeeping has its origin in the Islamic Golden Age about 1000 years ago. Although gears have been known for over 2000 years such as found in the Antikythera Mechanism. Only in the seventeenth century springs started to be used in clock making. In the eighteenth century the amazing \textit{Tourbillon} was designed and built to increase clock accuracy. In the nineteenth century the tuning fork was used for the first time as timebase. Wristwatches started to become popular in the beginning of the twentieth century. Later in the second half of the twentieth century the first electronic wristwatch was designed and produced, which brings us to the curious case of the Bulova \textit{ACCUTRON} caliber 214 the first transistorized wristwatch, another marvel of technological innovation and craftsmanship whose operation is frequently misunderstood. In this paper the historical evolution of timekeeping is presented. The goal is to show the early connection between Science and Engineering in the development of timekeeping devices. This linked development only became common along the twentieth century and beyond.

Mechanical Thinking

Could a single implement, such as the Antikythera mechanism, change the understanding of the cosmos? Sylvia Berryman is wary of viewing mechanistic pictures as unique keys to historical worldviews.

The First Computer

Was the Antikythera mechanism the first computer in world history? Kyriakos Efstathiou makes the case for the predictive powers of the device, which have now been tested in detail.

Translating Theory into Technology

Paul Cartledge describes how the discovery of the Antikythera mechanism has challenged long-held views about the ability of Greek scholars in antiquity to translate theory into technology.

A Riddling Mirror of Nature

When studying the origins and nature of the Antikythera mechanism, Paul Keyser cautions scholars to be mindful not to “retroject things seen or deduced from one era back into times well prior.”

A Mirror of Nature

The Antikythera mechanism, an astronomical calculator found in a first-century BCE shipwreck, has proven to be mechanically more sophisticated than anything known from the subsequent millennium. Yet rather than being an anachronism, the mechanism testifies to the reality of such complex machines in the ancient world.

THE ANTIKYTHERA WRECK: A NUMISMATIC APPROACH

THE ANTIKYTHERA WRECK: A NUMISMATIC APPROACH

The Antikythera Mechanism: The Prove of the Accuracy of the Astronomical Calculations Based on It

The Antikythera Mechanism is the oldest extant complex geared device, an amazing analogue computer. It was built approximately 2150 years ago. The device was operated manually by a user, setting a date in a dial. All necessary calculations were made using a set of gears (at least 39), while the results were displayed on several scientific scales. The Mechanism was used to calculate astronomical phenomena, such as solar and lunar eclipses. After an extensive description of the Mechanism, the main objective of the following paragraphs is to demonstrate the accuracy of its predictions.

Mechanical computing.

Mechanical mechanisms have been used to process information for millennia, with famous examples ranging from the Antikythera mechanism of the Ancient Greeks to the analytical machines of Charles Babbage. More recently, electronic forms of computation and information processing have overtaken these mechanical forms, owing to better potential for miniaturization and integration. However, several unconventional computing approaches have recently been introduced, which blend ideas of information processing, materials science and robotics. This has raised the possibility of new mechanical computingsystems that augment traditional electronic computing by interacting with and adapting to their environment. Here we discuss the use of mechanical mechanisms, and associated nonlinearities, as a means of processing information, with a view towards a framework in which adaptable materials and structures act as a distributed information processing network, even enabling information processing to be viewed as a material property, alongside traditional material properties such as strength and stiffness. We focus on approaches to abstract digital logic in mechanical systems, discuss how these systems differ from traditional electronic computing, and highlight the challenges and opportunities that they present.

A Model of the Cosmos in the ancient Greek Antikythera Mechanism

The Antikythera Mechanism, an ancient Greek astronomical calculator, has challenged researchers since its discovery in 1901. Now split into 82 fragments, only a third of the original survives, including 30 corroded bronze gearwheels. Microfocus X-ray Computed Tomography (X-ray CT) in 2005 decoded the structure of the rear of the machine but the front remained largely unresolved. X-ray CT also revealed inscriptions describing the motions of the Sun, Moon and all five planets known in antiquity and how they were displayed at the front as an ancient Greek Cosmos. Inscriptions specifying complex planetary periods forced new thinking on the mechanization of this Cosmos, but no previous reconstruction has come close to matching the data. Our discoveries lead to a new model, satisfying and explaining the evidence. Solving this complex 3D puzzle reveals a creation of genius—combining cycles from Babylonian astronomy, mathematics from Plato’s Academy and ancient Greek astronomical theories.

Studying, designing and 3d-printing an operational model of the Antikythera Mechanism

Studying, designing and 3d-printing an operational model of the Antikythera Mechanism

Lunisolar Calendars, the Antikythera Mechanism, the Halieia of Rhodes and some thoughts on the Calendars of Rhodes and Kos

This paper will discuss the logic, history and development of lunisolar calendars, including the octaëteris, the Metonic Cycle and Callippic Cycle periods (particularly how the latter two are employed on the Antikythera Mechanism), as well as the years, season, history and events of the Halieia games of Rhodes (which are also attested on the Antikythera Mechanism). It will also discuss the order and seasons of the months and the day-nomenclature of the calendars of Rhodes and Kos as well as their semester systems. Here it will be argued that there were two separate calendars in operation with different starting points at both these city-states an Eponymous Calendar-Year and a Bouleutic Calendar-Year. The paper will also discuss the intercalary month Πάναμος δεύτερος at Rhodes along with various theories concerning the Διπανάμια festival there. Finally, the paper will conclude by analyzing the years in which several Rhodian festivals were celebrated, based upon which several Rhodian inscriptions will be redated.

A review of reconstruction research for the lost gearing of antikythera astronomical calculator

This paper presented a review for the reconstruction research of the Antikythera mechanism, the mechanical calculator was made around the end of second century BC in ancient Greece. Under the concluded design specifications and constraints, all possible conceptual designs of the lost mechanical structures subject to the standard of technology and science at that time were synthesized based on a systematic design procedure. This oldest astronomical calculator excavated in 1900-1901 can display the solar, lunar and planetary motions, indicate the date of Egyptian calendar, calculate the luni-solar calendars and periods, and predict the eclipses by its interior gear trains. The structures for the solar and the planetary motions are completely lost in the excavation. Without surviving evidence, restoring the lost structures by computer tomography or X-ray detection is unfeasible. Here, the author applied a design procedure with four steps, which is based on the reconstruction design methodology of lost ancient machinery. Historical archives for reconstructing Antikythera mechanism are built based on historical records, ancient astronomy, ancient astronomical instruments, as well as the kinematic and mechanism analyses of gear trains. After identifying input conditions, three and two design specifications respectively for the solar and the planetary motions are concluded and their feasible designs are synthesized by the design procedure. For each design, the equations of teeth counting are derived based on the analysis of gear ratios. Finally, the possible teeth of gears are generated and then a new reconstruction design of Antikythera mechanism with complete interior structure is built through the constraints of space and assembly. These synthesized designs form a database of reconstruction work, and one of them can be the original structure. Once new evidence is discovered, these reconstruction designs can help archaeologists decode this mechanism further.

Babylonian solar theory on the Antikythera mechanism

This article analyzes the angular spacing of the degree marks on the zodiac scale of the Antikythera mechanism and demonstrates that over the entire preserved 88° of the zodiac, the marks are systematically placed too close together to be consistent with a uniform distribution over 360°. Thus, in some other part of the zodiac scale (not preserved), the degree marks have been spaced farther apart. By contrast, the day marks on the Egyptian calendar scale are spaced uniformly, apart from minor errors. A solar equation of center is apparent which rises by nearly 2.7° over the preserved portion of the zodiac. The placement of the degree marks indicates that, in the preserved portion of the zodiac, the Sun was considered to run at a uniform pace of about 30° per synodic month, which is consistent with the Sun’s speed in the fast zone of the Babylonian solar theory of System A.

Correction to: The Back Plate Inscription and eclipse scheme of the Antikythera Mechanism revisited

Tables 2 and 4 contained an incorrect set of values for the mean lunar latitudes associated with the tabulated eclipse possibilities.