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Computers & Looms - All Fiber Arts | ||
| A history of computers and looms, and what they have in common. | |||
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Computers and Looms | |
| Did you know that the loom and the computer are related? In 1740 Jacques de Vaucanson first used punch cards to control a loom. Later in 1801, Joseph-Marie Jacquard further developed this idea and simplified the automatic loom through a system of perforated cards. | |
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His father was a weaver, and his invention simplified complex treadling sequences. His Jacquard loom became the precursor to the computer. The holes in the cards controlled which shed rose in a particular pattern sequence - similar to the system of punch cards in early computers. With the invention of the automated Jacquard loom, came the threat of unemployment. The silk weavers threatened Jacquard with death, and his looms were sold as junk.
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 | In the early 1800's Charles Babbage invented a steam driven machine to calculate numbers.
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 | Charles Babbage's Difference Engine Science Museum London England |
 | Later Ada Lovelace thought to use punch cards to drive Babbage's engine, after seeing the Jacquard loom. |
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IBM adapted the use of punch cards for their early computers. The cards were replaced by microprocessors and here we are now, connecting via the Net. Whether we working at our looms, designing our drafts in the latest weaving software or are surfing on the internet, it seems that the two are connected.
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Mechanical Aids to Computation and the Development of Algorithms The textile industry was the motivating force for the development of modern day computing or data storage.
Computer: Looking back
CS 100 Basic Computing
Introduction to Programming
The Jacquard Loom
Slide Show
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