The Banu Musa or sons of Musa were among the most important figures in the intellectuals and political life of ninth century Baghdad and played a key role in the founding and devilment of Arabic science and technology.
Three brothers were called, Muhammad, Ahmad and al-Hassan. They were working at the House of Wisdom (Bayt al-Hikma) in Baghdad, Iraq, under the Abbasid Caliphate.
The brothers were interested in geometry, mechanics, dynamics, music and astronomy and also that in order to study scientific works of classical times, they employed the service of team of translators.
The book was a large illustrated work on mechanical devices that included automata, puzzles and magic tricks.
On of the most impressive devices described in the book is also possibly the earliest example of a programmable machine: a robotic flute player.
In Book of Ingenious Devices, Ahmad described a contraption that would deliver hot and cold water, devices for digging wells and a lamp with a self-trimming wick.
The book is a document of some social significance, because it witnesses to the degree of mechanical knowledge and understanding of early Abbasid times,
Book of Ingenious Devices (Kitab al-Hiyal)
