Basile Bouchon

Content sourced from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.

Basile Bouchon, also known as Boachon, was a Lyon textile worker who, in 1725, invented a loom controlled by a perforated paper tape. The tape automatically lifted warp threads by cords guided through holes, making the setup partly automatic. This early system is like a simple piano roll and may have been inspired by patterns drawn on squared paper. Three years later his assistant Jean-Baptiste Falcon improved it with rows of holes on rectangular cards joined into a loop, allowing more cords to be controlled. It reduced mistakes but still needed another operator. Jacques Vaucanson made the first real automation attempt in 1745, and the fully successful Jacquard loom appeared in 1805.