Audemars Piguet uses AI to automate the setting of the perpetual calendar on its latest automatic watches.
Due to the complexity of its construction, the perpetual calendar of an automatic watch must be set with care. Failure to observe certain points can lead to costly damage to the movement. Audemars Piguet has now developed a watch box and on the Dubai Watch Week presented a system that performs this process automatically.
The perpetual calendar is one of the grand complications and most demanding functions in watchmaking, not only in terms of design and manufacture. Setting it also requires precise adjustment. Indeed, even the perpetual calendar of an automatic watch needs correction when it comes to rest without being worn. And even with continuous movement, its "perpetual" precision only lasts until the year 2100, although most current owners of a perpetual calendar will likely never need it.
The Perpetual Calendar and the Year 2100
Why does a perpetual calendar need to be corrected in 2100? There is a simple answer to that. And this goes back to the 16th century. In 1582, Pope Gregory XIII decreed the Gregorian calendar with the papal bull Inter gravissimas. Its leap year rule stipulates that three leap years are skipped in a 400-year cycle to adjust the length of the year to the solar year. This occurs in century years, but only in those not divisible by 400. 2000 is divisible by 400, so it was a leap year. 2100 is not divisible by 400. Therefore, it is not a leap year. This is difficult to represent even for the most skilled clockmakers, so the so-called perpetual calendars will need to be readjusted once in the year 2100.
Audemars Piguet simplifies the handling of its perpetual calendar.
The automatic calibers 7138 and 7136, introduced at the beginning of this year, allow the perpetual calendar to be set or corrected using only the crown. In addition, a new automated system precisely and gently sets and winds the movement.
This was developed in collaboration with the Dubai Future Labs, the robotics and research initiative of the Dubai Future Foundation DFF.
After placing the watch in the two-kilogram box (20 x 12 x 15 cm), the lid closes automatically, and the fully automated setting process begins. Within approximately five minutes, the system independently detects the date displays requiring correction and makes the adjustments itself. The precision of this process is based on the interaction of several innovative modules.
Innovative modules for eternal precision
A mechanical module mimics the gesture of a human hand and interacts with the multifunctional crown. An electronic module handles the control and communication between the mechanical components and the computer vision systems.
The vision module, a discreetly integrated camera in the case back, captures the configuration of the perpetual calendar displays on the dial, including the position of the hands. An AI algorithm, trained on a wide variety of dial variations, analyzes the visual data in real time and individually adapts the device to each watch model. Specialized software controls the entire process, coordinating mechanical movements based on the camera information and also managing Bluetooth communication, error detection, and feedback.
„The idea of creating a setting mechanism for the perpetual calendar has been with Audemars Piguet for years. The innovative ‚all-rounder‘ crown of the Calibre 7138 has now made this dream a reality, thanks to the interdisciplinary collaboration with the Dubai Future Foundation,“ explains Lucas Raggi, Chief Industrial Officer at Audemars Piguet.
„The collaboration with Audemars Piguet offered us a unique opportunity to experience Swiss watchmaking up close and to combine our engineering expertise with one of the oldest and most demanding industries in the world. For our team, it was an exciting challenge and a debut that allowed us to demonstrate our R&D capabilities in robotics and autonomous systems. Precision and tradition are the foundation of watchmaking – values that also shape our work at Dubai Future Labs,“ added Khalifa Al Qama, Executive Director at Dubai Future Labs (DFF).
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