Jean Nimal will be interested to know that the original automaton
"Antonio Diavolo" was rescued by the magician and magic designer
John Gaughan sometime in the early 1980's, and for a few years appeared
very occasionally on television performing the original Antonio Diavolo
routine.  The replica, "Dante the Daring", is a very close copy and
appears to work in exactly the same way as Robert-Houdin's original.
No video trickery is required as the original also did the same 'hands
off the bar' trick.

John Gaughan, with Jim Steinmeyer, published a small limited edition
booklet showing the details of his restoration, including photographs
which show exactly how the automaton operates.  From these photos one
can ascertain how the 'hands off the bar' trick works.  Anyone
interested in the works of Robert Houdin should seek out a copy of this
booklet.  It was published in 1986 but was limited to 500 copies only.
I will not spoil the secret by telling you how Antonio Diavolo works.

John Gaughan was also involved in the restoration of another automaton
of the period.  This was John Nevil Maskelyne's 'Psycho', although to
be correct the 'Psycho' that John restored was a contemporary copy of
Maskelyne's made by the American magician Heinrich Keller.

Psycho comprises a seated magician who will choose cards from a row
presented to him by the human magician.  He is able to choose the
correct card for the trick in hand.  Psycho is totally mechanical and
is isolated from any external influence by being seated on top of
a clear glass tube in the centre of the stage.  The secrets of this
automaton are revealed in another book by Gaughan and Steinmeyer, The
Mystery of Psycho, 1987.  As with Antonio Diavolo, John Gaughan and
Psycho appeared very occasionally on television in the late 1980's.

I have not seen either automaton on television for at least 20 years.
Unfortunately, here in Great Britain the television companies do not
currently consider magic to be valid form of entertainment.

Best regards,
Nicholas Simons, GB