Well, the Jacquard Loom (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacquard_loom) was a massive weaving loom capable of producing highly sought-after intricate patterns in silk at impressive even-by-todays-standards speeds.

It was one of the first programmable things of any kind, and its punch card approach inspired Babbage (who was a contemporary - yes this was programming, industrial style in 1815)