How did Joseph Jacquard's 1801 loom use punched cards for feedforward control?

Joseph Jacquard’s 1801 loom utilized punched cards as a form of feedforward control by pre-programming the weaving process. In this system, the cards acted as a set of instructions that dictated the machine's operations without requiring feedback from the process itself to make corrections.1

The mechanism functioned through a series of needles connected to hooks that controlled the warp yarns. As a perforated card moved into position on a cylinder, the needles passed through the holes, allowing specific warps to be raised to form the pattern. Where no holes existed, the needles were pushed back, preventing those specific hooks from engaging with the lifting mechanism. Because each card corresponded to a single throw of the shuttle, the sequence of cards automatically executed the desired design. This approach established a foundational method for automation, as the machine strictly followed the predetermined input rather than adjusting its output based on real-time performance data.231