At the end of the credits there is a rendition of Daisy Bell, a nod to the first song ever performed with speech synthesis on a computer.
The protagonist's name "Jacq Vaucan" is probably a reference to "Jacques de Vaucanson," an 18th century inventor famous for his creation of intricate clockwork automata.
Cleo, the feminine blue-haired robot who helps Vaucan in his search for the mysterious "clocksmith" that repair robots, is voiced uncredited by Melanie Griffith.
The word "Automata" is a plural of "Automaton" which comes from the Greek word "Automatos" meaning "self-acting" or "acting on its own", which was in use as early as ancient Greece. Modern words like "Automatic" (in use since 18-th century) and "Automation" (in use only from 1940's) are of the same origins.
The rendition of Daisy Bell is reminiscent of the song sung by HAL, as he was being shut down in Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey.