Book excerpt: What is a quantum machine? Can we say that lasers and transistors are quantum machines? After all, physicists advertise these devices as the two main spin-offs of the understanding of quantum physics. In a true quantum machine, the signal collective variables must themselves be treated as quantum operators. Other engineered quantum systems based on natural, rather than artificial, degrees of freedom can also qualify as quantum machines. This book provides the basic knowledge needed to understand and investigate the physics of these novel systems.