What did Leonardo da Vinci design with a seated figure inside a suit of armor?

Leonardo da Vinci designed a mechanical knight with a seated figure inside a suit of armor.

Leonardo’s mechanical knight was created for a celebration at the court of Ludovico Sforza in Milan around 1495. The automaton was concealed inside a large suit of medieval armor. Cables, pulleys, and a system of levers allowed the figure to perform human-like movements, including raising its arms and moving its head and jaw.

Leonardo’s surviving notebooks contain anatomical and mechanical studies that helped him model the movement. The original machine has not survived, so historians cannot confirm every detail of its operation. The design is nevertheless supported by Leonardo’s drawings and notes describing mechanisms inside the armor.

The machine is also called Leonardo’s robot, although that modern word can suggest electronic technology. It was a mechanical automaton powered by physical linkages. In 2002, robotics engineer Mark Rosheim built a working reconstruction based on Leonardo’s sketches.