Leonardo da Vinci designed a human-shaped robot knight for a Milanese court ceremony.
The machine was developed around 1495 while Leonardo worked for Ludovico Sforza in Milan. Its armor was based on a German-Italian medieval knight and concealed a system of pulleys, cables, and levers. The mechanism could reportedly make human-like movements such as sitting, standing, and moving its arms.
No original robot survives, and contemporary records do not provide a complete description of a performance. For that reason, historians generally treat the reconstruction as an informed interpretation of Leonardo’s technical drawings rather than a fully documented historical demonstration.
In 2002, roboticist Mark Rosheim built a working model from Leonardo’s notes and sketches. The project helped show that the design’s mechanical principles were plausible, although it should not be confused with a programmable electronic robot.