What human-shaped machine did Leonardo da Vinci draw around 1495 as a knight in armor?

Leonardo da Vinci drew a mechanical knight around 1495 as a human-shaped machine in armor.

The device was designed to sit, stand, raise its arms, and move its head and jaw through an internal system of pulleys, cables, and gears. Leonardo concealed the mechanism inside a suit of armor, making the machine resemble a living armored knight when operated.

The drawing was part of Leonardo’s work for the court of Ludovico Sforza in Milan. Court entertainments often used elaborate mechanical effects, and the machine may have been intended for a spectacle rather than military use. No contemporary account proves that the original automaton was completed or publicly demonstrated.

Modern researchers reconstructed the design from Leonardo’s notes and found that the mechanism could plausibly perform its basic movements. The machine is commonly called Leonardo’s robot, but “robot” is a modern term; the historical concept was an automaton powered by mechanical motion.