Leonardo da Vinci’s seated mechanical figure designed to move like a knight was the robotic knight.
Leonardo designed the mechanical knight around 1495 for a festival in Milan organized under the patronage of Ludovico Sforza. The figure wore armor and was designed with internal gears, pulleys, and cables that could make movements such as sitting, standing, and moving its arms. The surviving notes and drawings reveal Leonardo’s interest in translating human anatomy into mechanical linkages.
No original robot survives, and historians cannot confirm exactly how far the completed mechanism operated. In 2002, engineer Mark Rosheim built a working model based on Leonardo’s plans and reported that the reconstruction could perform the intended basic movements.
The robotic knight is often called a humanoid robot, but that modern term should not imply electronic control or artificial intelligence. Leonardo’s machine was a clockwork-style automaton powered by mechanical components.