What mechanical automaton did Leonardo da Vinci build in the form of a medieval armored knight?

Leonardo da Vinci built a mechanical automaton in the form of a medieval armored knight.

The machine is known as Leonardo’s robot or Leonardo’s mechanical knight. Leonardo designed it around 1495, probably for a spectacle at the court of Ludovico Sforza in Milan. The internal mechanism used cables, pulleys, and gears to produce human-like movements such as sitting, standing, and moving its arms.

No complete original robot is known to have survived. Knowledge of the design comes mainly from Leonardo’s notebooks, especially drawings and notes that were studied by modern researchers. In 2002, roboticist Mark Rosheim constructed a working model based on Leonardo’s plans.

The robot was not an electronic machine and had no artificial intelligence. It was a clockwork-style automaton operated by mechanical components. Calling it a robot uses a modern term for a Renaissance invention, but the design is an important early example of programmable-looking mechanical motion.