What mechanical knight did Leonardo da Vinci design for a 1495 Milan spectacle?

Leonardo da Vinci designed a mechanical knight, now called Leonardo’s robot, for a 1495 Milan spectacle.

The machine was built as a suit of armor containing a system of gears, cables, and pulleys. According to reconstructions based on Leonardo’s drawings, it could sit, stand, raise its arms, and move its head and jaw. Leonardo likely created it for a celebration organized by Ludovico Sforza, the Duke of Milan.

No original robot survives, and the precise performance of the historical machine is uncertain. Its design was rediscovered in the Codex Madrid I, which was published and studied in the twentieth century. In 2002, roboticist Mark Rosheim constructed a working interpretation of the plans.

The machine is often described as a humanoid robot, but it was a mechanical automaton rather than an electronic robot. Its operation depended entirely on Renaissance mechanical technology and stored motion in its internal mechanisms.