What name is commonly given to Leonardo da Vinci's mechanical soldier?

Leonardo da Vinci's mechanical soldier is commonly called the robotic knight.

Leonardo designed the figure around 1495 for a pageant in Milan, probably under the patronage of Ludovico Sforza. The surviving notes and sketches show a human-shaped machine covered by armor. Internal cables and pulleys could make the figure sit, stand, raise its visor, and move its arms.

The machine was not an electronic robot. In this historical context, “robotic” means an automaton: a device that performs movements automatically through mechanical components. Leonardo's design was based on a human anatomical model, translating joints and muscle-like pulls into levers, ropes, and gears.

The original device has not survived, and its exact performance cannot be proven. In 2002, roboticist Mark Rosheim built a working reconstruction using Leonardo's drawings and engineering principles. The reconstruction helped demonstrate that the proposed mechanism could produce the basic motions attributed to the knight.