What type of knight did Leonardo da Vinci design as an early robot?

Leonardo da Vinci designed a mechanical knight, often regarded as an early humanoid robot. The machine was intended to sit, stand, raise its arms, and move its head and jaw through a system of cables and pulleys.

Leonardo developed the concept around 1495 while working on theatrical and court projects for Ludovico Sforza in Milan. The armor-like exterior made the machine resemble a medieval knight, while the internal mechanism translated motion from a crank into coordinated movements.

The original device was not known to survive, so the design was reconstructed from Leonardo’s notebooks and related drawings. In 2002, roboticist Mark Rosheim built a working reconstruction. The machine is not an electronic robot: it is a mechanical automaton powered by gears, cables, and manual motion.