What type of machine was Leonardo da Vinci’s famous mechanical knight?

Leonardo da Vinci’s famous mechanical knight was a humanoid automaton.

Leonardo designed the mechanical knight in 1495, probably for a pageant or celebration at the court of Ludovico Sforza in Milan. The machine was covered in medieval-style armor and was designed to perform human-like movements, including sitting, standing, and moving its arms.

The mechanism used cables, pulleys, and a system of gears operated by an internal crank. Leonardo's anatomical studies helped him think about how a human body could be represented mechanically, although the device was not a mechanical replica of human biology.

No original knight has survived. In 2002, roboticist Mark Rosheim built a working reconstruction from Leonardo's drawings and notes. The knight is often called a robot, but “humanoid automaton” is the more historically precise description for a Renaissance machine that performed programmed motions.