What type of robot did Leonardo da Vinci design as a seated mechanical figure?

Leonardo da Vinci designed a humanoid robot as a seated mechanical figure in armor.

Leonardo’s robot is reconstructed from notes and drawings dated to about 1495. The mechanism was designed to sit inside a suit of German-Italian medieval armor and use cables and pulleys to perform human-like movements, including raising its arms and moving its head and jaw.

The machine was probably intended for a court entertainment or theatrical display rather than practical labor. Unlike a modern autonomous robot, it would have followed mechanical motions built into its internal system and had no electronic sensors, computer, or artificial intelligence.

The design was identified in the 20th century through study of Leonardo’s Codex Atlanticus. A full-scale reconstruction was built in 2002 by roboticist Mark Rosheim. The term “robot” is modern, so “humanoid robot” describes the form and function retrospectively rather than a word Leonardo himself used.