What type of robot did Leonardo da Vinci design in Milan around 1495?

Leonardo da Vinci designed a humanoid robot in Milan around 1495. The mechanical figure was shaped like an armored knight and was intended to perform human-like movements.

Leonardo’s notes and drawings show a seated figure with mechanical systems that could move the jaw, arms, and head. The design used pulleys, cables, and gears operated by a crank. It may have been intended for a court pageant or entertainment at the Milanese court, rather than for independent decision-making.

The robot was not an electronic machine and had no artificial intelligence. Its movements would have been mechanically programmed by the arrangement of its internal parts. In 2002, roboticist Mark Rosheim built a working reconstruction based on Leonardo’s drawings, helping demonstrate how the proposed mechanism might have operated.