What was the name of Leonardo da Vinci’s mechanical knight that could move its arms?

Leonardo da Vinci’s mechanical knight is known as Leonardo’s robot. He designed the humanoid automaton for a Milanese celebration in 1495, and its internal mechanisms could reportedly make movements such as raising its arms.

The machine was concealed inside a suit of armor. Cables, pulleys, gears, and a supporting frame translated the motion of an operator or mechanism into movements of the knight’s limbs. Leonardo’s surviving drawings reveal the mechanical principles, although they do not provide a complete construction manual.

The robot is sometimes called the first humanoid robot. That label is modern and should be understood as a comparison, not evidence that Leonardo built a programmable electronic machine. It was a mechanical automaton, powered by Renaissance technology.

In 2002, Mark Rosheim built a working reconstruction based on Leonardo’s notes and drawings. The reconstruction helped demonstrate that the design could perform several simple movements.