Da Vinci designed a mechanical knight known as Leonardo’s robot

Leonardo da Vinci created and maybe built what is now known as Leonardo's robot or Leonardo's mechanical knight around the year 1495. The knight was to be powered by an external mechanical crank and use cables and pulleys to sit, stand, turn its head, cross its arms, and even lift up its metal visor, according to Da Vinci's designs of the major components. Despite the lack of a complete picture of the automation, NASA roboticist Mark Rosheim used Da Vinci's fragmentary notes and sketches to develop a completely functional knight in 2002, implying that Leonardo may have been a robotics pioneer.

Leonardo da Vinci is well-known for his significant anatomical research. He even dissected cadavers and drew detailed inside pictures of them. As a result, he gained a comprehensive knowledge of the human body. He figured out that the muscles were what allowed the bones and joints to move.

He made sure his mechanical knight was anatomically accurate when he designed it. The knight's limbs and joints are proportioned according to the Canon of Proportions, as Leonardo highlighted in the Vitruvian Man. He also attempted to incorporate the way human muscles functioned into the design.