Leonardo's robot

[8] Though no complete drawings of the automaton survived, Leonardo’s notes suggest he may have constructed a prototype around 1495, while he was under the patronage of Ludovico Sforza, the Duke of Milan.

[1] Leonardo’s initial studies in anatomy and kinesiology, as recorded in his Codex Huygens, may have informed his desire to design an automated device.

[2] The principles of his humanoid robot can be found among a set of folios composed of anatomical sketches that are believed to follow his Vitruvian Canon of Proportions.

[10] The mechanical lion was displayed in many public venues including the wedding of Maria de Medici and at the arrival of the French King Francis I in Lyon in 1515.

[11] Around the 1950s, researcher Carlo Pedretti discovered sketchbooks containing Leonardo’s notes on the mechanical knight, with numerous fragmented sketches and design details scattered across various pages.

[2] After meeting Pedretti in 1993, roboticist Mark Rosheim collaborated with him to piece together the fragmented sketches and develop a CAD reconstruction of the robot.

[14] It is believed that the robotic-assisted surgical system was named after Leonardo da Vinci as an homage to his contributions to the fields of human anatomy, mechanics, and automation.