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1 of 24 Credit: Leonardo Robot image by Eric Möller, public domain

Leonardo's Automaton

The term "robot" didn't surface in general usage until the 1920s. But as far back as the late 15th century, there is evidence of an automaton. Leonardo da Vinci designed an automaton that made similar motions to humans by walking, sitting down and raising its arms, according to Leonardo-da-vinci-biography.com. Operated entirely by cranks and pulleys, it is thought that da Vinci spun a crank to make a suit of knight's armour move. This photo is a replica built based on his papers.