While the term robot entered the English language in 1923, the concept of a robot existed before that time. One of the earliest was designed by Leonardo da Vinci around 1495. His designs were documented in a notebook, and lost to history. It was never known if he ever built it. In the 1950s the notebook was discovered and an effort was made to construct the robot as true to the original design as possible. The robot's design allowed it to to perform several human-like motions including sitting up, moving arms, neck and jaw.
The reconstructed robot is now on display in Berlin. Mario Toddei has written a book about the robot, which includes some new information about the construction of the robot.
-Professor Walter
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