Da Vinci and robotics
Leonardo da Vinci is famous for his painting "Mona Lisa" as well as being a main character in Ubisoft's popular videogames franchise Assassin's Creed, but why is da Vinci a big name in robotics?
As is turns out, da Vinci was an innovative thinker and applied his artistic skills to creating designs for inventions. Among these inventions is what historians and scientists consider to be the first robot ever made. While this robot did not light up and shoot missiles out of it's finger tips, it did have the capability to walk, stand, sit, crouch, and open it's "mouth." Da Vinci's robot was a suit of armor that he made himself that he could manipulate without actually being inside of the suit. It was his ability to make it perform a function that is the factor that scientists consider the reason that it is a "robot."
Sadly, this robot was lost in time, and only writings and sketches remain. Along with this armor invention, there were other such as his flying machines that never "got off the ground" so to speak and remained in the concept phase because of how against the norm they were for their time.
Leonardo da Vinci was also known for his artistic ability, especially his drawings. He would spend hours studying birds, for example, to get their anatomy correct and accurately represent their shape and nature in his drawings. Da Vinci would loot cadavers for their organs and draw those as well. he was one of the first medical artists to accurately depict organs in a three dimensional fashion.
It was this love of medical knowledge that allowed his legacy to live on through the da Vinci Surgical System; robotic surgery equipment used to perform minimally invasive surgery on patients. The surgeon controls the four armed robot by using a hyper-sensitive remote control, using only a few fingers!
While not every hospital in every town can afford one of these machines, costing about $1.3 million initially as well as upkeep, it is still an incredibly innovative and effective demonstration of the evolution of robotics working towards the greater cause of helping others rather than terrifying them.
As is turns out, da Vinci was an innovative thinker and applied his artistic skills to creating designs for inventions. Among these inventions is what historians and scientists consider to be the first robot ever made. While this robot did not light up and shoot missiles out of it's finger tips, it did have the capability to walk, stand, sit, crouch, and open it's "mouth." Da Vinci's robot was a suit of armor that he made himself that he could manipulate without actually being inside of the suit. It was his ability to make it perform a function that is the factor that scientists consider the reason that it is a "robot."
Sadly, this robot was lost in time, and only writings and sketches remain. Along with this armor invention, there were other such as his flying machines that never "got off the ground" so to speak and remained in the concept phase because of how against the norm they were for their time.
Leonardo da Vinci was also known for his artistic ability, especially his drawings. He would spend hours studying birds, for example, to get their anatomy correct and accurately represent their shape and nature in his drawings. Da Vinci would loot cadavers for their organs and draw those as well. he was one of the first medical artists to accurately depict organs in a three dimensional fashion.
It was this love of medical knowledge that allowed his legacy to live on through the da Vinci Surgical System; robotic surgery equipment used to perform minimally invasive surgery on patients. The surgeon controls the four armed robot by using a hyper-sensitive remote control, using only a few fingers!
While not every hospital in every town can afford one of these machines, costing about $1.3 million initially as well as upkeep, it is still an incredibly innovative and effective demonstration of the evolution of robotics working towards the greater cause of helping others rather than terrifying them.