New York, NY -- (ReleaseWire) -- 11/20/2018 --The Leonardo da Vinci Robot Society is marking 500 years since da Vinci lived by announcing a working model of his early computer, which they have called Da Vinci's Drawmaton. The Drawmaton is a programmable, robotic arm that can draw an unlimited amount of pictures and is made from wood with only a few pieces of metal.

Da Vinci's Drawmaton is a recreation of Da Vinci's most famous robot, the mechanical knight, which could perform several tasks at once.

Enthusiasts can pledge for Da Vinci's Drawmaton on Kickstarter until December 20, 2018 at https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/695187529/da-vincis-drawmaton?ref=user_menu. The team is already over halfway to securing the funds they need to release the Drawmaton, with delivery planned for June 2019. Early Bird deals are available with prices starting from US $99. Backers can choose a kit which they assemble themselves at home, or a ready-assembled machine if they prefer.

Da Vinci's mechanical knight was, in fact, an early read-only, programmable computer which got its programming from interchangeable wooden discs called petalos. Da Vinci called them petalos because they reminded him of petals. The Leonardo da Vinci Robot Society has worked with Robert Sabuda, a world-famous mechanical engineering wizard, to recreate the mechanical knight in a format that will make it accessible to all in 2019, resulting in the Drawmaton.

Da Vinci's Drawmaton is available in three different designs: the first design resembles a traditional robot and has a robotic hand; the second is called The Gambler, and has a sinister skeleton with a bow tie, top-hat and skeletal hand; and the third is The Slayer which has a 10-layer, laser cut medallion of a dragon, and a hand that resembles a knight's gauntlet from the 16th century.

The machine is operated by hand as it would have been 500 years ago with the user turning a gear knob with their hand.

"2019 is the 500th anniversary of da Vinci's death," said a spokesperson for The Leonardo da Vinci Robot Society. " We have chosen to honor Da Vinci's memory and celebrate his life by bringing one of the Renaissance master's creations back to life. Since the Robot Knight was one of his best-known inventions, we decided to work with Robert Sabuda, also a huge da Vinci fan, to unlock the secrets of this machine and bring it into the 21st century."