Da Vinci's Robot Lions

Have a long time interest in Leonardo Da Vinci, and came upon some of his work in 'Robotics'.  He was a person well ahead of his time with the concept, but sadly had little of the technology to support it.  Will we soon be in an area of true 'Mechanical Lions?  Here an article with illustrations of his concepts.  Check out the CACM article with much more:

Leonardo da Vinci's Robot Lion     By Herbert Bruderer 

In 2019, we are celebrating the 500th anniversary of Leonardo's da Vinci's death. For four months, from 24 October 2019 to 24 February 2020, the Louvre Museum in Paris honors the Renaissance painter in a major exhibition.

Da Vinci was not only an artist, but also an engineer. His models can be found in Italy (Florence 1, Florence 2, Milan 1, Milan 2, Vinci), France (Amboise) and the U.S.A. (New York).

The polymath also designed several robots: a mechanical knight (1495), a mechanical lion (1515) and a self-propelled cart (1478). Of these, he actually built at least the artificial animal (see Figures 1–5). A single spring controlled several movements. The animal took a few steps, sat on its hind legs and moved its tail. Then the lion opened its chest and showed a bouquet of flowers. Lilies adorned the Medici coats of arms. Leonardo is said to have developed the artificial creature for the visit of the French king to Milan. Unfortunately, little is known about these mechanical automatons.  .... "