500 Years After Leonardo da Vinci Machines: Towards Innovation and Control

The book focuses on the role of the Leonardo da Vinci projects and inventions, specifically the interdisciplinarity of his studies that represents perhaps the first example of the paradigm of complex systems engineering. The projects are characterized within a modern conception of his thinking, looking at the main motivations behind his machines. The book also proposes a set of experimental realizations of the models made mainly in wood, using the actual concept of automatic control and microcontroller technology emphasizing that the Leonardo machines can be seen in agreement with modern current technology.

The remote control of each machine is considered and the behavior of each monitored. Machines are revisited based on the transmission principle that adopts microcontrollers and bluetooth devices, studying the equipment behind the actuation of the systems. Thus, the paradigm of each machine is maintained unaltered while the latest technologies show the relevance of such inventions in the modern era. The study also stimulated more applications and future projects that can start from the original Leonardo projects and then proceed to the next centuries, providing readers simple and efficient ideas to innovate his projects using modern low-cost microcontrollers.

Readership: Students and researchers interested in complex systems and the history of science.