Drawmaton is a Da Vinci-inspired programmable wooden robot that can draw

Think you’re a bit of a retro-computing nut because you’ve got a dusty ZX Spectrum in a drawer? Amateur. With Drawmaton (from $99), tech goes all the way back to the Renaissance. This oddball sort-of computer comprises gears, an arm that draws, and wooden discs called ‘petalos’ that drive the scribbles the system makes. According to the creator, it’s all based on drawings found in Da Vinci’s Codex Atlanticus, and is therefore a recreation of the world’s first programmable computer. To be fair, given that it’s 500-year-old tech, you can’t fire up Jet Set Willy on the thing; but there are at least plans to unleash an app that allows you to expand your one-armed robot’s capabilities, by way of your own scribbles that can be converted into home-made custom petalos.