What clockwork vehicle did Leonardo da Vinci design to move without being pushed by a person or animal?

Leonardo da Vinci designed a clockwork vehicle called a self-propelled cart to move without being pushed by a person or animal.

Leonardo’s cart, drawn in the late fifteenth century, used coiled springs to store energy. As the springs unwound, gears transferred motion to the wheels. Steering could be programmed through a system of pegs, making the machine an early example of a programmable mechanical device.

The cart was probably intended for theatrical performances or court festivities rather than transportation. It was compact, could travel only a limited distance, and would have required careful preparation before moving. It also had no combustion engine, battery, or modern control system.

A full-size reconstruction was made in the early twenty-first century using Leonardo’s drawings. The machine is sometimes called a robot because it could perform a preset movement without continuous human control, but it was not an autonomous robot in the modern electronic sense.