What Leonardo da Vinci device is regarded as an early self-propelled vehicle?

Leonardo da Vinci’s self-propelled cart is regarded as an early self-propelled vehicle.

Leonardo designed the cart in the late fifteenth century, probably for theatrical performances or court pageants. Hidden springs powered the wheels, while a programmable steering system made the cart follow a predetermined path. Because its mechanism was concealed, the vehicle could appear to move by itself in front of an audience.

The cart was not an automobile in the modern sense: it carried no engine, fuel system, or driver. Its motion came from wound springs, and its route was mechanically limited. In 2006, researchers at the Museo Galileo in Florence built a full-scale working model based on Leonardo’s drawings. The reconstruction demonstrated that the design could operate, although interpreting incomplete historical drawings required careful engineering. It is often called a robot or automaton, but “self-propelled cart” describes the invention most precisely.