What Leonardo da Vinci invention was designed to move automatically along a programmed route?

Leonardo da Vinci’s self-propelled cart was designed to move automatically along a programmed route.

Leonardo drew the cart in the Codex Atlanticus around 1478–1480. Springs supplied the stored energy, while a system of gears controlled the movement of the wheels. Pegs could be arranged to set the cart’s path, making the device an early example of programmable mechanical motion.

The cart was probably intended for theatrical or ceremonial use rather than transportation. Some reconstructions suggest that it could move forward and perform a turn, although the exact operation remains debated because Leonardo’s drawing does not answer every engineering question.

It is often described as an early robot or automobile, but both labels need care. The cart had no engine in the modern sense, carried no passengers, and was not designed as a road vehicle. Its importance lies in combining stored mechanical energy, gearing, and controlled motion in a compact machine.