What Leonardo da Vinci invention was designed to move without a horse?

Leonardo da Vinci designed a self-propelled cart intended to move without a horse.

The cart appears in drawings from around 1478 to 1480. It used coiled springs for stored power, while a system of gears controlled the release of that energy. The front wheels could be set to follow a programmed path, making the machine an early example of a programmable or autonomous mechanism.

Leonardo may have intended the device for theatrical performances, court spectacles, or ceremonial events rather than transport. It was not powered by an engine in the modern sense, and its limited spring energy would have restricted its distance and load.

The cart is sometimes described as a robot, but that label can mislead. It did not think or sense its surroundings; its actions were mechanically predetermined. In 2006, researchers at the Museo Galileo in Florence built a working replica based on Leonardo’s drawings, supporting the feasibility of the mechanism.