What Leonardo da Vinci vehicle used a clockwork mechanism to move without being pushed?
Answer
Self-propelled cart
Leonardo da Vinci’s self-propelled cart used a clockwork mechanism to move without being pushed.
Leonardo designed the cart in the late fifteenth century, probably around 1478–1480. Its spring-powered mechanism was concealed inside the vehicle, and programmed drums controlled the movement of the wheels. The cart could therefore travel automatically for a limited distance rather than requiring a person or animal to pull it.
The machine is sometimes called Leonardo’s automobile, but that modern label can mislead. It had no engine, fuel system, steering wheel, or road-going body like a modern car. Its likely uses included theatrical displays and court entertainments, where an apparently moving object could surprise an audience.
A full-scale reconstruction was built in 2006 by the Istituto e Museo di Storia della Scienza in Florence, now the Museo Galileo. Reconstructions have also shown that the cart’s springs and control drums can produce the intended motion when made according to the surviving drawings.