Leonardo da Vinci designed a self-propelled cart, a spring-powered vehicle often considered an early programmable machine. He drew it in the Codex Atlanticus, probably around 1478 to 1480, decades before the better-known mechanical figures associated with his name.
The cart used coiled springs to provide power. Its front wheels were connected to mechanisms that could be set in advance, allowing the vehicle to follow a predetermined route. This feature made it useful for theatrical displays, where it might emerge onstage carrying scenery or a symbolic figure.
The cart was not controlled by a driver and did not use an engine. Its movement depended on stored mechanical energy and adjustable control elements. Because the original drawing is incomplete in places, modern reconstructions have tested different interpretations of the mechanism.
The design is sometimes called Leonardo’s robot, but that label can mislead. It was a moving automaton or programmable cart, not a humanoid robot capable of independent decision-making.