What name is commonly given to Leonardo da Vinci’s wooden vehicle that moved without being pushed?

Leonardo da Vinci’s wooden vehicle that moved without being pushed is commonly called the self-propelled cart.

Leonardo designed the cart around 1500, and drawings in the Codex Atlanticus show a vehicle powered by coiled springs. When the springs were wound, they could release energy through a system of gears and drive the wheels. Steering could be set in advance, allowing the cart to follow a predetermined path.

The cart was probably intended for theatrical or ceremonial use rather than transportation. Some historians have suggested that it may have been planned for stage effects at court events, where a moving mechanical object could surprise spectators.

It is sometimes described as the world’s first robot or automobile, but those labels require caution. The machine was autonomous only in a limited, preprogrammed sense, and surviving drawings do not prove that Leonardo completed a full working vehicle.