What name is given to Leonardo da Vinci’s self-propelled vehicle powered by coiled springs?

Leonardo da Vinci’s spring-powered vehicle is known as the self-propelled cart.

Leonardo designed the cart around 1478–1480. Two large springs stored energy and drove the wheels through a system of gears. The front wheels could be programmed with shaped components, allowing the cart to follow a predetermined route rather than simply rolling straight ahead.

The machine was probably intended for theatrical performances or court spectacles. Because it moved without a person visibly pushing it, it could create the impression of an autonomous mechanical device. It was not an automobile in the modern sense: it had no engine, steering wheel, brakes, or passenger cabin.

Researchers reconstructed the cart in the twentieth century from Leonardo’s drawings. Some details remain debated because the original sketches are incomplete, but the spring-driven mechanism and programmable movement are central to the design. The cart is often called the first robot-like vehicle, although “self-propelled cart” is the safer historical description.