What self-moving cart did Leonardo da Vinci design with programmable pegs and coiled springs?

Leonardo da Vinci designed a self-propelled cart powered by coiled springs and controlled by programmable pegs.

The cart is described in Leonardo’s drawings from around 1478 to 1480. Its springs stored mechanical energy, while a system of gears transferred that energy to the wheels. Pegs on a control mechanism could determine the cart’s route, allowing it to turn or follow a preset movement.

The design is sometimes called the first automobile, but that is misleading. It had no combustion engine and was not intended for ordinary road transport. It was a clockwork machine, closer to an elaborate mechanical stage device or autonomous theatrical prop than to a modern car.

A full-scale reconstruction built in 2006 showed that the design could move when constructed according to Leonardo’s drawings. The cart is separate from Leonardo’s humanoid robot, another famous design involving gears and cables. Both demonstrate his interest in automation, but they were different machines with different purposes.