What self-moving vehicle did Leonardo da Vinci design using a clockwork mechanism?

Leonardo da Vinci designed a self-propelled cart using a clockwork mechanism. The vehicle is often regarded as an early ancestor of the automobile and programmable mechanical devices.

Leonardo’s drawings from the late fifteenth century show a three-wheeled cart powered by coiled springs. Its front wheel could be guided, while a complex system of gears and cams controlled movement. The mechanism appears to have been intended to travel along a predetermined route rather than respond to a driver.

The cart is sometimes called Leonardo’s robot because its programmed motion resembles the behavior of an automaton. It should not be confused with his humanoid mechanical knight, which was a separate design reconstructed from Leonardo’s notes.

In 2006, Italian researchers built a working replica based on the surviving drawings. The reconstruction demonstrated that the mechanism could move, though historical details about its original purpose remain uncertain.