What self-moving vehicle did Leonardo da Vinci design with spring-powered mechanisms?

Leonardo da Vinci designed a self-propelled cart powered by spring-driven mechanisms.

The cart appears in drawings from the late 15th century and is often described as an early programmable vehicle. Coiled springs supplied energy, while a system of gears and cams controlled the wheels. By arranging the internal components, an operator could set the cart to follow a predetermined path rather than requiring a driver to push it.

The vehicle was probably intended for theatrical display or court entertainment rather than transportation. Its design has sometimes been called the world’s first automobile, but that label can mislead readers because Leonardo’s cart was not powered by an engine and was not developed for road travel. It was a mechanical automaton with limited motion.

In 2006, researchers at the Institute and Museum of the History of Science in Florence built a working reconstruction based on Leonardo’s drawings. The reconstruction showed that the mechanism could operate, although interpretations of the original design remain necessary because the surviving sketches do not provide every construction detail.