What type of vehicle did Leonardo da Vinci design to move without a driver in 1478?

Leonardo da Vinci designed a self-propelled cart in 1478.

The compact vehicle used coiled springs to store energy, much like the springs in a clock. When released, the springs turned the cart’s wheels through a system of gears. A steering mechanism could make the cart follow a predetermined path, allowing it to move without a driver sitting inside.

Leonardo probably imagined the machine as a theatrical device or a spectacular presentation object rather than as a practical automobile. Renaissance court events often used elaborate mechanical effects, and an automatically moving cart could have carried scenery or a performer.

The cart is sometimes called an early robot or the first automobile, but both descriptions need care. It had no engine, brakes, or modern steering system, and the surviving drawing is incomplete. A reconstruction displayed at the 2006 Florence exhibition demonstrated that the basic mechanism could operate.