What was Leonardo da Vinci's mobile cart design intended to do without an animal pulling it?

Leonardo da Vinci's self-propelled cart was intended to move under its own power without an animal pulling it.

Leonardo designed the cart around 1478 to 1480. Its motion came from coiled springs hidden inside drum-like mechanisms, while a system of gears transferred the stored energy to the wheels. Steering could be set in advance through a programmable mechanism, making the cart an early example of mechanical automation.

The design was probably intended for theatrical performances or court spectacles rather than everyday transportation. It was not a motor vehicle in the modern sense: it had no combustion engine, battery, or continuous power source. The springs could provide only a limited amount of movement.

The cart is sometimes called the world's first robot or automobile, but those labels need qualification. It was a mechanical moving device and may have been capable of autonomous travel, yet no original working cart from Leonardo's time survives.