What was Leonardo da Vinci’s wheeled vehicle, often called the first robot car, called?
Answer
Self-propelled cart
Leonardo da Vinci’s wheeled vehicle, often called the first robot car, was a self-propelled cart.
Leonardo designed the cart in the late 15th century, probably for theatrical performances or court spectacles. Springs stored energy and drove the wheels through a system of gears. The steering mechanism could be preset, allowing the cart to follow a planned path without a driver sitting inside it.
The surviving drawing does not provide every construction detail, so modern reconstructions have helped researchers test how the mechanism may have worked. The cart was not an automobile in the modern sense: it had no internal-combustion engine, fuel system, or independent steering.
Its importance lies in programmable mechanical motion. Because its movement could be arranged in advance, the cart is also discussed as an early automaton. The phrase “first robot car” is a modern description, not Leonardo’s own name for it.