Which Leonardo da Vinci invention is often considered an early programmable vehicle?

Leonardo da Vinci’s self-propelled cart is often considered an early programmable vehicle.

The cart was designed around springs that stored energy and released it through mechanisms connected to the wheels. Adjustable blocks determined how far the wheels turned, allowing the vehicle to follow a planned route rather than simply roll freely.

Leonardo drew the machine around 1478–1480. It may have been intended for theatrical performances or court celebrations, where a moving mechanical object could surprise an audience. The design was rediscovered in his notebooks centuries later.

The cart is sometimes called a precursor of the automobile, but it was not a motor car in the modern sense. It had no combustion engine and relied on wound springs. Its programmable steering mechanism is the feature that makes it especially important in the history of robotics and automation.