Which Leonardo da Vinci machine used a wooden platform and gears to move without being pushed?

Leonardo da Vinci’s self-propelled cart used a wooden platform and gears to move without being pushed.

Leonardo designed the cart around 1478–1480. Two large springs stored energy, and a system of gears transferred that energy to the wheels. Steering could be set before movement, allowing the cart to follow a predetermined route rather than being guided continuously by a driver.

The cart was probably conceived as a theatrical or ceremonial device. Some modern reconstructions have shown that the mechanism can operate when built closely from Leonardo’s surviving drawings, although the exact original purpose is not certain.

It is sometimes called a robotic cart or an early automobile, but those labels can mislead. It had no engine, combustion system, or modern controls. Its importance lies in its programmable motion and stored mechanical energy, not in being a direct car prototype.