Leonardo da Vinci was an Italian polymath painter, sculptor, architect, musician, scientist, mathematician, engineer, inventor, anatomist, geologist, botanist and writer. Leonardo has often been described as the archetype of the Renaissance man, a man whose unquenchable curiosity was equaled only by his powers of invention. He is widely considered to be one of the greatest painters of all time and perhaps the most diversely talented person ever to have lived.

Leonardo was also revered for his technological ingenuity. He conceptualized, among many others, a helicopter, a tank, a paddleboat, a self-propelling cart, concentrated solar power, a calculator, the double hull and outlined a rudimentary theory of plate tectonics. Relatively few of his designs were constructed or were even feasible during his lifetime, but some of his smaller inventions, such as an automated bobbin winder and a machine for testing the tensile strength of wire, entered the world of manufacturing unheralded. As a scientist, he greatly advanced the state of knowledge in the fields of anatomy, civil engineering, optics, and hydrodynamics.

Da Vinci Machines Series
Self-propelling cart
• Adopted power equipment unit designed by Leonardo da Vinci
• Spring powered cart, possibly the first robot in history, probably designed to bring self-moving characters on the stage in theatrical productions

click image for larger view