Kawasaki Shows Off Concept for Rideable Horse Robot

Clop! Clop!

No Time to Explain

Kawasaki Heavy Industries has shown off a bizarre concept for a ridable, four-legged robotic "horse," dubbed Corleo, that runs on a 150cc hydrogen engine.

According to the firm, the horse — which looks more like a gigantic wolf, in our opinion — could traverse uneven terrain thanks to its four independently moving limbs. A wild, almost entirely CGI video shows off what such a creature might one day be capable of, from climbing mountains to leaping over icy crevasses.

However, it remains to be seen whether Corleo will ever roam free, especially with the degree of agility seen in the video.

By all indications, the project is almost pure vaporware. We haven't even seen a rider actually take it for a spin yet, indicating the contraption is far more hype than reality.

And that's a real bummer, considering how fun it'd be to gallop around on a futuristic metal horse.

 

Hop On, Hop Off

Kawasaki Heavy Industries unveiled the concept at the Osaka Kansai Expo, which kicked off last week. A full-scale model can be seen lightly stretching its legs on the show floor — but not frolicking free like something out of the "Horizon" video game series.

While Corleo is mostly fictional at this point, we've already seen other companies try to turn a ridable, four-legged robot into a reality. Robotics company Xiaopeng Motors, for instance, showed off a ridable "unicorn" for children last year.

We've also come across a giant, minivan-sized, rhinoceros-like four-legged walking robot that can carry up to four passengers.

Apart from Corleo, Kawasaki Heavy Industries also showed off a concept for a futuristic modular train passenger system, dubbed ALICE, which the company claims could eliminate congestion and enhance travel efficiency.

Meanwhile, users on the r/motorcycles subreddit weren't impressed with Kawasaki's latest, four-legged invention.

"Looks like a late April Fool's day joke," one user wrote.

More on walking robots: China Is Hosting The World’s First Foot Race Between Humans and Robots