Kawasaki unveils a hydrogen-powered, ride-on robot horse

Kawasaki Heavy Industries has pulled the covers off perhaps the most outrageous concept vehicle we've ever seen. The Corleo is a two-seater quadruped robot you steer with your body, capable of picking its way through rough terrain thanks to AI vision.

I mean look, sure, you could go buy yourself a horse. But some horses are very cheeky, and have you seen what comes out the back end of those things? All that'll come out the back of the Corleo robot is fresh, clean water as a combustion product from its clean-burning, 150cc, hydrogen-fueled generator engine. Possibly chilled water, from an underslung dispenser – that'd be nice on a mountain picnic.

This is the latest concept vehicle from Kawasaki Heavy Industries – not the motorcycle division specifically, and I'm OK with that. I think the parent company would be wise to keep this machine far from any "Ninja" stickers that might give its AI brain the idea that it should learn martial arts.

Unveiled at a preview for the Osaka Kansai Expo (on April 4, not April 1 - and yes, we checked), the Corleo is powered by hydrogen fuel cells, as all good Japanese concepts should be, and it appears electrically actuated. Its rear legs appear to have an additional joint in them for improved impact resistance – and also presumably to fling riders off the back, stand up, and take up arms when the robot wars begin.

Its bifurcated "hooves" have grippy rubber treads. The adjustable-length stirrups will suit a wide range of riders, holding onto a rudimentary handlebar and sitting on a floating seat unit long enough to take a passenger, and capable of moving independently from the robot's ... butt joints.

There's a wind-deflecting screen, which would only make sense if this thing's designed to gallop at north of 50 miles an hour (80 km/h), and behind that, a dinky little full-color dash.

As you can see in the videos, it would seem the Corleo is designed for hot 'n' heavy off-roading, including a cat-like ability to leap from rock to rock and sprint across uneven terrain. Its AI brain carefully analyzes the potential footfalls ahead and chooses the safest options, while responding to body language from the rider as its primary control input. At night time, it's apparently also going to highlight the path forward with a series of little arrows, so you know what it's planning to do.

It is very much designed to be a robot horsie, free from all the rude noises and genuine, warm cross-species friendship.

It is also – and don't let anyone fool you here – absolute codswallop. The video is pure CGI, and even as a concept, this is as blue-sky as they come. KHI has produced a prototype that's capable of standing and posing, and says it's an idea for a 2050 mobility project. Personally I'm not willing to bet that Japan itself still exists by 2050, what with its disturbingly ergonomic-looking projected population pyramid – let alone Kawasaki's robot horsie.

Which is not to say that ride-on quadrupeds aren't going to be a thing. They're already a thing. XPeng showed off a rideable Unicorn it's built for kids in Bangkok last year, complete with a robotic arm for a tail capable of picking up six-pound (3-kg) objects. At the rate quadrupeds are advancing lately, we wouldn't put a two-seater out of reach for 2030.

But it's not this one. Kawasaki's vision of a high-speed, chasm-leaping all-terrain monster takes things a little too far. You'd want to be Velcroed into your seat for some of these jumps, or risk somersaulting over the 'bars and getting stomped by your own hydrogen horse. Still, it's a lot of fun, and kudos to Kawasaki for that! Jump into the gallery for more images.

Source: Kawasaki Heavy Industries

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