Rideable Horse Robot Viral Video: The Real Story Behind It

If you’ve ever watched a video featuring a Boston Dynamics Spot robot dog and wanted to saddle it up and ride it, then Kawasaki has a concept robot that’ll make your heart flutter — and it’s part horse, part leopard, part robot and all wild. Too bad you can’t actually buy one.

The Kawasaki Corleo is a four-legged rideable robot, the answer to the question: “What if we put legs on an all-terrain vehicle instead of wheels?” Kawasaki released a video showing what the concept would look like if it were fully realized. 

The trippy video features the Corleo and riders galloping through a forest, running across a field, leaping over rocky terrain and trotting across a snowy landscape. The video appears to be primarily computer generated with Lord of the Rings-worthy scenery.

Kawasaki is known for its motorcycles and ATVs, but the international company has its hands in everything from railcars to industrial equipment and robotics. 

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Kawasaki unveiled the forward-thinking Corleo for the Osaka Expo 2025 in Japan. It’s a 2050 concept model for a future mode of transportation. The expo’s theme is “designing future society for our lives.” The event officially opens on April 13.

Corleo incorporates some nifty design ideas, including independent legs, a hydrogen engine and steering through weight shifting. 

“While preserving the joy of riding, the vehicle continually monitors the rider’s movements to achieve a reassuring sense of unity between human and machine,” Kawasaki said. 

Kawasaki didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment on its plans for Corleo.

For now, Corleo is just a model capable of limited movement, so your sci-fi dreams of riding across rugged mountains on a kick-butt robo-steed will have to be put on hold. Perhaps 2050 will bring us a world full of leggy, rideable robots. Somehow, that feels more achievable than a bunch of flying cars.