Kawasaki promises a rideable robot lion as an off-road vehicle
It looks like a large robot dog, but is supposed to replicate a lion – Whether Kawasaki's "Corleo" is more than a concept remains uncertain at this time.
Corleo jumps – from a standing position over a crevasse, at least in the video –.
(Image: Kawasaki / YouTube, Screenshot: heise online)
Kawasaki Heavy Industries presented its "Corleo" at an event in the run-up to the Expo 2025 world exhibition, which begins on April 13 in Osaka, Japan. This is a four-legged robot that can also be used by humans as a mechanical mount. As the company emphasizes that Corleo was named after the constellation Leo, we will use this name rather than the more obvious term of an oversized robot dog.
As the Kobe Shimbun newspaper reports, Corleo has a shoulder height of around 160 centimetres and is 170 centimetres long. This is roughly equivalent to a quad – but the robot lion is said to be much more capable off-road. In a YouTube video, Kawasaki shows it scaling rugged rock formations, even over steps, without the rider having to demonstrate any particular skill. Corleo and its rider are also said to be able to jump several meters from a standing start. Impossible with a quad bike or motorcycle.
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Animation or prototype?
However, it is still completely unclear whether Corleo exists in a working version or whether the video is pure computer animation. The first scenes are immediately reminiscent of the riding devices from "Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back". Kobe Shimbun also describes the physically existing Corleo shown in Osaka as a "model". The hydrogen fuel cell drive is currently being developed at Kawasaki. The robot is expected to reach 100 km/h. Even in the probably rendered video, it can be seen that the rider is shaken vigorously at much lower speeds.
Videos by heise
Therefore, according to the newspaper, the seat is to be sprung with a kind of swing arm, as known from motorcycles. This would be another element that the robot would have to balance when moving, taking the rider's health into account. In contrast to a motorcycle or quad bike, for example, such a vehicle moves by itself, without direct human control over acceleration or braking. Added to this are the independent positions of the four legs. Kawasaki plans to present Corleo in more detail at Expo 2025.
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