A robot that you ride like a horse is being developed

KAWASAKI has recently revealed its computer-generated concept for the Corleo, a “robotic horse”.

- MATÍAS MATTAMALA

The video shows the automated equine galloping through valleys, crossing rivers, climbing mountains and jumping over crevasses.

The Corleo promises a high-end robotic solution to provide a revolutionary mobility experience. Kawasaki’s current motorbikes are constrained to roads, paths and trails, but a machine with legs has no boundaries - it can reach places no other vehicles can go.

But in the case of the Corleo, how feasible is it to achieve such a level of agility and balance, while safely carrying a human through natural environments? Let’s discuss what would be needed to achieve this.

A robot is a complex machine with two main components: a body and an information processing unit. The body has a particular morphology that determines the robot's function, and carries actuators (devices that convert energy into physical motion) and sensors to act in the world and understand it, respectively.

The information processing unit is usually a computer, which implements algorithms to process data from the sensors, build representations of the world and determine the actions to be executed, subject to a specific task of interest.

Simple robots, such as robotic vacuum cleaners satisfy these requirements. They have a suitable body for going under furniture and not getting stuck (their flat top is also useful to give your cats a ride).

The actuators are the motors that spin the wheels and the vacuum system. It has impact sensors to detect collisions, and some even have cameras for understanding the environment. Owners can set a cleaning routine, and the vacuum’s computer will determine the best way to execute it.