Robot dogs are so last year. Case in point: Kawasaki has unveiled a ridable goat robot at the 2022 International Robot Exhibition in Tokyo. This four-legged rideable creature has been made by the same team of engineers that created the impressive Kawasakis humanoid robot named Kaleido.
Do Androids Dream Of Electric … Goats?
The new robot is known as Bex, which is short for Ibex, a type of North African and Middle Eastern wild goat. In the video, the electric goat robot walks in by itself and then kneels down so that a human rider can climb on its back.
Now, we know what you’re thinking: wild goats are fast, but this thing is definitely not! True, Bex moves slowly, but steadily (well, kind of). The rider controls the robot using handlebars, much like a bicycle. Does not look very comfortable, though.
There is one really cool thing about it: it comes with omnidirectional knee wheels. When it kneels down, it can drive around faster than it can walk, and it can also perform a tank-steer maneuver, or turn in place. This quadruped walking robot can reportedly support a rider up to 100 kg or 220 lbs. It can be adapted for different needs as it comes with other modular upper bodies: it can be used for carrying cargo or crops, not just riding around.
We don’t know if the creepy goat head is optional, though. It has horns that light up, for some reason.
We Need Gundam, Not Sheep
The comments are pure gold, as you can imagine. They range from ’That’s the slowest mountain goat ever’, and ’When you order a Boston Dynamics robot from Wish!’, to our favorite ’You have GOAT to be KIDding me!’.
Kawasaki is not really famous for its robots but rather motorcycles, and last year the company claimed to have three new electric motorcycles in plans for 2022. We cannot help but notice we have only gotten this goat thing so far. Should we ditch motorcycles for this robot goat now? Seems like the competition doesn’t have much to worry about; sorry Bex.
Learn more at Electrek.co.
