Kawasaki sets 2035 target for rideable four-legged CORLEO

Kawasaki Heavy Industries is developing CORLEO as a project directly under the company president, with a riding simulator scheduled for completion in 2027 and a new machine, CORLEO X-1, planned for unveiling at Riyadh Expo in Saudi Arabia in 2030, according to ITmedia.

The company is pursuing commercialization of the four-legged rideable device by 2035, with tourism and leisure as the main target markets. The machine has four legs and a lion-like body; a rider mounts it like a horse and steers by shifting body weight. It runs on electricity generated by a hydrogen engine.

For an initial commercial launch, Kawasaki is considering limiting operating areas and conditions and offering rides at dedicated experience facilities.

The unit shown at last year's Osaka-Kansai Expo was a full-size mock-up, and a rideable machine for mountain trails is still in development.

From a 2050 concept to a product plan

CORLEO began as a concept model imagining future mobility for 2050, but drew more interest than expected and led to actual product development, which started about two years ago. The team weighed ideas including a motorcycle that does not fall over and a flying car, and chose a four-legged structure after deciding that six or eight legs evoke insects and two legs are hard to distinguish from humanoids. Developers also crawled on all fours in actual mountains to study where legs should step on rough terrain.