[imagesource: Project Kaleido]
For a long time, Boston Dynamics dominated the animal robot scene with Spot, its very capable (and rhythmic) robodog.
But it looks like the robotics company will have to move over a seat, making space for Kawasaki and its rideable robotic goat.
Actually, it is modelled after an ibex, a species of wild goat, and has thus been dubbed Bex.
Branching off from Kawasaki in the Kaleido program (which has been working on developing bi-pedal humanoid robots since 2015), Bex was officially shown off at the 2022 International Robot Exhibition (iREX) in Tokyo this past week, reported Gizmodo:
We’re more or less still at the point of robotics where engineers are throwing anything at the wall and hoping to find a design that sticks.
Or at least, that seems like the best explanation for why Kawasaki created a four-legged walking Ibex [sic] that can haul cargo or passengers assuming neither are in much of a hurry.
Despite its lack of speed, some are ready to trade their Tesla in for Bex:
Fuck a Tesla Gimme the robot goat ride pic.twitter.com/ST66Arb8jH
— ♦💀(¯´•._.• Ʉ₦ĐɆ₳Đ₱ØØⱠ13 •._.•´¯)💀♦ (@undeadpool13) March 14, 2022
Bex’s casual gait has resulted in it being called “the slowest mountain goat ever,” per CNET, but perhaps speed is secondary to stability:
The robotics engineers at Kawasaki were looking for a happy medium between the dexterity of a bipedal robot that can traverse uneven terrains with the reliability of a wheeled robot that avoids issues with balance by keeping all of its wheels on the ground at all times.
Masayuki Soube of Kawasaki said that Bex was developed as a quadruped walking robot by combining the walking technology of humanoid robots and wheeled robots.
This allows the robot to adapt to the terrain based on the needs of the driver. If there is a smooth surface, Bex can sprout the wheels and zoom full speed ahead like an electric scooter, or stick to the sturdy legs without wheels when the terrain becomes more tricky.
Besides having wheel-sprouting legs and a body strong enough to carry a full human around (or anything up to 100 kilograms), Bex also has horns that light up.
Look at Bex go:
All things considered, Bex might just be able to bring “the cowpoke fully into the 21st century”:
Soube went on to say Bex can carry light cargo or crops, and it contains cameras that can help with industrial plant inspections. Its upper body can be adapted for different needs, depending on how it’s going to be used.
The adaptable upper body is referring to how the animal head shape can be dropped for a more simple load-carrying robot on wheels.
Despite its lack of pace, Bex seems adaptable and quirky, making it a good starting point for Kawasaki and its animal robots.
