Kawasaki is a brand that’s – at least for the average consumer market – renown for its bikes. And while it’s not entirely strange that the company which also makes industrial robots has revealed a new bot, it’s strange that it unveiled a robot goat of all things. And the name of the robot goat is simply Bex.
The Kawasaki Bex robot goat was revealed at the 2022 International Robot Exhibition in Tokyo, Japan. Presumably named after the ibex, the robot goat does more than trot on all fours – at a snail’s pace, mind.
It can also kneel on all fours, allowing a pair of wheels at each knee joint to take over the role of movement instead. A hidden pair of wheels also deploy from the abdomen during this mode, sort of like a plane’s landing gear. It also looks to be able to move faster this way, though that’s not really saying much.
Looking at a robot like this, it’s inevitable that comparisons are immediately made with Boston Dynamics and its robot dog called Spot. And while the Bex can neither move as fast or naturally as Spot, it can at least support the weight of a human sitting on it. According to Japanese site PC Watch, Bex can support up to 100kg on its back, with the handlebars probably there for manual steering.
There’s no word on if the Kawasaki Bex is something you can buy, especially if you’re not a part of the heavy industries world. Though even if you can, it will probably have a comparable price to Spot.
