Kawasaki's all-terrain 'wolf robot'

Good morning, robotics enthusiasts. Kawasaki just unveiled Corleo — a rideable, wolf-inspired robot concept that uses AI to climb rough terrain, power through snow, and even leap into the air.

The wild concept looks like something straight out of a video game, but Kawasaki believes it could be a practical mode of transport in the coming decades. Is this a preview of how we’ll get around circa 2050?

In today’s robotics rundown:

• Kawasaki’s rideable, all-terrain wolf robot

• Hyundai buying Boston Dynamics’ robots

• MIT’s inflatable robot for search & rescue

• H2 Clipper to build airships with bots

• Quick hits on other robotics news

LATEST DEVELOPMENTS

KAWASAKI

🐺 Kawasaki’s rideable, all-terrain wolf robot

The Rundown: Kawasaki just unveiled Corleo — a wolf-inspired, four-legged robot concept that blends cutting-edge robotics, AI, and clean energy to reimagine the future of off-road mobility and sustainable human transportation.

The details:

• Corleo has four independently powered robotic legs that can swiftly move to jump over obstacles and adapt to rocky, steep terrain, snow, or grass.

• A 150cc hydrogen engine under the hood generates electricity to drive the machine’s legs, emitting only water vapor as a byproduct.

• Riders can control Corleo by shifting their body weight, which is detected by sensors integrated into its footpegs and handlebars.

• The robot also has a heads-up display (HUD) that provides real-time feedback on hydrogen levels, navigation, and movement stability.

Why it matters: Unveiled at the Osaka-Kansai Expo 2025, this wild-looking concept offers a new way of thinking about clean mobility and robots. While Kawasaki says it doesn’t see this becoming “commercialized” until 2050, Corleo not only looks insanely fun but could also help in exploration, rescue operations, and beyond.

BOSTON DYNAMICS

🤝 Hyundai buying Boston Dynamics’ robots

The Rundown: Hyundai announced that it plans to buy “tens of thousands” of robots from its subsidiary Boston Dynamics over the coming years—including both Atlas humanoids and Spot robot dogs.

The details:

• Spot, already used in Hyundai plants, will run inspections and predictive maintenance, while Atlas will debut in factories this year, handling assembly.

• The partnership aligns with Hyundai’s broader $21B U.S. investment plan, which includes $6B for AI innovation and partnerships.

• Boston Dynamics will integrate Nvidia’s newly launched Isaac GR00T N1 AI models into Atlas before deploying it in Hyundai’s plants.

• The carmaker bought 80% of Boston Dynamics from Softbank in 2021, valuing the robotics firm at $1.1B.

Why it matters: Leveraging its global manufacturing scale and Boston Dynamics’ cutting-edge AI and robotics, Hyundai aims to build a vibrant U.S. robotics ecosystem and help Boston Dynamics scale — positioning both companies as dominant global players in automation and robotics technology.

MIT

🤖 MIT’s inflatable robot for search & rescue

The Rundown: MIT researchers developed a new soft robot, dubbed SPROUT, to transform urban search-and-rescue operations with its ability to mimic a growing vine and squeeze through otherwise impossibly tight spaces.

The details:

• SPROUT uses an inflatable tube made of airtight fabric to navigate narrow, unstable spaces in collapsed structures. 

• Controlled via joysticks, it extends up to 10 ft (with plans for 25 ft) through pneumatic air pressure, bending around obstacles and squeezing through gaps.

• Equipped with a camera, sensors, and a real-time display, the robot maps debris-filled environments and identifies safe ingress routes for rescuers.

• Researchers say this low-cost, lightweight system overcomes limitations of existing search and rescue tools, such as rigid cameras or expensive robots.

Why it matters: SPROUT’s soft, inflatable design allows it to navigate tight, unstable spaces by bending around obstacles and squeezing through gaps as narrow as a few centimeters. But researchers say its major benefit over other search and rescue bots is its low cost, making it affordable to maintain for underfunded emergency teams.

H2 CLIPPER

🛩️ H2 Clipper to build airships with bots

The Rundown: California-based aerospace company H2 Clipper plans to replace its assembly lines with swarm robots for building its massive hydrogen airships—and its latest patent, granted last week, is a big step toward making that happen.

The details:

• The tech replaces fixed infrastructure with autonomous and semi-autonomous robots that perform airframe assembly, installations, and quality inspections.

• The robotic swarms—comprising ambulatory and floor-mounted units—work in unison to co-construct massive exoskeletons.

• Machine learning and generative AI guide the swarms to self-correct errors, improve precision, and optimize workflows.

• H2 Clipper estimates this approach could reduce costs by 40% and production time by 60%, while eliminating risks to workers through remote supervision.

Why it matters: H2’s airships require massive hangars (1,500 feet long), but swarm robots can bypass this need with in-place construction—robots assemble structures horizontally or vertically without long assembly lines. The company also aims to license the tech to other manufacturers, marking a major shift in the aerospace industry.

QUICK HITS

📰 Everything else in robotics today

Norway’s 1X released some new videos of its NEO Gamma humanoid autonomously picking up leaves and loading a dishwasher using a single neural network.

Westwood Robotics unveiled its next-gen THEMIS, a full-size humanoid with 40 degrees of freedom, enhanced 6-DoF arms, and 200 TOPS of onboard AI computing.

Singapore scientists reportedly deployed 10 insect-robot hybrids to assist earthquake rescue efforts in Myanmar following the deadly March 28 quake.

Serve Robotics announced that it is launching its autonomous sidewalk delivery robots in the Dallas-Fort Worth metro area this year, in partnership with Uber Eats.

Evri, a major UK package delivery service, launched its first trial of dog-like electric delivery robots, developed by RIVR to work in tandem with humans.

Physical Intelligence and Agibot posted a clip showing new humanoid progress with Vision-Action-Language models autonomously performing diverse tasks.

Japanese researchers published a study revealing that when humanoids squint and furrow their brow when processing, they appear more relatable and “humanlike.”

USC ValeroLab researchers found in a new study that tactile sensors are less important than the order of learning experiences for robotic hands.

EPFL scientists aim to bio-mimic the workings of the brain of the common fruit fly in a digital robot to better understand how neural networks work.

Elon Musk’s Neuralink opened its patient registry to applicants worldwide this month, allowing individuals with quadriplegia to sign up to trial its brain-computer interface.

American YouTuber IShowSpeed, with 38 million YouTube subscribers, went viral in a livestream of him riding an EHang eVTOL air taxi in Shenzhen, China.

LG Electronics started pilot testing a commercial-grade robot vacuum cleaner that it developed with the Marriott Design Lab for use in Marriott hotels.

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Rowan, Jennifer, and Joey—The Rundown’s editorial team