Sakakibara Kikai is a Gunma heavy machinery manufacturing firm populated, it seems, with top-of-the-line geeks and nerds: along with the environmentally friendly machines they design and sell, the artificial intelligence they research, the livestock feeders and composting technologies they design and sell; and the software that they write, is a line of amusement-oriented endeavors, the latest of which is the Kid’s Walker, a two-legged exosuit built just for kids. Measuring 1.6×1.6×1.3 meters and weighing 180kg, this bright red gasoline-powered mobile suit shuffles along at a considerable clip (their website says “?”). Their website is quite sparse on details, but it is apparently the for-children version of a proper two-legged walker (with enclosed cockpit!) reminiscent of the Star Wars AT-ST or RoboCop ED-209 – pictured left above – although without the rear-facing knee joints prominent in science fiction media like Blizzard’s Starcraft, and comes complete with a gatling gun-shaped launcher of soft cushion balls. This 1.5km/h adult walker is available for rental from the company; this writer thinks the kid version is available for rental as well. Video available on the company’s product page.

I. WANT. ONE.

Edit: Added some publicity photos sent directly from Sakakibara Kikai this morning.