Humans... nah not really.. Yamaha is way over them, specially with all the drama generated from MotoGP lately (ahahahaha) so Yamaha surprised (again) and it has unveiled Motobot, a robot designed to ride superbikes much like a human would -- it is a human mimic attempt so motobot even has to twist the throttle to get moving.
This initial version travels slowly and needs training wheels to avoid tipping over in a turn, so it's not about to compete on the MotoGP circuit just yet. However, Yamaha ultimately hopes to get Motobot blasting along at more than 120MPH on a race track.
It goes so far as to put racing legend #vr46 Valentino Rossi on notice, as you'll see in the promo video below. Now dont be alarmed we are not going to see any time soon robots taking over racing leagues, Yamaha sees its robotic rider as a test bed for rider safety and support systems. Think of this as inspiring creative solutions to unusual problems, rather than an explicit attempt to beat flesh-and-bone motorcyclists -- any race victories are just icing on the cake.
MOTOBOT is an autonomous motorcycle-riding humanoid robot that approaches riding operations from a human rider’s standpoint — with no modifications made to the motorcycle itself. The development theme is “Beyond Human Capabilities.” In general, robots are developed to specialize in a specific task and this typically allows them to surpass the capability of humans for that task. Utilizing this advantage, the end goal of MOTOBOT is to become capable of competing against Valentino Rossi’s lap times around a racetrack. The knowledge and highly advanced fundamental technologies gained from this challenge will be put to use in developing new products and creating new value.
