Yamaha is boldly going to future with its latest project: a humanoid robot that can ride a motorcycle. The Motobot is also looking to surpass human motorbike-riding capabilities using pure technology, The Verge reported.
And it is not just any human that Motobot wants to beat. Motobot's target is no less than Valentino Rossi, the 9-time MotoGP champion of the world.
A video showcases the Motobot's current capabilities. And while it may still need some training wheels at the moment, Motobot's childish robotic voice says, "I am improving my skills everyday."
It also called Rossi out. Motobot said, "I am Motobot. I was created to surpass you." Yup. You are totally right, it is pretty cool but also pretty scary.
Motobot is designed "from a human rider's standpoint -- with no modifications made to the motorcycle itself," Yamaha said. The company also said that Motobot's end goal is "to become capable of competing against Valentino Rossi's lap times around a racetrack."
This means Motobot has to improve its performance to be able to autonomously ride an unmodified motorcycle around a race track at more than 200 kph, Forbes noted.
The insight that Motobot provides Yamaha is unprecedented. Using various sensors, Yamaha plans on applying their findings to actual production since Motobot handles a motorcycle in an uncannily human fashion, Wired reported.
Yamaha also plans on upgrading Motobot's systems to include high-precision GPS and learning capabilities to allow Motobot to "make its own decisions regarding the best lines to take around a racetrack and the limits of the motorcycle's performance, so that it can improve its lap times with successive laps of the track."
Do you think that Yamaha is adding to the world's automatonophobia, or fear of figures that resemble human sentience? Or is Motobot the future of human motorcycle riding? Share this article and let your opinion be heard!
