Japanese motorcycle company Yamaha unveiled Motobot, a humanoid robot that can ride and handle a motorcycle at high speeds, at the 44th annual Tokyo Motor Show on Wednesday. The video shows the crouched Motobot on board Yamaha R1M, getting into triple digit speeds, twisting the throttle, apply brakes and change gears on a completely stock bike.
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Motobot is created to approach riding “from a human rider’s standpoint – with no modifications made to the motorcycle itself”.
According to Yamaha, their aim is to build a robot that can ride a motorbike on track just as well as a racer and possess the ability to compute its surroundings, control the complex motions of a bike at high speeds with incredible accuracy and precision.
Motobot’s robotic voiceover in the video addresses multiple MotoGP World Champion Valentino Rossi, saying “I was created to surpass you”.
Yamaha said the Motobot can be adapted to operate watercraft and snowmobiles. By then, it also wants to have figured out how to make it a better rider than any human biker.
For now, the robot still needs a pair of training wheels to prevent the bike from tipping over, worldwide Business Times reports.
It’s only a matter of time before robots do most of the things that we do ourselves right now, the machines have already established a strong footing in various industries and they’ll gradually be introduced in others as well.
“I am improving my skills every day, but I am not sure I can even beat the five-year-old you”, the voice says.
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At the Tokyo Motor Show, Yamaha showed off its Version 1 Motobot, an “autonomous motorcycle-riding humanoid robot”.
