Easy rider: humanoid robot aims to outpace Valentino Rossi on the racetrack

Under the banner of ‘Beyond Human Capabilities’, Yamaha says it is using its knowledge of industrial robotics and motorcycles to develop Motobot, which will inform future autonomous systems.

According to the company’s website, mechanism improvements, algorithm enhancement through machine learning and other factors required for high-speed track riding will make other types of high-level riding possible.

In the current prototype, Motobot analyses data for vehicle speed, engine rpm, and machine attitude to control its six actuators - for operating the steering, throttle, front brake, rear brake, clutch and gear pedal – when riding an unmodified R1M motorcycle.

Yamaha believe that technology for machine position recognition such as high-precision GPS plus various sensors, and machine learning will be utilised by Motobot to autonomously manoeuvre around a racetrack at the limits of the motorcycle’s performance, so that it can improve its lap times with successive laps of the track.