Yamaha’s motorcyle-riding robot

Motobot, the robot motorcycle rider. © Yamaha.

Yamaha has developed a professional robot motorcycle rider. The robot hunches over an unmodified bike, sensing the environment, calculating what to do, keeping the bike stable, managing acceleration and deceleration—all the while factoring in road conditions, air resistance, and engine braking. The project is part of an industry-wide drive to incorporate autonomous features into commercial motorcycles to make them easier and safer to ride, for example the ability to free-stand even when stopped, or to respond to voice commands.

⇨ IEEE Spectrum, “Watch Yamaha’s humanoid robot ride a motorcycle around a racetrack.”