Yamaha has finally pitted its bike-riding robot against road racing star Valentino Rossi, and for now, The Doctor is still faster.
Yamaha’s skunk works department has been toiling away on the Motobot project since 2015, trying to make a robot that’s faster than Rossi. This year, they thought they might have pulled it off, and challenged the MotoGP factory team rider to a challenge at Thunderhill Raceway.
Rossi is still faster, as you can see above, but the machines are catching up to us quicker than some riders would like. If Yamaha invents a robot that can ride a motorcycle and write a review afterwards, a lot of motojournos might be worried about their job security …
The day we have robots replacing the readership you will definitely be out of a job. But on that day having no job will be the least of your worries.
I think this is totally cool and fascinating, and it does not surprise me that it is Yamaha doing this innovation.
Remember the name of the 1st robot/computer/unmanned lander on the moon? Neither do I.
The great news about this rests in the fact that a robobike might be a way of getting younger people to get into motorcycles, saving the industry. This is because young people have no interest in owning a bike but might so cause it’s cool to have a robot ride it for you. Such a sad situation. I’ve wondered what happens to bikes once we all sit in driverless cars, now I know. What a horrible future.