MotoGP: Yamaha reveals MOTOBOT, an autonomous robot rider built to ‘surpass Valentino Rossi’

YAMAHA may not need to find a replacement rider for when the irreplaceable Valentino Rossi retires — they may be building a robot one.

YAMAHA may not need to find a replacement rider for when the irreplaceable Valentino Rossi retires — they may be building one.

The Japanese company revealed “Motobot” at the Tokyo Motor Show, an “autonomous motorcycle-riding humanoid robot”, a research and development crossover project between its motorcycle and robotics arms.

It’s goal: to develop a robot that can throw a leg over an unmodified motorcycle and tear around a racetrack at speeds of over 200km/h.

POINTS: Where Rossi must finish to win the 2015 MotoGP title

ANGER: Rossi and Marquez at war over Malaysian GP crash

SANCTION: Rossi penalised for his clash with Marquez

MARQUEZ: ‘It’s no racing incident; he push me with his leg’

PETITION: 275,000 fans sign petition urging MotoGP to drop Rossi’s penalty

A video of MOTOBOT Version 1 shows it riding Yamaha’s race-bred YZF-R1M unassisted in an open area, touching speeds of over 100km/h, all the while manipulating the throttle, gear, clutch and brake levers with its mechanical wrists, ankles and fingers.

Yamaha’s boffins have a long way to go before it can perfect 65-degree lean angles, scraping its biceps on the species of corners, or saving a crash on its knee, and the prospect of MOTOBOT’s first highside crash probably gives its engineers nightmares.

But they appear to have got one thing down-pat already — MOTOBOT has got the attitude of a motorcycle racer.

In it’s presentation video, entitled “To ‘The Doctor’,” it lays down the gauntlet to the nine-time world champion.

“I was created to surpass you,” MOTOBOT’s voiceover says of Rossi.

“I am improving my skills every day but I am not sure I could even beat the five-year-old you.

“Perhaps if I learn everything about you, I will be able to catch up.

“The way you ride is both beautiful and exciting.

“I am not human, but there has to be something only I am capable of.”

Yamaha’s MOTOBOT, a robot rider built to beat Valentino Rossi.

Originally published as MotoGP: Yamaha reveals MOTOBOT, an autonomous robot rider built to ‘surpass Valentino Rossi’