Watch an autonomous humanoid robot take a motorcycle for a spin
YamahaYamaha made a big splash at the Tokyo Motor Show on Wednesday.
The Japanese company revealed an autonomous, motorcycle-riding, humanoid robot called Motorbot.
The bot, which combines Yamaha's robotics and motorcycle technology, is part of an R&D effort to make a robotic rider that can operate an unmodified motorcycle on a racetrack driving up to 124 miles per hour.
The company hopes to use what it learns from the robot to help improve rider safety systems.
"We want to apply the fundamental technology and know-how gained in the process of this challenge to the creation of advanced rider safety and rider-support systems and put them to use in our current businesses, as well as using them to pioneer new lines of business," the company said in a said in a statement.
There's still some work to be done, though.
Currently, the robot is capable of riding in a straight line at 62 miles per hour. But by 2017, the company hopes to have the robot driving the motorcycle at 124 miles per hour around a racetrack. And by 2020, Yamaha aims to use what it learns from the project to be able to incorporate new technologies into its vehicles.
Check out the robot in action in the video below.