If you believe in the prophecy of the Singularity – in short, the theory that artificial intelligence will one day reache a level of self-awareness that allows it to surpass organic intelligence – then this is truly a dark day for meat-bags everywhere: the Tokyo Motor Show is abuzz with talk of Motobot, a Yamaha-designed robot whose motorcycle-riding prowess surpasses that of the finest human racer.
At this point, all the world knows of this mechanical motorcyclist is what one awe-inspiring video of its cruise around an empty airfield reveals. It taps the clutch, twists the throttle and negotiates turns with incredible precision without a single fall. Oh, and it also talks a little cold, emotionless smack.
“I was created to surpass you,” it says in a child-like robotic voice to world champion MotoGP superstar Valentino Rossi. “I am improving my skillls every day.”
To be entirely fair, for the time being, Motobot remains limited to a bike with training wheels. Yamaha ultimately wants to have Motobot safely taking to a racetrack at over 200 km/hour on an unmodified motorcycle, but the bigger picture here is to learn and apply valuable insights from Motobot’s lessons and devise support systems that keep fleshy riders safer on the road every day.
Not gonna lie, we’re a bit curious about what Yamaha means by “[pioneering] new lines of business” from Motobot’s data. By curious, we mean, “Accelerating our own research into EMP grenades and how to replay to ‘Bite my shiny metal ass’ in binary.”
Source – Gizmag
