LAS VEGAS: With a wave, Kinji Asamura summoned a riderless motorcycle to his side in the Yamaha booth at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas this week.
The concept electric motorcycle, called "Motoroid", then balanced in position, holding its place even when Asamura tried gently to push it over.
Nearby, a robot that might seem suited for a futuristic action film was astride a production model Yamaha super-bike that it had ridden at speeds topping 200 kilometers per hour on a test track.
“The motor bike is the recent past, and the Motoroid is the future,” Yamaha spokesman John Boreland told AFP as he glanced from one two-wheeled creation to the other.
“The object is to see what lessons can be learned to connect machine to human more effectively.”
The robot-ridden Yamaha motorcycle, called ‘Motobot,’ is fast but blind, relying on pre-programmed routes, according to Yamaha.
Lessons learned so far from the research model include that “human beings react a hell of a lot quicker,” according to Boreland.
Flesh-and-blood riders have also proven better at grasping the courter-intuitive notion of counter-steering and leaning through turns, he added.
The Motoroid model boasted autonomous features such as balancing on its own, recognizing riders, and being summoned with a wave.
Wings on the back of the seat were designed with the help of a psychologist to gently squeeze a rider’s lower back in a sort of reassuring caress at potentially perilous high speeds, Boreland said.
“Somewhere along the line, this will all meld together so you’ll be part of the bike and it will figure things out for you,” Boreland said of insights and advances resulting from the concept motorcycles, which are not for sale.
Yamaha motorcycle comes on command at CES event
Yamaha motorcycle comes on command at CES event
Apple to update EU browser options, make more apps deletable
- iPhone maker came under pressure from regulators to make changes after the EU’s sweeping Digital Markets Act took effect on March 7
- Apple users will be able to select a default browser directly from the choice screen after going through a mandatory list of options
STOCKHOLM: Apple will change how users choose browser options in the European Union, add a dedicated section for changing default apps, and make more apps deletable, the company said on Thursday.
The iPhone maker came under pressure from regulators to make changes after the EU’s sweeping Digital Markets Act took effect on March 7, forcing big tech companies to offer mobile users the ability to select from a list of available web browsers on a “choice screen.”
The new rules require mobile software makers to show the choice screen where users can select a browser, search engine and virtual assistant as they set up their phones, which earlier came with preferred options from Apple and Google.
In an update later this year, Apple users will be able to select a default browser directly from the choice screen after going through a mandatory list of options.
A randomly ordered list of 12 browsers per EU country will be shown to the user with short descriptions, and the chosen one will be automatically downloaded, Apple said. The choice screen will also be available on iPads through an update later this year.
Apple released a previous update in response to the new rules in March, but browser companies criticized the design of its choice screen, and the Commission opened an investigation on March 25 saying it suspected that the measures fell short of effective compliance.
The company said it has been in dialogue with the European Commission and believes the new changes will address regulators’ concerns.
It also plans to introduce a dedicated area for default apps where a user will be able to set defaults for messaging, phone calls, spam filters, password managers and keyboards.
Users will also be able to delete certain Apple-made apps such as App Store, Messages, Camera, Photos and Safari. Only Settings and Phone apps would not be deletable.
