Contests between computers and humans have always been of special significance in the history of technological development: Twenty years ago, IBM’s chess computer Deep Blue showed the potential of big data and so-called brute force searches by beating world champion Garry Kasparov. Last year Google’s artificial intelligence unit DeepMind applied machine learning to beat the 18-time world champion Lee Sedol in Go, an even more complex board game.

Meanwhile a third contest has been started between man and machine. Yamaha Motors and the US research firm SRI International challenged nine times World Champion Valentino Rossi: they are training their robot Motobot to ride a motorcycle around a race course faster than the famous Italian with his trademark number 46. So far, the purple robot made from composite material has already moved on from straights to cornering on complicated courses reaching speeds of 62 miles per hour (100 kmh).

MORE GUNG-HO THAN A HUMAN

But: why on earth would anyone invent a driverless motorbike? Just like IBM’s and Google’s challenges eventually resulted in valuable applications of big data and artificial intelligence in other fields, the motorcycle race could also bring more general advances. Probably the most important benefit: increasing road safety. In 2015, in the USA alone almost 5,000 people died in motorcycle crashes, according to a National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) report. Motorcyclists were 29 times more likely than passenger car occupants to die in a crash. And just like with car automation, another expectation is to make the drive more comfortable. Taking your hands off the handlebar to do a little stretching during the ride? It could soon be reality.