Yamaha MOTOROiD planned

YAMAHA has filed a trademark application for the term MOTOROiD. And no, it’s not some sort of special cushion for riders with piles.

Instead the firm intends to use it as a trade name on: ‘Motorcycles, motor scooters, mopeds, three-wheeled motorcycles, three-wheeled motor scooters, three-wheeled mopeds, electric motorcycles; self-balancing motorcycles, motor scooters, mopeds, three-wheeled motorcycles, three-wheeled motor scooters, three-wheeled mopeds and electric motorcycles; stability control systems for vehicles; stability control systems for motorcycles, motor scooters, mopeds, three-wheeled motorcycles, three-wheeled motor scooters, three-wheeled mopeds and electric motorcycles; parts and fittings for all the aforesaid goods. [Emphasis ours]’

Ok, that’s a pretty wide-ranging field of interest, but most of the words in that generic description are catch-all terms to ensure the trademark is wide-ranging. The main parts are straight after the colons and semi-colons. That means there are three things that the MOTOROiD trademark is aimed at; motorcycles, self-balancing motorcycles, and stability control systems for motorcycles.

Bear in mind that MOTOBOT – Yamaha’s motorcycle-riding robot, which the firm revealed in 2015 – has a deadline to meet. At its 2015 launch, the firm said it would be lapping race tracks at over 200km/h within two years. Two years is up at the end of October. It’s no coincidence that the firm is hinting there will be an update on the MOTOBOT project at the Tokyo Motor Show on 25 October. 

While MOTOBOT is a motorcycle-riding robot, able to take control of any bike using normal human controls, the technology inside it will lead to the next level of traction control systems. Once Yamaha can perfect it, the programming and circuitry it uses is likely to be built directly into bikes to help human riders rather than replace them.