As long as they have the robot sitting there static, they're going to be hard pressed to beat a human. There's a lot more going on on a bike than just fiddling with the throttle and steering
What I do think the bots will have a hard time doing is replicating the intuition that people like Rossi and Marquez have. Understanding what parts of the track have the most grip, braking/accelerating/cornering on the ragged edge of traction. And that's only half of what's happening in race conditions -- you have to contend with a grid full of other riders taking offensive lines and passing only inches away.
A robot motorcycle might be able to take on GP-level riders at Thunder Hill in a time trial in a few years, but it's hard to imagine the same thing happening at, say, the Isle of Man TT, or anything approaching race conditions.
It'll be interesting to see what happens if we have robots and humans racing together. On one hand they will be programmed to win, but on the other hand, harming humans is a big no no.
It's likely that this will happen before we have true AI, so it'll be the human overlords (i.e. team mangers) who make that moral decision. Given some of the things racing teams have done before to win, it could be quite concerning...
Article doesn't say, specifically, but it must be doing something other than just sitting static to achieve this?
[edit] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4dUb5T7DU-Q Bike has outriggers!
It’s scary when you first try it going down a motorway (it’s less sensitive at higher speed), but very effective indeed, and doesn’t require moving your centre of gravity.
I don’t pretend to be a professional racer though. They do seem to lean a lot.
PS. You can do this on a bicycle too, but the reduced momentum makes it much more sensitive.
Modern traction control systems have recently surpassed humans in being able to maintain a maximum amount of power to the rear wheel without making it spin out. Previously more lean usually ment a shorter line through a corner but was balanced by the need for accurate throttle control, leading to the rider being tucked in close to the bike with one knee down. With the new systems the aim has become to stand the bike up again as quickly as possible to maximize the contact patch allowing the traction control to put more power through the back wheel and accelerate the bike faster. This has changed the entire style of riding for professional racers, leading them to hang further out from the bike often touching both elbow and knee to the ground, to try and maintain the same center of gravity of the bike and rider but with the bike in a more upright position creating a larger contact patch and allowing the traction control to accelerate harder.
I know as a fan of F1, that fans generally look down on traction control, is that the same in motorbike racing?
Does MotoGp use traction control systems?
So if you do ride a motorbike and dont know you are counter steering I'd recommend googling 'conscious counter-steering' and practising this. It could save you on the next bend.
Motorcycle tires are getting so good that lean angles are limiting the weight-shifting advantage. Look at the 1980s and you will see guys hanging low off thier bikes dragging knees. Todays racers can lean the bike so far that they drag elbows. There literally isnt enough room to hang. So the robot isnt at too much of a disadvantage.