Our "Rider-Machine Communication" product development ideal is also an integral part of our chassis design efforts. The photo shows a clay mock-up of the YZF-R6. A dummy is mounted on the model to verify the riding position and then the process of adding clay here and shaving away clay there continues until the right balance is achieved.
Using digital technology for an analog feeling
In every Yamaha product we build, our aim is to create a product that feels so right that it moves people to the soul. This is the ideal that makes a Yamaha product different from any other. Our aim is always for something more than the performance or functions that can be expressed in spec numbers. We want nothing less than a riding experience that the customer has never experienced before, an experience that brings the kind of excitement and deep satisfaction we call Kando.
In motorcycle development, our engineers and test riders share the common key Yamaha concept of "Rider-Machine Communication" as the expression of the kind of quality riding experience in which the machine responds just the way the rider expects it to, so the rider can experience the joy of truly feeling at one with the machine. And, to achieve this kind of rider-machine unity our development teams make systematic use of two unique engineering ideals: the GENESIS (*1) concept in the mechanical realm and the G.E.N.I.C.H. (*2) concept in the realm of electronic control systems.
The G.E.N.I.C.H. concept can be summarized as "utilizing digital technology to create highly refined "analog" type performance sensitivity." And the Yamaha-exclusive technologies born of this ideal all bear the acronym YCC (Yamaha Chip Control) at the beginning of their name. Utilizing high-speed ECU functions that calculate at increments of 1/1000th of a sec. and produce control commands at increments of 1/100th of a second to connect the rider and machine in real-time, the YCC functions are not intended to supplement the operational actions of the rider. These are technologies designed to create a harmonious link between the precise and complex human sensitivities and actions and the machine that is the motorcycle, in order to create a riding experience that appeals fully and deeply to the human sensibilities of the rider.
*1 GENESIS: This is an engineering ideal that treats all of the mechanical parts of the motorcycle, including the engine and chassis as one holistic unit and designs them to function in a unified, organic relationship that produces a sense of unity between rider and machine.
*2 G.E.N.I.C.H.: This is an ideal of electronic control technologies that are oriented to the human sensibilities. The letters of the acronym stand for Genesis of Electrical engineering for New Innovative Control technology with Human orientation.
Electric commuter vehicle "EC-03" (50cc license class)
A 100% electric powered "smart minimal commuter" bike
Even before issues like global warming, chronic traffic congestion, urban depopulation and the doughnut effect became household terms, Yamaha Motor has believed that innovative new means of transportation are an essential part of building a better future for communities and society as a whole. This belief and our unwavering sense of mission in contributing to vehicle innovation have motivated long years of Yamaha research and development in the area of next-generation mobility.
One of the fruits of these efforts is the 100% electric powered bike "EC-03," a new type of EV designed around the concept of a "Smart Minimal Commuter." In practical terms, this concept defines a vehicle with the performance and functions to provide convenient short-distance personal mobility within a radius of approximately 5km in the urban environment. Within today's search for the proper balance of concentration and de-centralization of urban functions, we believe that the electric bike offers an ideal solution for personal transportation in the next-generation urban environment, due to its combination of 2-wheeler advantages in fuel economy, price and space efficiency and electric power advantages of smart, clean and quiet performance.
Yamaha Motor is accelerating its efforts to develop next-generation power sources under our "Smart Power" vision, and we will continue to work aggressively and proactively to promote the spread of electric bikes and the infrastructure they require. In this task, we will continue to build a cooperative working relationship with public authorities, agencies and organizations in the private and public sectors.
The 4-stroke outboard motor "F350A"
More compact and more powerful
Boasting the world's largest horsepower for a 4-stroke outboard motor, the Yamaha "F350A" adopts a specially developed space-efficient engine design that fits the exhaust system inside the V bank of the engine in a layout known as the "In-bank Exhaust System" in order to fit this big-displacement engine into the most compact unit possible. Before this breakthrough technological design, it had been considered difficult to build a 4-stroke outboard bigger than 200 hp, but since the introduction of this system by Yamaha in 2001, it has become an indispensable feature of big horsepower 4-stroke outboards.
Visual Recognition based on an image processing system
Delving into the sub-micron realm
Yamaha Motor is a manufacturer of surface mounters, the machines that mount electrical parts and chips on the printed circuit boards at the heart of today's electronic appliances and devices. As these products have become increasingly compact in recent years, surface mounters are being called on to mount smaller parts with greater precision and greater density on circuit boards. With Yamaha's exclusive "Visual Recognition" function employing video cameras to track the part movements, rather than relying entirely on servomotor control technology, we have achieved placement accuracy of 5/100ths of a millimeter.