Amsterdam and a team from MIT are testing a robot boat system that could help relieve Amsterdam’s traffic and rubbish problems and provide other uses as well.
The Roboat, created by the Amsterdam Institute for Advanced Metropolitan Solutions working with MIT, is part of a five-year project. The first full-size unit, measuring 2 meters by 4 meters, is to be in tests by the end of this year, in a passenger transport model, with other versions rolling out next year.
The project coordinator told Dutch News that it is better to think of Roboat not as a boat but as a platform that can support multiple uses, including forming platforms, bridges or temporary docks. “We have one universal hull design but you can change the top deck according to what functionality you want. We have a boat that can hold five people but also one that is in the works that is a waste collection boat, for household waste.”
Use of the robot boats, planned to be able to sense their surroundings as they move through the canals, could pull cargo from city streets to the canals. The trash version could anchor along the canal, and when filled with trash, notify the system to send another as it makes its way to a collection point.
