Small, self-navigating boats may soon ferry around passengers and cargo on Amsterdam's famed canals, with a prototype scheduled to hit the water next year.
It was only a matter of time before self-driving vehicles moved to the water. As James Vincent of The Verge reports, a collaboration between MIT and two Dutch universities is working on developing the autonomous vehicles as part of a five year research initiative from the Amsterdam Institute for Metropolitan Solutions (AMS). The floating vehicles will be capable of navigating the city's canals, carrying both passengers and freight. The Roboats can also be linked together to create impromptu bridges across the water.
...the Roboat project will also explore the creation of data-gathering robots to help with public health issues. This will build upon work done by MIT's Underworlds Initiative, which wants to put sensors in sewer systems to watch the ebb and flow of disease.
AMS's investment in the project may result in commercial benefits if other cities see value in the project. The first prototype Roboat may be on the water by 2017.
FULL STORY: Self-driving boats will be tested on Amsterdam's canals next year
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