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How Futuristic! Self-Driving Electric Boats Set To Be Tested In Amsterdam | Kayla

How Futuristic! Self-Driving Electric Boats Set To Be Tested In Amsterdam | Kayla

How Futuristic! Self-Driving Electric Boats Set To Be Tested In Amsterdam | Kayla

Say hello to the “Roboat.” Amsterdam is set to play host to the testing of self-driving electric boats.

Roboat us a five-year research project, designed and created by the Amsterdam Institute for Advanced Metropolitan Solutions and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Their goal is to produce the world’s first fleet of autonomous electric boats for the Dutch capital.

Roboat is planning to trial a host of prototypes which will carry out tasks like transporting passengers, as well as small cargo.

With a top speed of 4mph, Roboats move using propellers and thrusters which are powered by an electric battery which can run for up to 24 hours before being charged. And while they’re currently steered remotely using cameras and sensors that scan around the boat, developers admitted they still need a few years to fine-tune the self-steering technology.

Trials are already taking place at Marineterrein Amsterdam, while the Amsterdam Institute are also are actively working with the ministries and the legislators to iron out any legal and privacy aspects, with Roboat confident the way it uses the data from the cameras has been developed in such a way that it doesn’t identify any persons.

“The development of an autonomous boat system capable of accurate mapping, robust control, and human transport is a crucial step towards having the system implemented in the full-scale Roboat,” says senior postdoc Wei Wang, lead author on a new paper about Roboat II. “We also hope it will eventually be implemented in other boats in order to make them autonomous.”

Would you take a “Roboat” for a spin?

 

Photo| iStock

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