Autonomous Boat Project To Cast Off In Amsterdam

Amsterdam will host what organizers are calling the world's first large-scale research program for autonomous boats in metropolitan areas.

The five-year, nearly $28 million Roboat initiative will be conducted by researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and two Dutch universities.

Researchers touted a wide range of potential applications that could stem from the project. In addition to autonomously moving both people and goods, the vessels could eventually provide on-demand, temporary infrastructure such as bridges or stages.

Amsterdam Institute for Advanced Metropolitan Solutions scientific director Arjan van Timmeren added that the project will explore underwater sensing. 

(Image credit: Amsterdam Institute for Advanced Metropolitan Solutions)

Autonomous boats could help remove waste from canals — particularly thousands of bicycles in the pedal-friendly Netherlands — while underwater robots could detect diseases at early stages.

“Roboat offers enormous possibilities,” van Timmeren said in a statement.

The initiative's first prototype boats are expected to be deployed next year.