Massachusetts Institute of Technology engineers have tested motor boats without a captain capable of carrying passengers. These boats can change life in Venice, Amsterdam and more.
The engineers have been working for years to create the Roboat system, whose first models were one meter in length and could carry a small payload.
It was tested in 2016, and after three years, engineers developed it to be able to be integrated into a floating platform or bridges.
And now engineers have shown a new version of the Roboat II, which is two meters long and can carry one or two passengers. "The Roboat II version moves autonomously, using an algorithm similar to the one used in self-driving cars, but adapted to navigate on the surface of the water," says Daniela Ross, team leader.
Experiments showed that Roboat II moved autonomously in Amsterdam canals within three hours, after which it returned to the starting position with a deviation of only 17 cm. Throughout this period, it relied on its movement on lidar data, GPS sensors and other devices.
It is expected that the passenger will be able to call these boats as well as taxis, as the computer will record the request and send to his address the nearest boat with the ideal path to the desired point.
The engineers made these boats linked together using special fasteners. Using special algorithms, they can move together under the command of a single robot called the "leader" who alone receives directions on the path and direction of the movement.
And later engineers plan to develop these water robots to become four meters in length and can carry 4-6 passengers together, to become a convenient means of transportation in cities with many water channels.
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