As self-driving cars will soon be hitting the road across
the world, Amsterdam will be welcoming a fleet of experimental autonomous boat
robots as part of a joint urban planning research project. The project, to be launched in 2017, is being jointly run by MIT and the
Amsterdam Institute for Advanced Metropolitan Solutions. It will use the
world’s first fleet of fully autonomous water-based robots called ‘roboats’ to
examine new solutions to urban development and water systems efficiency.
Each roboat will have the capability to function as a goods
transporter, a human transporter, and on-demand bridge building blocks. In a matter of hours, floating bridges or
stages can be constructed and dissembled automatically. In addition, each roboat will constantly
monitor the water quality of the canal it is floating on. The functionality of the fleet and the data
it collects will help researchers discover new solutions to urban development
and urban efficiency. Home to more than
1,000 kilometers of canals, 1,500 bridges, and a long history of canal-based
commerce, Amsterdam is an ideal city environment to develop this technology.
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| On-demand bridges can augment the already existing network throughout the city. |
As cities struggle more and more with population capacity and the stresses
it puts on transportation, public health, and environmental systems, the data collected from roboats are expected
to provide a reference for real solutions that will not only be effective, but
also environmentally conscious. “Water
is the bearer of life. By focusing on the water system of the city, ROBOAT can
create opportunities for new environmental sensing methods and climate
adaptation. This will help secure the city’s quality of life and lasting
functionality,” says Arjan van Timmeren, professor and scientific director at
AMS.
References & Pictures:
http://senseable.mit.edu/roboat/
http://news.mit.edu/2016/autonomous-fleet-amsterdam-roboat-0919
http://senseable.mit.edu/roboat/
http://news.mit.edu/2016/autonomous-fleet-amsterdam-roboat-0919
This is really interesting! I think it's great that computer scientists are trying to better society and the environment instead of just focusing on material things that aren't as important.
ReplyDeleteRoboats is a hilarious name! I really like how many different ways they thought of using them--the bridge idea is really cool.
ReplyDeleteI think this is a really excellent subject for computer science and robotics to be employed in. Boats have a seemingly larger freedom of movement that cars hindered by the roads and without the various shortcomings of drones. This makes them great for simply a multitude of tasks and the ways they've already come up with show they can be extremely useful autonomous tools.
I think that this i a really creative idea. I wonder how these Roboats will be able to interact with people though, do they receive instructions from a central controller or is there a set of controls on it?
ReplyDeleteThis really cool.I didn't know that they were capable of doing such a thing.I guess if they succeed it will be a great advantage for transportation and shipping anything we want in the fastest way.It's like they're the drones in water !
ReplyDelete