MIT Senseable City Laboratory is currently testing two water-based robots called Roboats that do a lot more than just float around the surface.
The fully autonomous robots, aptly named Roboats, not only do work as a sort of water-taxi service, ferrying people across the Amsterdam waterways, but they are also helping keep the rivers clean too.
Roboats have two ways they help keep the water clean. The first way is more direct, allowing the robots to physically gather waste from the water. The second is by using a built-in water sampling system, allowing the boat to analyze water quality in real-time.
That isn't even the last of the Roboats functions either. Using easily interchangeable tops (which can be switched out in under an hour) they can be converted to accomplish a wider variety of jobs including linking multiple Roboats together to create bridges or docks.
While the Roboat is still currently in development, you can see two of them combing the waters of Amsterdam right now. There is no estimated finish date for the project, but if it expands to include non-urban waterways, we think something like this would be really cool to see on Lake Simcoe (if it can handle the waves).
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A relaxing ride across the water while it eats up waste and keeps our beautiful lake healthy? Sounds amazing to us.
Featured image: Roboat via Roboat.org
