ABSTRACT
Roboat is a five-year research project and collaboration between the Amsterdam Institute for Advanced Metropolitan Solutions and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. In developing the world’s first fleet of autonomous floating vessels for the city of Amsterdam, it investigates the potential of self-driving technology to change our cities and their waterways. The project imagines a new kind of on-demand infrastructure: autonomous platforms will combine together to form floating bridges and stages, collect waste, deliver goods, and transport people, all while collecting data about the city. How can we re-imagine urban infrastructures with cutting-edge technologies? This chapter discusses interdisciplinary aspects of this ongoing project, showcasing the ways in which a diverse team of researchers tackle autonomy’s technical challenges and imagines its urban applications beyond the form factor of the car.
