Autonomous boats in some cities could transport people, shuttle goods, and self-assemble into structures

Imagine shifting some of infrastructure services that usually take place during the day on the road deliveries, garbage management, waste management to the middle of the night, on the water, using a fleet of autonomous boats, says (MIT Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory) director Daniela Rus, co-author on a paper describing the technology thats being presented at this weeks IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation.

Moreover, the boats rectangular 4-by-2-meter hulls equipped with sensors, microcontrollers, GPS modules, and other hardware could be programmed to self-assemble into floating bridges, concert stages, platforms for food markets, and other structures in a matter of hours. Again, some of the activities that are usually taking place on land, and that cause disturbance in how the city moves, can be done on a temporary basis on the water, says Rus, who is the Andrew and Erna Viterbi Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science.

The boats could also be equipped with environmental sensors to monitor a citys waters and gain insight into urban and human health.

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