Turning Amsterdam Into A Smart City

About a quarter of Amsterdam’s surface area is water, with 165 canals winding alongside city streets. Self-driving technologies can save time, costs and energy, and improve the city moving forward. 

MIT researchers are trying to build a fleet of autonomous robotic boats, rectangular hulls equipped with sensors, thrusters, microcontrollers, GPS modules, cameras, and other hardware, that provides intelligent mobility on water to relieve congestion in the Amsterdam’s busy canals.

This smart city solution will include the autonomous boats that will cruise the canals to transport goods and people, collect trash, or self-assemble into floating stages and bridges. 

To further that vision, MIT researchers have given new capabilities to their fleet of robotic boats, which are being developed as part of an ongoing project, that lets them target and clasp onto each other, and keep trying if they fail.
The Roboat project is carried out in cooperation with the Amsterdam Institute for Advanced Metropolitan Solutions (AMS Institute). 

The objectives are to create units that provide on-demand transportation on waterways and use the roboat units to automatically form “pop-up” structures, such as foot bridges, performance stages, or even food markets. The structures could then automatically disassemble at set times and reform into target structures for different activities. The rowboat units could also be used as agile sensors to gather data on the city’s infrastructure, and air and water quality, etc.

The researchers tested the latching technique in a swimming pool at MIT and in the Charles River, where waters are rougher. In both instances, the roboat units were usually able to successfully connect in about 10 seconds, starting from around 1 meter away, or they succeeded after a few failed attempts.

In Amsterdam, the system could be especially useful for overnight garbage collection. Roboat units could sail around a canal, locate and latch onto platforms holding trash containers, and haul them back to collection facilities. Each roboat is equipped with latching mechanisms, including ball and socket components, on its front, back, and sides. The ball component resembles a badminton shuttlecock, a cone-shaped, rubber body with a metal ball at the end. The socket component is a wide funnel that guides the ball component into a receptor. 

Inside the funnel, a laser beam acts like a security system that detects when the ball crosses into the receptor. That activates a mechanism with three arms that closes around and captures the ball, while also sending a feedback signal to both roboats that the connection is complete, as reported by MIT.

On the software side, the roboats run on custom computer vision and control techniques. Each roboat has a LIDAR system and camera, so they can autonomously move from point to point around the canals. 

Each docking station, typically an unmoving roboat, has a sheet of paper imprinted with an augmented reality tag, called an AprilTag, which resembles a simplified QR code. Commonly used for robotic applications, AprilTags enable robots to detect and compute their precise 3-D position and orientation relative to the tag.

Both the AprilTags and cameras are located in the same locations in center of the roboats. When a traveling rowboat is roughly one or two meters away from the stationary AprilTag, the roboat calculates its position and orientation to the tag.

I-HLS

You Might Also Read:

Montreal’s Future In Smart Sensors And AI:

Dubai: Internet City:

 

« Florida Municipality Suffers Cyber Extortion
Spies Use AI-Generated Faces To Connect With Targets »

Infosecurity Europe
CyberSecurity Jobsite
Perimeter 81

Directory of Suppliers

The PC Support Group

The PC Support Group

A partnership with The PC Support Group delivers improved productivity, reduced costs and protects your business through exceptional IT, telecoms and cybersecurity services.

MIRACL

MIRACL

MIRACL provides the world’s only single step Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) which can replace passwords on 100% of mobiles, desktops or even Smart TVs.

NordLayer

NordLayer

NordLayer is an adaptive network access security solution for modern businesses — from the world’s most trusted cybersecurity brand, Nord Security. 

LockLizard

LockLizard

Locklizard provides PDF DRM software that protects PDF documents from unauthorized access and misuse. Share and sell documents securely - prevent document leakage, sharing and piracy.

BackupVault

BackupVault

BackupVault is a leading provider of automatic cloud backup and critical data protection against ransomware, insider attacks and hackers for businesses and organisations worldwide.

CSO

CSO

CSO serves enterprise security decision-makers and users with the critical information they need to stay ahead of evolving threats and defend against criminal cyberattacks.

Ridgeback Network Defense

Ridgeback Network Defense

Ridgeback is an enterprise security software platform that defeats malicious network invasion in real time. Ridgeback champions the idea that to defeat an enemy you must engage them.

Haystax Technology

Haystax Technology

Haystax’s security analytics platform applies artificial intelligence techniques to identify and prioritize threats in real time.

SySS

SySS

SySS is a market leader in penetration testing in Germany and Europe.

Cognni

Cognni

Cognni (formerly Shieldox) will make your InfoSec think like a human, right out of the box, so you can focus on the bigger picture, keeping the information flow safe.

Nexis

Nexis

Nexis GmbH is a German IT security company specializing in IAM, access control, and risk management.

ProSearch Partners

ProSearch Partners

ProSearch Partners are national talent acquisition specialists exclusively focussing on Technology and Digital talent including Cybersecurity, Data Analytics and Execs.

Cyber Polygon

Cyber Polygon

Cyber Polygon is an annual online exercise which connects various global organisations to train their competencies and exchange best practices.

Institute for Security and Technology (IST)

Institute for Security and Technology (IST)

The Institute for Security and Technology's goal is to provide the tools and insights needed for companies and governments to outpace emerging global security threats.

Arqit Quantum

Arqit Quantum

Arqit's mission is to use transformational quantum encryption technology to keep safe the data of our governments, enterprises and citizens.

RMRF Tech

RMRF Tech

RMRF is a team of cybersecurity engineers and penetration testers which specializes in the development of solutions for early cyber threat detection and prevention.

Intelligent CloudCare

Intelligent CloudCare

Intelligent CloudCare, a division of IPS, is a full IT Services provider serving the needs of SMBs in the metropolitan New York City region.

OccamSec

OccamSec

OccamSec is a leading provider in the world of cybersecurity. We provide accurate, actionable information to reduce risk and enable better informed decisions.

Leaf IT

Leaf IT

Leaf IT are a pioneering cloud-first MSP, dedicated to helping businesses in the UK and Ireland. We focus on delivering tangible results for our clients through IT transformation.

RAH Infotech

RAH Infotech

RAH Infotech is India’s leading value added distributor and solutions provider in the Network and Security domain. We are specialists in Enterprise and App Security and Application Delivery.

SeQure

SeQure

SeQure is a novel cybersecurity and data observability company that offers Fortune 100 and Governments a zero-trust service to continuously monitor large network environments.