Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) will be investing 20 million Euros into developing robot boat that will take riders across Amsterdam's canals - without a driver. The 'RoBoat' project begins next year, and sees a research partnership between Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the Amsterdam Institute for Advanced Metropolitan Solutions, working with teams from Delft and Wageningen universities. Budgeted at a total of €25m, the project can lay the foundation for "dynamic and temporary floating infrastructure like on-demand bridges and stages", MIT professor Carlo Ratti

And next? Underwater robots, of course!

Professor Arjan van Timmeren, the AMS Institute's scientific director said: 'We'll also be exploring environmental sensing. We could for instance do further research on underwater robots that can detect diseases at an early stage or use Roboats to rid the canals from floating waste and find a more efficient way to handle the 12,000 bicycles that end up in the city's canals each year.'