How Roboat Went from Research to Reality

Join us as we celebrate 10 years of AMS Institute! 

Roboat started as a research collaboration between AMS Institute and MIT’s Senseable City Lab. Today, Roboat‘s CEO, Ynse Hendrik Deinema, looks back on Roboat’s early days. Roboat‘s origins are part of the stories shared by the AMS Institute‘s alumni, researchers, and communities who’ve been part of AMS projects over the past 10 years. 

Roboat began with a simple but ambitious idea: using automated navigation vessels to rethink how cities use their waterways. A key moment came in autumn 2021, during a live demo at Amsterdam’s Marineterrein. Teams from across the globe were there, and while the energy was high, so were the nerves.

When the unmanned waste collection module made its way smoothly across the water, Deinema remembers thinking, “This could really work in a city like Amsterdam.”

The positive reaction that followed helped confirm the team was on the right track.

Fast forward to 2023 – Roboat became an independent company, backed by Delft Enterprises B.V. Today, we’re working with EU shipping companies and continue operating from the Marineterrein, staying closely connected to both the City of Amsterdam and the AMS Institute.

Roboat’s journey is just one example of how AMS Institute helps turn bold ideas into practical solutions for cities.