6 ms·
Canals would also require drivers for the boats (modulo some AI powered boats or something). I suspect the real answer here is that the report was just some ex
by foota 2y ago
Canals would also require drivers for the boats (modulo some AI powered boats or something).
I suspect the real answer here is that the report was just some exploratory thinking, and unlikely to really happen.
- bee_rider 2y agoI wonder how the ratio of people:stuff breaks down WRT boats and trucks. I’d expect trucks to be much more person intensive, but the vagaries of crew sizes and canal widths could throw that off I guess.
- lucumo 2y agoI quickly scanned the Rhine Regulations for Navigation Personnel. The tables starting on page 49 show minimum crew requirements for types of ships and operating modes: https://www.ccr-zkr.org/files/documents/reglementSTF/RPN_01012024_en.pdf https://www.ccr-zkr.org/files/documents/reglementSTF/RPN_010... It seems to go from a single boatmaster to crews of less than 10. The smallest container ships for inland shipping are about 30-ish containers; the largest about 500. A truck can do 2 containers with 1 driver. So, an inland ship can do 15-30 times as many containers per crew, compared to a truck.
- Glyptodon 2y agoIt seems like a canal with a current could have unmanned pods that behave like items on a conveyor belt. My best guess as to why a cargo belt is that maybe conveyor belts could handle slight elevation changes better than a canal.