The start of this week also saw the start of what’s been described as the first self-driving ferry in the world. The boat, made by the Norwegian company Torghatten, is plying the waters between the islands of the Swedish capital Stockholm without any human help.

The autonomous tech at the heart of the Zeabuz-operated ferry, called MF Estelle, has been in development for a number of years at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology in Trondheim, which successfully launched a ferry trial as part of its Autoferry project last year.

For the tech buffs – the autonomous catamaran ferry measures 12 x 5 metres, with enough space to carry 25 passengers (plus half a dozen bicycles) between Riddarfjärden and Södermalm in Stockholm…

There is a human supervisor on board, but only in case something goes unexceptionally wrong.