Toyota working on a robotic boat

The boat-based "autonomous workhorse" is one of a number of Toyota vehicles touted by the car-maker's US skunkworks that includes trade utes and drones that can automatically pick up a payload and carry it to where it is needed, and then return to base by themselves.

The system is fully autonomous, meaning the boat would be able to load, deliver and unload all by itself.

Toyota says the new drone vehicles could be powered by batteries, fuel-cells or even fossil fuels.

"Many home improvement stores have trucks or other vehicles available for rent to their customers," Toyota said in a patent filing.

"These trucks may be rented if a user has purchased too many goods to fit in their personal vehicles, purchased large goods, or does not wish to load the goods into their personal vehicles.

"Such a system may be undesirable because it results in wasted time of the individual as they will need to drive the rented vehicle to their house, unload the goods, then return the rented vehicle, and then drive their personal vehicle back home."

Toyota claims the system would also be ideal for customers who buy the wrong thing and decide they want to return it. The service could also do the tip run for users who want to dispose of whatever the new bulky item is replacing.

This isn't the first time that boating and autonomy have come together under a Toyota badge.

Several years ago Toyota teased that it was working on a system that would allow one of its pick-up trucks to "remember" a boat ramp it had visited. On the return trip, the truck would be able to take over the job of backing the boat down the ramp, leaving the owner free to single-handedly load or unload the boat.

Toyota also builds boats in Japan and has tied in with an Italian shipwright to produce Lexus-badged boats that mimick the fit and finish of the road-going versions of the technology-heavy luxury cars.