Robot boat turns heads on San Francisco Bay

SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- Mankind has had boats for thousands of years and for thousands of years, people have gotten seasick. That could change, thanks to a really strange looking contraption that's been seen on San Francisco Bay.

It's called Martini.

Steven Shonk is the captain of the science experiment built by the same people who make the spinning laser atop Google's self-driving cars.

The boat uses sensors of a different sort. They detect every ripple and wave, so while the boat's two hulls are ferociously tossed about, the deck stays completely flat.

Underneath the Golden Gate Bridge, where the waves are notoriously rough, being onboard Martini is like riding in a car.

At 37 feet long, Martini's too small to be a ferry, but there's something bigger in the works. Martini could be used for search and rescue; getting to victims more quickly and safely.