fulton's development of a viable steamship, the "north river steamboat" or ""clermont"", in 1807, is widely regarded as introducing a transportation revolution into early 19th-century america. it was not the only invention of fulton's that was significant: he also developed dredging equipment for use in rivers and canals, invented a system of inclined planes for transporting canal barges over hills, and developed early versions of torpedoes and diving boats.