VOA慢速英语2015 能够自我修复的机器人

Damaged Robots Learn to Make Changes to Keep Working 能够自我修复的机器人

When a dog loses a leg, the animal eventually figures out the best way to get around on three legs. In a short time, the dog learns deal with its physical disability. 

当一条狗断了一条腿时，它会最终找到用三条腿走路的最佳办法，然后在很短时间内学会适应这一残疾。

Now, scientists have developed robots that behave in much the same way.

现在，科学家研制出具备同样能力的机器人。

We can find robots everywhere. Robots build cars, play chess and can clean your house. They may someday drive your car, too.

机器人随处可见，它们能制造汽车、下象棋和打扫房间，有一天可能还会帮你开车。

Two robots, named Spirit and Opportunity, were sent to Mars 1 on a mission to explore the red planet.

两个分别名为“勇气号”和“机遇号”的机器人已被发往火星用于火星探索。

Jeff Clune is a computer scientist with the University of Wyoming. He says robots also help people in natural disasters.

杰夫·克兰是怀俄明州立大学的计算机科学家，他说机器人还能帮助人们对付自然灾难。

Robots are deployed 2 in search and rescue operations following an earthquake. They may someday also be used to examine the wreckage 3 of a nuclear accident, like the one in Fukushima, Japan.

地震发生后，机器人被用在搜索和救援工作中，它们可能有一天还被用来检查核事故现场，就像日本福岛的核事故。

Mr. Clune says robots can be sent to a lot of places said to be unsafe.

克兰说机器人还可以被派遣到很多不安全的场合。

“The problem is that all of those types of situations and environment are extremely unpredictable and hostile. And it is very likely that robots and humans in those situations become damaged.”

“问题是所有这些情况和环境都是非常难以预测和危险的，机器人和人非常有可能在这些环境下受到伤害。”

He and other scientists are developing technology so that robots will continue operating after the first sign of injury. They want the machines to have the ability to make changes and continue performing until they can be repaired.

他和其他科学家在进行技术开发，这样机器人就能在出现首次受伤迹象后继续工作。他们希望机器人在修复之前具备做出调整并继续工作的能力。

Mr. Clune and researchers in France have added one more operation to the skill set of robots working under difficult conditions. They say they programmed a hexapod robot, one with six legs, and a robotic arm to learn how to deal with injury. Their findings were reported in the journal “Nature.”

克兰和法国的研究者们给困难条件下工作的机器人技能设定增加了新的操作，他们自称设计了一个有着机器人手臂的六腿机器人，设定它能学习如何对付受伤，他们的发现发表在期刊《自然》上。

Mr. Clune said that once the robots become damaged, they use their intuition 4 and knowledge of how their body works to find a way to deal with the damage.

克兰说一旦这些机器人受了伤，它们会利用直觉和对自己身体的了解找到处理受伤的办法。

He says the robots are also programmed with child-like curiosity. In other words, they are always asking questions and looking for answers. The whole process takes about a minute for the robots to find a way to overcome damage.

他说这些机器人还被设定具备儿童那样的好奇心，也就是说，它们总会问问题并寻找答案。在整个过程中，机器人大概需要一分钟的时间来想办法对付受伤。

Words in This Story

figure out – v. to solve a problem

skill set – n. a number of skills or abilities

hexapod – adj. having six legs

intuition – n. knowing or understanding something without any evidence or past experience

curiosity – n. the desire to learn more about something