2020年经济学人 启动无人机(1)

Business

商业版块

Logistics (2)

物流栏目（第二部分）

Droning on

启动无人机

Automated¹ deliveries get a fillip

自动配送注入强心剂

Unmanned vehicles, airborne or earthbound, have been pressed into anti-pandemic service the world over. In Mexican slums they spray disinfectant from the sky. “Shout drones” with loudspeakers scold socially undistanced Americans, Chinese and Europeans. Most consequential², the popularity of contactless provision of food and medical supplies is boosting the drone-delivery business.

无论是无人机还是无人车，都已经投入到世界各地的抗疫服务中。在墨西哥贫民窟，无人机从空中喷洒消毒剂。“广播无人机”利用扬声器谴责未保持社交距离的美国人、中国人和欧洲人。最重要的是，无接触食品和医疗用品供应的普及，推进了无人机配送业务的发展。

Before covid-19 MarketsandMarkets, a research firm, reckoned this would generate revenues of $800m this year. Now it says $1bn is closer to the mark, and has revised its forecast for 2022 from $1.6bn to $2.2bn. Many other analysts³ agree.

在新冠肺炎疫情爆发之前，咨询公司MarketsandMarkets估计，无人机业务在今年可以产生8亿美元的收入。现在，这家公司表示，收入目标会接近10亿，并将对于2022年的预测收入从16亿调整至22亿美元。很多其他分析师也同意这一点。

Drone-delivery firms typically operate vehicles on behalf of corporate⁴ clients. Some bigger drones, like those made by TwinswHeel of France, which can carry up to 300kg, can cost $20,000 or more apiece, as much as a van. Kiwibot of California makes $2,500 cart-like drones.

无人机配送公司通常代表公司客户操作无人机。一些大型无人机，如法国TwinswHeel公司生产的无人机，可以携带重达300公斤的物品，每架无人机价格高达2万美金或者更多，与一辆面包车的价格相当。加利福尼亚州的Kiwibot制造了价值2500美元的汽车式无人机。

Kiwibot’s pre-pandemic fleet of 20 or so has grown to about 50, ferrying meals and shopping in two Californian cities, and two others in Colombia and Taiwan; 500 more Kiwibots are in production. Using them adds just $2 to a shopper’s bill. Another Californian firm, Starship Technologies (which despite its name makes wheeled drones), has seen its fleet expand threefold in a year, to 1,000 across five countries.

疫情爆发前，Kiwibot的无人机队伍仅有20架左右，现在已经发展到50架，大多数无人机在加州的两个城市配送食物和商品，另外两架在哥伦比亚和台湾配送。目前仍有500架Kiwibot正在生产。商家们使用无人机只需要增加2美元的费用。另一家加州公司，Starship Technologies（尽管名字中包含星际飞船，实际制造轮式无人机），其无人机队伍在一年内扩大了三倍，拥有1000架无人机，服务五个国家。

1 automated   

a.自动化的

参考例句：

• The entire manufacturing process has been automated. 整个生产过程已自动化。
• Automated Highway System (AHS) is recently regarded as one subsystem of Intelligent Transport System (ITS). 近年来自动公路系统(Automated Highway System,AHS)，作为智能运输系统的子系统之一越来越受到重视。

2 consequential   

adj.作为结果的，间接的；重要的

参考例句：

• She was injured and suffered a consequential loss of earnings.她受了伤因而收入受损。
• This new transformation is at least as consequential as that one was.这一新的转变至少和那次一样重要。

3 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。

4 corporate   

adj.共同的，全体的；公司的，企业的

参考例句：

• This is our corporate responsibility.这是我们共同的责任。
• His corporate's life will be as short as a rabbit's tail.他的公司的寿命是兔子尾巴长不了。