2016年CRI HK Robots Lover Makes His Own Robotic Beauty

 

Like innumerable children with imaginations fired by animated¹ films, Hong Kong product and graphic² designer Ricky Ma grew up watching cartoons featuring the adventures of robots, and dreamed of building his own one day.

Ma has realized his childhood dream at the age of 42, by successfully constructing a life-sized robot from scratch on the balcony of his home.

The fruit of his 18-month labour is a female robot prototype he calls the Mark 1.

The robot is modeled after a Hollywood star whose name he wants to keep under wraps.

It responds to a set of programmed verbal commands spoken into a microphone.

Ma says he does not know of anyone else in the city who builds humanoid robots as a hobby, and few in the city seem to understand his ambition. 

"When I was a child, I liked robots. Why? Because I liked watching animation³. All children loved it. There were Transformers, cartoons about robots fighting each other and games about robots. After I grew up, I wanted to make one. But during this process, a lot of people would say things like, 'Are you stupid? This takes a lot of money. Do you even know how to do it? It's really hard.'"

Along with simple movements of its arms and legs, turning its head, and bowing, Ma's robot can form detailed⁴ facial expressions.

A 3D-printed skeleton lies beneath Mark 1's silicone skin, covering its mechanical and electronic interior. 

About 70 percent of its body was created using 3D printing technology.

In creating the complex robot, Ma adopted a trial-and-error method in which he encountered obstacles ranging from frequently burned-out electric motors to the robot losing its balance and toppling over

"When I started building it, I realized it would involve dynamics⁵, electromechanics and programming. I have never studied programming, how was I supposed to code? Additionally, I needed to build 3D models for all the parts inside the robot. Also, I had to make sure the robot's external skin and its internal parts could fit together. When you look at everything together, it was really difficult."

But with Mark 1 standing⁶ behind him, Ma says he has no regrets.

"I figured I should just do it when the timing⁷ is right and realize my dream. If I realize my dream, I will have no regrets in life."

Ma, who believes the importance of robots will grow, hopes an investor⁸ will buy his prototype, giving him the capital to build more. 

The designer also wants to write a book about his experience to help other enthusiasts⁹.

The rise of robots and artificial intelligence are among disruptive labour market changes.

The World Economic Forum¹⁰ warns it will lead to a net loss of 5.1 million jobs over the next five years.

(With contribution from Reuters)

1 animated   

adj.生气勃勃的，活跃的，愉快的

参考例句：

• His observations gave rise to an animated and lively discussion.他的言论引起了一场气氛热烈而活跃的讨论。
• We had an animated discussion over current events last evening.昨天晚上我们热烈地讨论时事。

2 graphic   

adj.生动的，形象的，绘画的，文字的，图表的

参考例句：

• The book gave a graphic description of the war.这本书生动地描述了战争的情况。
• Distinguish important text items in lists with graphic icons.用图标来区分重要的文本项。

3 animation   

n.活泼，兴奋，卡通片／动画片的制作

参考例句：

• They are full of animation as they talked about their childhood.当他们谈及童年的往事时都非常兴奋。
• The animation of China made a great progress.中国的卡通片制作取得很大发展。

4 detailed   

adj.详细的，详尽的，极注意细节的，完全的

参考例句：

• He had made a detailed study of the terrain.他对地形作了缜密的研究。
• A detailed list of our publications is available on request.我们的出版物有一份详细的目录备索。

5 dynamics   

n.力学，动力学，动力，原动力；动态

参考例句：

• In order to succeed,you must master complicated knowledge of dynamics.要取得胜利，你必须掌握很复杂的动力学知识。
• Dynamics is a discipline that cannot be mastered without extensive practice.动力学是一门不做大量习题就不能掌握的学科。

6 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

7 timing   

n.时间安排，时间选择

参考例句：

• The timing of the meeting is not convenient.会议的时间安排不合适。
• The timing of our statement is very opportune.我们发表声明选择的时机很恰当。

8 investor   

n.投资者，投资人

参考例句：

• My nephew is a cautious investor.我侄子是个小心谨慎的投资者。
• The investor believes that his investment will pay off handsomely soon.这个投资者相信他的投资不久会有相当大的收益。

9 enthusiasts   

n.热心人，热衷者( enthusiast的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• A group of enthusiasts have undertaken the reconstruction of a steam locomotive. 一群火车迷已担负起重造蒸汽机车的任务。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Now a group of enthusiasts are going to have the plane restored. 一群热心人计划修复这架飞机。 来自新概念英语第二册

10 forum   

n.论坛，讨论会

参考例句：

• They're holding a forum on new ways of teaching history.他们正在举行历史教学讨论会。
• The organisation would provide a forum where problems could be discussed.这个组织将提供一个可以讨论问题的平台。