经济学人102:观察家 落入BEAR怀抱

 　　Science and Technology Monitor Caught in a BEAR hug

　　科技 观察家 落入BEAR怀抱

　　Robotics: A newly designed robot can recover casualties from battlefields, and might also be able to make itself useful to soldiers in other ways

　　机器人技术：一种新型机器人能够从战场上救回伤员，或许还能以其他方式为士兵服务

　　KILLING¹ a soldier removes one enemy from the fray². Wounding him removes three: the victim and the two who have to carry him from the battlefield. T

　　杀一名士兵会使冲突中减少一个敌人，而伤一名士兵却会减少三个敌人：伤兵及运送伤兵撤离战场的两名士兵。

　　hat cynical³ calculation lies behind the design of many weapons that are intended to incapacitate rather than annihilate⁴.

　　许多武器在设计时就运用了这种乖张的算计思维，它们的目的不是消灭敌人而是使敌人丧失作战能力。

　　But robotics may change the equation.

　　不过，机器人技术或许能改变这种格局。

　　The Battlefield Extraction-Assist Robot, or BEAR for short, is, in the words of Gary Gilbert of the United States Army's Telemedicine and Advanced Technology Research Centre (TATRC),

　　在美国陆军远程医疗与先进技术研究中心（TATRC）工作的加里?吉尔伯特（Gary Gilbert）说：战场协助撤离机器人（Battlefield Extraction-Assist Robot，简称BEAR）是

　　"a highly agile⁵ and powerful mobile robot capable of lifting and carrying a combat casualty from a hazardous⁶ area across uneven⁷ terrain⁸".

　　"一种极其敏捷且功能强大的移动式机器人，它能够抱起并运送战场上的伤员，穿越崎岖不平的地带将其带离险境。"

　　When it is not saving lives, it can perform difficult and repetitive tasks, such as loading and unloading ammunition⁹.

　　不在战场上拯救生命时，它还可以执行棘手及重复单调的任务，如装缷弹药。

　　The current prototype BEAR is a small, tracked vehicle with two hydraulic¹⁰ arms and a set of video cameras that provide a view of its surroundings to its operator via a wireless¹¹ link.

　　现在这款BEAR的原型是一种小型的履带车，具有两个液压臂和一组摄像机，可以将其周围环境的图像以无线链接方式传送给它的操作者，

　　It has been developed by TATRC in collaboration¹² with Vecna Technologies, a company based in Maryland that invented the robot.

　　它由TATR与Vecna Technologies公司合作开发，该公司位于马里兰州，首款BEAR就是该公司发明的。

　　Daniel Theobald, BEAR's inventor and Vecna's boss, says versatility¹³ is at the heart of the robot's design.

　　BEAR的发明者兼Vecna老板丹尼尔?西奥博尔德（Daniel Theobald）说多功能性是该机器人的设计核心。

　　"It would be completely impractical¹⁴ if you had robots with a sole duty to rescue soldiers, because they would spend most of their time unused," he says.

　　"如果只让机器人执行拯救士兵这一种任务，那太不实用了，因为它们大部分时间都将处于无用状态，"他说，

　　"The whole idea from the start was to design a general-purpose robot."

　　"从一开始，整个设计理念就是设计出一种多用途机器人。"

　　The BEAR's operator can control the robot in two ways.

　　BEAR的操作者可以通过两种方式控制机器人。

　　One, a joystick, can be embedded¹⁵ into the grip of a rifle and manoeuvred by the soldier's fingertip when he is holding his weapon to his shoulder.

　　一种是操纵杆，它可以嵌入步枪的枪把中，当士兵将步枪扛在肩上时，可以用指尖操纵此操纵杆。

　　The advantage of this is that he does not need to put his gun down to rescue his comrades.

　　这样设计的好处是士兵无需丢下枪就可以救他的战友。

　　The other means of control, a special glove designed by AnthroTronix, another Maryland firm, can sense the wearer's hand movements and direct the BEAR accordingly.

　　另一种控制方式是使用马里兰州另外一家公司AnthroTronix设计的专用手套。该手套可以感知佩带者的手部运动，以此指挥BEAR做相应的运动。

　　If, for example, the gloved hand moves to the left, the robot will follow.

　　举例来说，如果戴着手套的手向左移动，机器人也会跟着向左移动。

　　If the hand moves backwards¹⁷, the robot will slow down or stop.

　　如果戴着手套的手向后移动，机器人就会降低移动速度或者停止移动。

　　If the glove's wearer closes his fist, the robot takes that as an instruction to grip an object with its arms.

　　如果带手套的人握紧拳头，机器人就会认为该指令是让它用手臂抓住某个物体。

　　Over the past year BEAR has been tested at the army's Infantry¹⁸ Centre Manoeuvre¹⁶ Battle Laboratory in Fort Benning, Georgia. It has shown that it can travel at around 12mph (19kph) across a flat surface.

　　过去一年里，BEAR在位于佐治亚州本宁堡的陆军步兵中心机动作战实验室里接受测试，结果显示它能以每小时12英里（即每小时19公里）左右的速度通过平坦路面。

　　It can also move over soil, sand and gravel¹⁹, through trees and inside buildings, albeit²⁰ at lower speeds.

　　此外，它还能在泥地、沙地和砾石路面上移动，能穿越树林及建筑物内部，尽管速度要低一些。

　　Several more years of tests are planned (this is the army, after all), but Dr Gilbert is optimistic that BEAR will come through them.

　　按计划，BEAR还要再接受几年的测试（毕竟这是在部队），不过吉尔伯特博士非常乐观，他相信BEAR能通过所有测试。

　　If it does, soldiers will be able to get on with their primary job of killing the enemy, without having to worry so much about what the enemy has done to their friends.

　　如果事实果真如此，士兵们就能够专心执行杀敌这个首要任务，而无需太担心敌人对他们的战友下了什么毒手。

1 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

2 fray   

v.争吵；打斗；磨损，磨破；n.吵架；打斗

参考例句：

• Why should you get involved in their fray?你为什么要介入他们的争吵呢？
• Tempers began to fray in the hot weather.大热天脾气烦燥。

3 cynical   

adj.(对人性或动机)怀疑的，不信世道向善的

参考例句：

• The enormous difficulty makes him cynical about the feasibility of the idea.由于困难很大，他对这个主意是否可行持怀疑态度。
• He was cynical that any good could come of democracy.他不相信民主会带来什么好处。

4 annihilate   

v.使无效；毁灭；取消

参考例句：

• Archer crumpled up the yellow sheet as if the gesture could annihilate the news it contained.阿切尔把这张黄纸揉皱，好象用这个动作就会抹掉里面的消息似的。
• We should bear in mind that we have to annihilate the enemy.我们要把歼敌的重任时刻记在心上。

5 agile   

adj.敏捷的，灵活的

参考例句：

• She is such an agile dancer!她跳起舞来是那么灵巧！
• An acrobat has to be agile.杂技演员必须身手敏捷。

6 hazardous   

adj.(有)危险的，冒险的；碰运气的

参考例句：

• These conditions are very hazardous for shipping.这些情况对航海非常不利。
• Everybody said that it was a hazardous investment.大家都说那是一次危险的投资。

7 uneven   

adj.不平坦的，不规则的，不均匀的

参考例句：

• The sidewalk is very uneven—be careful where you walk.这人行道凹凸不平—走路时请小心。
• The country was noted for its uneven distribution of land resources.这个国家以土地资源分布不均匀出名。

8 terrain   

n.地面，地形，地图

参考例句：

• He had made a detailed study of the terrain.他对地形作了缜密的研究。
• He knows the terrain of this locality like the back of his hand.他对这一带的地形了如指掌。

9 ammunition   

n.军火，弹药

参考例句：

• A few of the jeeps had run out of ammunition.几辆吉普车上的弹药已经用光了。
• They have expended all their ammunition.他们把弹药用光。

10 hydraulic   

adj.水力的；水压的，液压的；水力学的

参考例句：

• The boat has no fewer than five hydraulic pumps.这艘船配有不少于5个液压泵。
• A group of apprentics were operating the hydraulic press.一群学徒正在开动水压机。

11 wireless   

adj.无线的；n.无线电

参考例句：

• There are a lot of wireless links in a radio.收音机里有许多无线电线路。
• Wireless messages tell us that the ship was sinking.无线电报告知我们那艘船正在下沉。

12 collaboration   

n.合作，协作；勾结

参考例句：

• The two companies are working in close collaboration each other.这两家公司密切合作。
• He was shot for collaboration with the enemy.他因通敌而被枪毙了。

13 versatility   

n.多才多艺，多样性，多功能

参考例句：

• Versatility is another of your strong points,but don't overdo it by having too many irons in the fire.你还有一个长处是多才多艺，但不要揽事太多而太露锋芒。
• This versatility comes from a dual weather influence.这种多样性是由于双重的气候影响而形成的。

14 impractical   

adj.不现实的，不实用的，不切实际的

参考例句：

• He was hopelessly impractical when it came to planning new projects.一到规划新项目，他就完全没有了实际操作的能力。
• An entirely rigid system is impractical.一套完全死板的体制是不实际的。

15 embedded   

a.扎牢的

参考例句：

• an operation to remove glass that was embedded in his leg 取出扎入他腿部玻璃的手术
• He has embedded his name in the minds of millions of people. 他的名字铭刻在数百万人民心中。

16 manoeuvre   

n.策略，调动；v.用策略，调动

参考例句：

• Her withdrawal from the contest was a tactical manoeuvre.她退出比赛是一个战术策略。
• The clutter of ships had little room to manoeuvre.船只橫七竖八地挤在一起，几乎没有多少移动的空间。

17 backwards   

adv.往回地，向原处，倒，相反，前后倒置地

参考例句：

• He turned on the light and began to pace backwards and forwards.他打开电灯并开始走来走去。
• All the girls fell over backwards to get the party ready.姑娘们迫不及待地为聚会做准备。

18 infantry   

n.[总称]步兵(部队)

参考例句：

• The infantry were equipped with flame throwers.步兵都装备有喷火器。
• We have less infantry than the enemy.我们的步兵比敌人少。

19 gravel   

n.砂跞；砂砾层；结石

参考例句：

• We bought six bags of gravel for the garden path.我们购买了六袋碎石用来铺花园的小路。
• More gravel is needed to fill the hollow in the drive.需要更多的砾石来填平车道上的坑洼。

20 albeit   

conj.即使；纵使；虽然

参考例句：

• Albeit fictional,she seemed to have resolved the problem.虽然是虚构的，但是在她看来好象是解决了问题。
• Albeit he has failed twice,he is not discouraged.虽然失败了两次，但他并没有气馁。