VOA常速英语2014--Google Buys Drone Company 谷歌收购无人机公司（在线收听）

Google Buys Drone Company 谷歌收购无人机公司

In its latest purchase of high-tech companies, Google has acquired a manufacturer of solar-powered drones that can stay in the air almost indefinitely, relaying broadband Internet connection to remote areas. It is seen as yet another step in the U.S.-based Web giant’s bid to bring Internet to the whole world.

Even as it experiments with self-driving cars on the ground, Google has been acquiring companies that manufacture pilotless flying vehicles-aircraft that can stay aloft for very long periods of time, such as solar-powered balloons and drones.

即使进行了地面上自动驾驶汽车的测试,谷歌也一直在收购研制无人机的公司,这种飞行器可以在空中停留很长时间,比如太阳能气球和无人机。

The Internet giant aims to bring Web access to remote areas of the world, which it says could help speed disaster relief or monitor environmental damage. And it says atmospheric satellites could also provide high-resolution aerial images for its Google Earth service.

这家互联网巨头旨在将互联网普及到世界偏远地区,帮助加快灾害援助或监测环境破坏程度。而且谷歌表示大气卫星还可以为自家的地图服务提供高分辨率航空影像。

Its newest acquisition, the 20-employee, New Mexico-based company Titan Aerospace, plans to manufacture a larger version of its successful solar-powered drone Solara.

而谷歌最新收购的这家具有20名员工名为泰坦航空位于墨西哥的新公司计划生产使其大获成功的太阳能无人机Solara的新型号。

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Chief Technical Officer, Maximus Yaney, says it will be as efficient as a satellite, but much less expensive to operate-just one-hundredth of the cost.

首席技术官马克西姆斯·亚尼表示它的功能和卫星一模一样,但实施起来要便宜得多—只需要卫星成本的百分之一。

“What we're focusing on from a capability perspective is being able to provide these kinds of services as an alternate or adding to satellite platform capabilities.”

“我们专注于从功能的角度作为一种替代或增加卫星平台功能能够提供这些服务。”

He says the new drone, Solara 50, will be able to fly almost 20 kilometers above the earth, providing the Internet signal in a radius of almost 420 kilometers...and stay aloft for almost five years.

他表示这一新的无人机Solara 50可以在地球上空飞行将近20公里,于半径几乎420公里范围内提供互联网信号…而且能够在空中停留将近5年。

“Solar-powered, you have the capability of staying up there effectively indefinitely, you're simply limited by the rechargeable batteries.”

“有了太阳能,你就有了无限支持下去的能力,唯一的局限就是在于可充电电池这个问题上。”

Other technology companies are also interested in the potential of drones. Earlier this year, Internet-based giant Facebook acquired the British drone manufacturer Ascenta, while the Internet retail company Amazon is experimenting with drones for package deliveries.

其它科技公司对于无人机的潜力也非常感兴趣。今年早些时候互联网巨头脸书收购了英国无人驾驶飞机制造商Ascenta,而网络零售公司亚马逊正在试验无人机的包裹送递服务。