VOA慢速英语2015 新人造皮肤体感已接近真正皮肤

 

New Artificial Skin Feels Like Real Skin 新人造皮肤体感已接近真正皮肤

Some recently developed mechanical hands can be controlled by thoughts. But people who wear them must use their sight to know what they are touching¹. So scientists in the United States and South Korea have developed an artificial skin that lets people know more about objects they touch.

A mechanical hand covered by the new skin could tell the user whether an object is wet or dry. It could also measure how firmly a person is holding the object.

Kim Dae-Hyeong is a professor at Seoul National University School of Chemical and Biological Engineering. He leads a team of researchers that developed the skin. He says it acts and feels like human skin.

“The skin can feel pressure, temperature, strain, and humidity. Also it is soft, just like human skin, and embedded³ with heating elements that can make itself warm.”

Professor Kim says the skin cannot send signals to the brain.  But he says scientists hope it will be able to someday.

“I hope a robotic limb with this synthetic⁴ skin can be used by disabled people. For industrial uses, it can be applied⁵ to various types of robots, like a humanoid robot.”

The scientists say mechanical hands covered with the skin may someday be able to type on a computer and even change a baby’s wet diaper.

Words in This Story

mechanical – adj. having or using machinery⁶

artificial – adj. not natural or real : made, produced, or done to seem like something natural 

humidity – n. moisture in the air

embed² – v. to place or set (something) firmly in something else

synthetic – adj. made by combining different substances : not natural   

humanoid – adj. looking or acting⁷ like a human

diaper – n. a piece of cloth or other material that is placed between a baby's legs and fastened around the waist to hold body waste

1 touching   

adj.动人的，使人感伤的

参考例句：

• It was a touching sight.这是一幅动人的景象。
• His letter was touching.他的信很感人。

2 embed   

vt.把…嵌(埋、插)入，扎牢；使深留脑中

参考例句：

• The harpoon struck but did not embed.鱼叉击中了但并没有插入。
• This photo showed us how did the root of plant embed the soil deeply.这张照片显示植物的根是如何深入到土壤里去的。

3 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。

4 synthetic   

adj.合成的，人工的；综合的；n.人工制品

参考例句：

• We felt the salesman's synthetic friendliness.我们感觉到那位销售员的虚情假意。
• It's a synthetic diamond.这是人造钻石。

5 applied   

adj.应用的；v.应用，适用

参考例句：

• She plans to take a course in applied linguistics.她打算学习应用语言学课程。
• This cream is best applied to the face at night.这种乳霜最好晚上擦脸用。

6 machinery   

n.(总称)机械，机器；机构

参考例句：

• Has the machinery been put up ready for the broadcast?广播器材安装完毕了吗？
• Machinery ought to be well maintained all the time.机器应该随时注意维护。

7 acting   

n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的

参考例句：

• Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她，她只是假装的。
• During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代，她的表演生涯黯然失色。