VOA慢速英语2018 仿真机器人"佩珀"亮相英国议会

Humanoid ‘Pepper’ Appears in Britain’s Parliament

A robot appeared with British lawmakers earlier this week to demonstrate how machines are being engineered to act like human beings.

本周初，一个机器人与英国议员一起示范了机器是如何模拟人类的行为举止的。

The robot is called Pepper. It is known as a humanoid, a machine designed to look and act like a person.

这个机器人名为“佩珀”。它是仿真机器人，即外观和行为像人类一样的机器。

Pepper was called to sit Tuesday with the Education Committee in Britain’s House of Commons. The parliament announced it was the first time a robot had ever appeared for questioning by lawmakers.

周二，“佩珀”被传召与英国下议院教育委员会一起进行讨论。英国议会宣布，这是议员史上首次对机器人进行问询。

Japan’s SoftBank Robotics launched Pepper in 2014. The robot appearing in parliament belongs to an engineering and computer science team at London’s Middlesex University. The students are developing the artificial intelligence or AI programs that power Pepper. AI is the ability of a machine, such as a computer, to reproduce intelligent human behavior.

日本软银机器人公司于2014年推出仿真机器人“佩珀”。亮相英国议会的机器人是伦敦米德尔塞克斯大学工程与计算机科学团队的成员。该团队的学生正在开发为“佩珀”提供电源的人工智能（简称AI）程序。人工智能是计算机等机器复制人类智能行为的能力。

Pepper was welcomed to parliament by Robert Halfon, chairman of the Education Committee.

教育委员会主席罗伯特·哈尔芬在英国议会欢迎“佩珀”的到来。

“Pepper, could you please introduce yourself.”

“佩珀，请你介绍一下自已。”

“Good morning chair. Thank you for inviting¹ me to give evidence today. My name is Pepper and I’m a resident robot at Middlesex University.”

“主席先生，早上好。谢谢你邀请我今天来作证。我叫佩珀，是米德尔塞克斯大学的常驻机器人。”

Pepper explained that it was involved in a special robot development project called Caresses². The European Commission and Japanese government launched the project in 2017. It aims to design robots that can assist older adults and “adapt to the culture of the individual they are taking care of.”

“佩珀”解释说，它参与了名为“Caresses”的特殊机器人开发项目。该项目由欧洲委员会和日本政府在2017年启动。这一项目旨在设计可以协助老年人的机器人，并让机器人适应它们照顾的老人的个人文化。

Robots like Pepper are being engineered to help people carry out many common tasks and other activities. For example, a robot can help someone remember to take medicine or urge them to stay active. The humanoids can also serve as a communication link to help older adults keep in contact with family members and friends.

“佩珀”这类机器人旨在帮助人们开展众多常见任务和其他活动。比如，机器人可以提醒人们服药，或敦促人们经常活动。仿真机器人还能作为通信枢纽，帮助老人与家庭成员和朋友保持联系。

Engineers working on the Caresses project say they are using machine learning to make Pepper seem intelligent. They say their development methods help robots recognize the daily activities and desires of the people they are assisting.

参与“Caresses”项目的工程师表示，他们利用机器学习来让“佩珀”做到类智能。他们说，他们的开发方法能帮助机器人识别日常活动和他们所照顾人群的需求。

Pepper told British lawmakers the Caresses project has helped make robots more intelligent and “culturally competent.”

“佩珀”对英国议员说，“Caresses”项目提升了机器人的智能程度和“文化能力”。

“Assistive, intelligent robots for older people could relieve pressure in hospitals and care homes as well as improve the care delivery at home.”

“为老年人提供智能辅助机器人可以减轻医院和养老院的压力，还可以改善家庭护理服务。”

Pepper added that this kind of personal robot can also be used to reduce loneliness and improve a person’s quality of life.

“佩珀”补充说，这种个人机器人还能减少孤独感并提升个人的生活质量。

Several British lawmakers questioned Pepper about technology subjects. But all of Pepper’s answers appeared to have been pre-programmed before the committee appearance.

多位英国议员就科技问题对“佩珀”进行了提问。但是，“佩珀”的所有回答看似都是在出席听证前编写好的预编程答案。

The technology website The Verge³ reported how AI and robotics researchers noted⁴ that Pepper is not equipped to listen to questions and provide answers in real-time.

科技网站The Verge报道称，人工智能和机器人研究员指出，“佩珀”不具备听取问题并提供实时答案的能力。

A spokesman for the Education Committee spoke⁵ about the issue with The Verge. “It will be clear on the day that Pepper’s responses are not spontaneous,” the spokesman said.

教育委员会一名发言人就这一问题接受了The Verge的采访。该发言人表示，“显然，佩珀当天的回答不是自发的。”

He added that Pepper’s appearance provided the chance for lawmakers “to explore both the potential and limitations of such technology and the capabilities⁶ of robots.”

他补充道，“佩珀”出席听证会为议员提供了机会——可以探索此类技术的潜力和限制以及机器人能力的机会。

Martin Loomes leads Middlesex University’s School of Science and Technology. He says robots are sure to play a big part in many industries in the future. But Pepper is an example of how robots can do more than purely⁷ mechanical jobs and seek to connect meaningfully with people in social and cultural ways, he added.

马丁·卢默斯是米德尔塞克斯大学科学技术学院的负责人。他说，机器人未来一定会在许多行业中发挥重大作用。他还指出，“佩珀”是一个例子，它证明了机器人不只可以处理纯机械性工作，还能在社交和文化方面寻求与人类建立有意义的联系。

Words in This Story

introduce – v. to make known by an official announcement or act

resident – n. someone who lives in a set or given place

adapt – v. to be able to change to meet new needs or requirements

competent – adj. able to do something well

relieve – v. to ease a burden or load

promote – v. encourage something to happen

spontaneous – adj. happening naturally or sudden and without being planned

capability⁸ – n. the ability or power to do something

1 inviting   

adj.诱人的，引人注目的

参考例句：

• An inviting smell of coffee wafted into the room.一股诱人的咖啡香味飘进了房间。
• The kitchen smelled warm and inviting and blessedly familiar.这间厨房的味道温暖诱人，使人感到亲切温馨。

2 caresses   

爱抚，抚摸( caress的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• A breeze caresses the cheeks. 微风拂面。
• Hetty was not sufficiently familiar with caresses or outward demonstrations of fondness. 海蒂不习惯于拥抱之类过于外露地表现自己的感情。

3 verge   

n.边，边缘；v.接近，濒临

参考例句：

• The country's economy is on the verge of collapse.国家的经济已到了崩溃的边缘。
• She was on the verge of bursting into tears.她快要哭出来了。

4 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

5 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

6 capabilities   

n.能力( capability的名词复数 )；可能；容量；[复数]潜在能力

参考例句：

• He was somewhat pompous and had a high opinion of his own capabilities. 他有点自大，自视甚高。 来自辞典例句
• Some programmers use tabs to break complex product capabilities into smaller chunks. 一些程序员认为，标签可以将复杂的功能分为每个窗格一组简单的功能。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓

7 purely   

adv.纯粹地，完全地

参考例句：

• I helped him purely and simply out of friendship.我帮他纯粹是出于友情。
• This disproves the theory that children are purely imitative.这证明认为儿童只会单纯地模仿的理论是站不住脚的。

8 capability   

n.能力；才能；(pl)可发展的能力或特性等

参考例句：

• She has the capability to become a very fine actress.她有潜力成为杰出演员。
• Organizing a whole department is beyond his capability.组织整个部门是他能力以外的事。