经济学人精读节选100篇The quest to build robots that look and behave like humans 追求制造外观和行为都像人类的机器人-英语外刊社

考研英语外刊去哪里找

经济学人精读节选100篇The quest to build robots that look and behave like humans 追求制造外观和行为都像人类的机器人

★本站需先登录网站才能下载★

本期选文来源：The Economist|June 8th 2024 ，需要经济学人原版PDF|全文中英翻译|MP3|大家下拉至文末下载|也可以自助开通本站会员后加入专属QQ社群或下拉至文末获取全文文档PDF中英翻译PDF,MOBI,EPUB,AZW3,MP3🎵等多种格式。

群号:116278109，添加群之前先加客服QQ：372659099注明来意

经济学人精读节选100篇The quest to build robots that look and behave like humans 追求制造外观和行为都像人类的机器人？

【导读】所涉及的工程挑战是可怕的，但值得解决

【1】IF THE CANONof science-fiction cinema is in broad agreement on one thing, it is that a robot is supposed to look like a human being. It is not only casting directors and special-effects technicians who are on board: engineers can also see the appeal. Pras Velagapudi, the chief technology officer at Agility Robotics , a firm based in Oregon, says that the human form has “guaranteed versatility” because it can be adapted for a wide range of applications. Small wonder. After all, robots have to navigate an environment that has been shaped by humans to suit their needs.

单词解析：applications：n.(尤指理论、发现等的)应用，运用；申请；请求；申请表；申请书；施用；涂抹；敷用 application的复数

例句：The standard of this year’s applications is very low.
今年的申请标准很低。

如果科幻电影的经典在一件事上达成了广泛的共识，那就是机器人应该看起来像人类。不仅选角导演和特效技术人员参与其中，工程师们也看到了它的吸引力。总部位于俄勒冈州的Agility Robotics公司的首席技术官普拉斯·维拉加普迪（Pras Velagapudi）表示，人类形态“保证了多功能性”，因为它可以适应广泛的应用。小奇迹。毕竟，机器人必须驾驭一个由人类塑造的环境，以满足他们的需求。

【2】Such humanoid robots are now starting to work in the real world. Amazon, an e-commerce giant, is testing Digit, a robot made by Agility, in helping its warehouse employees with repetitive tasks. Close to two metres tall, with skinny bird legs and a flat tubular head, Digit can carry empty yellow bins from a shelf to a nearby conveyor belt. Boston Dynamics, a Massachusetts-based robotics firm, plans to use its latest humanoid robot, Atlas, in the manufacturing operations of its owner, Hyundai, a South Korean carmaker.

单词解析：humanoid：n.类人动物；仿真机器人 adj.有人的特点的；人形机

例句：A software system for the humanoid motion control is designed.
设计并实现了机器人综合运动控制的软件系统。

这样的人形机器人现在开始在现实世界中工作。电子商务巨头亚马逊（Amazon）正在测试Agility制造的机器人Digit，以帮助其仓库员工完成重复性任务。Digit 身高近两米，有着瘦小的鸟腿和扁平的管状头部，可以将空的黄色垃圾箱从架子上搬运到附近的传送带上。总部位于马萨诸塞州的机器人公司波士顿动力公司（Boston Dynamics）计划在其所有者韩国汽车制造商现代汽车（Hyundai）的制造业务中使用其最新的人形机器人Atlas。

【3】Such pilot projects remain basic. (Digit’s box-sorting workspace, for instance, remains cordoned off from humans, even if Agility eventually hopes the robot will work alongside its human employees.) All the same, they highlight the impressive strides humanoid robots have made in recent decades. And investors are optimistic. CBInsights, a data provider, estimates that since 2020 $2.3bn has been poured into startups that are building humanoid robots. These upstarts are competing with larger firms like Boston Dynamics; Tesla, an electric carmaker; and UBTech, a Chinese robotics firm.

单词解析：carmaker：网络汽车制造商；汽车生产商

例句：An existing carmaker might build it.
制造者可能会由一家现有的汽车制造商担当。

此类试点项目仍处于基础阶段。（例如，Digit的箱子分拣工作空间仍然与人类隔离，即使Agility最终希望机器人能够与人类员工一起工作。尽管如此，它们还是突出了人形机器人近几十年来取得的令人印象深刻的进步。投资者对此持乐观态度。数据提供商CB Insights估计，自2020年以来，已有23亿美元投入到建造人形机器人的初创公司中。这些新贵正在与波士顿动力公司等大公司竞争;特斯拉，一家电动汽车制造商;以及中国机器人公司UBTech。

【4】The regimented nature of their tasks and the highly controlled environments in which these robots operate reveal how far these machines are from fully replacing humans. However, there is much to be gained from the attempt.

单词解析：regimented：adj.非常严格的；死板的；严格规划的；排列整齐的

例句：The NBA not so long ago was a regimented league.
NBA在不久以前还是个很传统老派的联盟。

他们任务的规范性以及这些机器人运行的高度受控环境揭示了这些机器距离完全取代人类还有多远。然而，从这次尝试中可以收获很多。

【5】In its ideal form, a humanoid robot is designed to look and act like a human: metallic links replace bones, bearings work as joints, motors serve as muscles, cameras act as eyes, and processors are the brains. But form is as important as function. Once a robot looks too human, it becomes even more off-putting than if it were less so—falling into the so-called “uncanny valley”. That is why some in the current breed of humanoid robots, like Digit and Atlas, use simple geometric-shaped heads.

单词解析：metallic:adj.金属的；金属制的；含金属的；（光泽或硬度等）金属般的，有金属特性的，像金属的；（声音）似金属撞击的，刺耳的；金属味的；清脆的，银铃般的；〈化〉（金属元素）以游离状态存在的；产金属的 n.金属制品，含有金属的制品；金属纤维，金属线，金属织物；金属画（织物或颜色）

例句：Metallic paint is an optional extra.
喷金属漆是自由选择的，要额外收费。

在理想形式下，人形机器人被设计成看起来像人类一样：金属链节取代了骨骼，轴承充当关节，电机充当肌肉，相机充当眼睛，处理器充当大脑。但形式与功能同样重要。一旦机器人看起来太人性化了，它就会变得比不那么人性化更令人反感——掉进所谓的“不可思议的山谷”。这就是为什么当前一些人形机器人，如Digit和Atlas，使用简单的几何形状的头部。

【6】To be widely used, such robots also need to match the dexterity and versatility of human beings in real-world settings. Most viral videos of robots running or jumping are carefully choreographed in controlled conditions. A study published in November 2023 by Robert Riener, Luca Rabezzana and Yves Zimmermann from ETH Zurich, a Swiss university, compared the performance of 27 humanoid robots with humans. They found that at the functional level, robots outperform humans. This is hardly surprising: many motors can work longer hours, and lift more weight without tiring, than human muscles can; carbon fibre, which is used to build modern robots, is engineered to take a bigger beating than bone.

单词解析：dexterity:n.灵巧；灵活；(思维)敏捷；(手)熟练

例句：Dexterity comes by experience.
熟练来自经验。

为了得到广泛应用，这种机器人还需要与人类在现实世界中的灵巧性和多功能性相匹配。大多数机器人奔跑或跳跃的病毒视频都是在受控条件下精心编排的。2023 年 11 月，瑞士苏黎世联邦理工学院的 Robert Riener、Luca Rabezzana 和 Yves Zimmermann 发表了一项研究，将 27 个人形机器人的性能与人类进行了比较。他们发现，在功能层面上，机器人的表现优于人类。这并不奇怪：与人体肌肉相比，许多电机可以工作更长的时间，并且可以举起更多的重量而不会感到疲倦;用于制造现代机器人的碳纤维被设计成比骨头更能承受冲击。

长难句分析：

1）原文：A study published in November 2023 by Robert Riener, Luca Rabezzana and Yves Zimmermann from ETH Zurich, a Swiss university, compared the performance of 27 humanoid robots with humans.

2）解析：

A study published [in November 2023](状语) [by Robert Riener, Luca Rabezzana and Yves Zimmermann] [from ETH Zurich, <a Swiss university>]（状语）, compared the performance (of 27 humanoid robots) （后置定语)with humans.