科技英语阅读教材ESTreadingunit4原文及译文高教出版

科技英语阅读教材ESTreadingunit4原文及译文高教出版
Unite4 Electronic Information(robots)
Remote-controlled Robot Surrogate Could Attend Your Next Meeting. for You(译文见下端)
1It may look like a floor lamp mounted on a vacuum claener , but Anybots Inc.'s new QB is actually the latest in surrogate robotics . QB is designed to serve as your eyes ,ears and voice when you can't be there in person ,Even better , it's mobile , rolls around on two wheels like Rosie and can be navigated remotely via the Web and a Wi-Fi connection .
2Telecommuting workers and traveling executives alike could us QB (so named because it is the next in line after the company's prototype QB bot) as a virtual extension of themselves. allowing them to attend meetings , tour facilities or perform walk-throughs of real estate properties , all while controlling the robot from a computer keyboard.
3Anybots formally unveiled the remotely controlled robot on Tuesday and plans to start selling QBs by the end of the year .A five-megapixel vedio camera serves as one eye, whlie the other is a laser pointer. A speaker on the crown of QB's head gives it a mouthpiece, a touch-screen monitor on on its forehead enables software maintenance and other input , and a ring of protective rubber around its head makes it look a bit like Olivia Newton-John circa 1981.
4Along with the wheels,a self-balancing system and a motor with a top speed of five kilometers per our make the robot mobile . The two-wheel-as opposed to a tricycle or quad-design makes it more maneuverable in tight spaces and helps keep its weight down to about 16 kilograms . The area between the QB's
head and base consists of a length of telescoping plastic that can be adjusted to let the QB stand as tall as 175 centimeters or as short as 81 centimeter.
5Although it's unclear if the capacity for remote operation. willUS$15,000 Price tag .Anybots believe its technology will appeal to a new generation of workers who expect to be in contact at all times and in all places .The QB is designed to enable this connectivity without sacrificing “presence”,says Bob Christopher,president and chief operating officer of Anybots ,based in Moutain View,Calif . Bandwidth speed and vedio qu ality continue to improve , but they can’t replace being there , he adds .
A test-drive reveals valuable Wi-Fi lesson
6 To see how this might work in practice , Scientific American test-drove (from our editorial offices in New York) a QB located at Anybots’s facility in California . Our mossion was to drive across the building’s lobby and ask a second QB (remotely controlled by an Anybots employee) where we could find Erin Rapacki , who does product development for the company , and then proceed to Erin’s l ocation. The session began with logging on to a website set up by Anybots and selecting the IP address of the QB we were to inhabit.
7 Once our robot “woke up” and connected to Anybots’s local Wi-Fi network, we used the arrow keys on our keyboard to navigate the QB across the lobby. The controls take some getting used to. Particularly because rugs and other materials on the floor may prevent the Qb from travelling a completely straight line . We easily found the other QB but had difficulty aligning our came ra so that we were staring directly into the other QB’s camera. This wasn’t necessary , because we could hear
the person controlling the other QB loud and clear through the microphone on our robot. Using the arrow keys,we were able to swivel our QB to the left and follow the relatively basic directions we had been given to our destination.
8 With a bit more practice, navigation would have been smoother, THE QB features a buit-in lidar(light detection and ranging) system that warns the robot when it is getting too close to an object and slows the robot down to avoid(or at least reduce the impact of) a collision. The QB also has a camera located on the bottom of its “”chin” that points down at its wheels so you can see whether you’re about to drive over a lowe r obstacle(such as someone’s foot).
9 The QB’s laser-pointer eye turned out to be useful when greeting people we encountered, including Anybots founder and CEO Trevor Blackwell, who accepted a laser beam in the palm of his hand in lieu of a handshake (a relief ,since the QB has no hands).
10 By the time we were ready to leave , we were able to drive our QB back to the Anybots lobby and out the front door. Just past the building’s threshold, we learned a valuable lesson in surrogate navigation: never drive outside the range of your Wi-Fi network. A dropped connection means no cameras and no control over the robot’s navigation, which was especially unfortunate in our case because we were approaching the top of
a ramp down to the parking lot when we lost the signal.
11 Danger,Will Robinson.
Unit4译文
今后远程控制的代理机器人可以为您参加的会议
它可能看起来像装在一个真空吸尘器落地灯，但实际上它是Anybots公司最新的代理机器人的QB。

QB 的设计是被用于当你不在
场时可以作为你的眼睛、耳朵并能够替你发声，更棒的是,它的移动是依靠两轮辊像罗丝(引自《杰森一家》),并通过网络和远程无线网络为其导航.
远程办公人员和旅游高管都可以用QB(这样命名是因为它是公司的原型QA bot的下一代产品)作为自己的一个虚拟扩展,允许他们参加会议、查看旅游设施或呈现房地产市场走势，所有这些都是依靠电脑键盘来操控机器人完成Anybots公司在周二正式首次展示遥控机器人并计划在年底开始销售QB机器人。

一颗500万像素的摄像头作为机器人的一只眼，而另一个则是一个激光指针。

一位发言人称给QB一个皇冠,一个喉舌,触摸屏监控在它的前额，赋予它软件维护和其他输入,再加一个环状的保护橡胶绕着它的头，这使它看起来有点像1981年的奥利维亚·纽顿·约翰（美国七八十年代的女星）。

一个拥有自我平衡的系统的车轮，加上最高车速可达到每小时5公里的电动机使机器人运动。

两个车轮，而不是一个三个或四个车轮的设计使得它的机动性更好更易在狭小的空间活动并且利于它的重量限于16公斤。

QB的头部和基座之间由一个可伸缩塑料的长管组成那样可以让它站起来高度能达到175cm，矮的时候可以变成80cm。

虽然那是不清楚的，如果远程操作的能力将能证明QB的15000美元的价格标签是合理的。

但是Anybots相信这种技术将会吸引新一代期望能在何时何地都能背联系的工作者。

在山景城加州的Anybots 的主席和首席执行官鲍勃克里斯多夫说：“QB技术能使人们缺席而保持连通性。

”他还说道：“宽带速度和录像的质量继续在提高，但是都不能代替这技术。

”
为了测试这个技术在实际应用的效果，科学美国人杂志测试（来自我们在纽约的编辑室）了一个位于加州的Anybots设备的QB。

我们的任务是从建筑大厅
中穿过然后问第二个QB（被Anybots的员工控制）我们在哪可以找到公司的产品开发员爱尔兰腊帕茨基。

接着进入爱尔兰的位置。

这个活动以登陆Anybots 建立的一个IP网站开始，并且选择这个我们打算占据的QB的IP地址。

曾经我们的机器人觉醒了并且联上Anybots的当地WI-FI网络，我们使用键盘上的方向键来操作QB穿过大厅。

这个操作有些难度，尤其是因为地面上的地毯或者其他东西会阻碍QB的直线行驶。

我们很容易发现另一个QB，但是很难让它和摄像头排成一列，因此我们正在直视另一个QB的摄像机。

这是不必要的，然而，因为我们能通过装在机器人伤到麦克风，清楚地听见控制另一个QB的人发出的声音。

用方向键，我们让QB转向离开然后跟随我已经知道的目的地的相关基本方向。

只要稍微实践,浏览平滑。

QB端内置了一个激光雷达(光检测和范围)系统,用以警告机器人当它距离一个对象太近了,并且降低机器人的速度以避免(或至少是减小冲击)碰撞。

在机器人的底部也有一个相机QB端,，所以机器人可以看看它是否能够通过一个较低的障碍(如某人的脚)。

当我们问候我们遇到的人你会发现QB端的激光束眼睛的原来是有用的, 用雷射光束来代替握手，包括Anybots创始人和首席执行官特雷沃-布莱克威尔, (reliref,因为QB没有手)。

当我们准备离开时,我们还能推动QB回到大堂并且出前门。

过去的只是这项发明的起点,我们从代理导航重学到了一个宝贵的教训:不要再你的无线网络工作的范围以外驾驶。

一个下降的联系意味着没有照相机和无法控制机器人的导航,在我们的例子中这是特别不幸,因为当我们失去的信号的时候，机器人在接近一个斜坡的顶部停了下来。

危险。

罗宾逊。