《中英對照讀新聞》Japan lab develops humanoid robot that can run house errands日本實驗室研發可以作家務的機器人

◎ 鄭寺音

Though his movement is a bit stiff, slow and voice monotonous, he willingly turns on the television and brings a can of drink for you.

雖然他的動作有點僵硬、遲緩，聲音單調，但他心甘情願地為你打開電視和拿飲料。

Within years, a humanoid robot HRP-2, currently under development by a Japanese national technology institute, could be a little domestic helper.

幾年內，目前日本一間國家科技機構研發的HRP-2機器人，可能會成為家務的小幫手。

The robots--named Promet-- are being developed by the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology, and can run errands. They are designed to respond to verbal instructions and are capable of capturing three-dimensional images of objects and locating them through an infrared sensor.

這種機器人名叫Promet，正由國家產業技術綜合研究所研發，而且可以幫忙做一些雜務。他們的設計目的是回應口語指示，可以攫取物體的3D影像，並透過紅外線感應器找到物體位置。

"We are hoping to make them something comparable to service dogs," Isao Hara, senior researcher at the institute said. "I think it’s quite possible for them to interact with humans. We are now studying how robots can join the human society."

研究所的資深研究員原先生說：「我們希望讓他們成為可媲美輔助犬的東西。我認為，他們相當可能與人類互動。我們現在正在研究怎麼讓機器人加入人類社會。」

Hara said the robots can make most human movements, except for running, which could cause a lot of noise and shaking because of the weight of iron-made robots and their designs.

原先生說，這種機器人可以做大部分的人類動作，除了跑步之外，由於鐵製機器人的重量與其他設計，跑步可能製造很大的聲響與震動。

新聞辭典

humanoid︰形容詞，似人的，有人的特點的。

errand︰名詞，差使，瑣事。例句：I have sent the child on an errand.我派那孩子去辦點事。

locate︰動詞，找到…的位置，指出…的位置。例句：We couldn't locate the source of the signals, sir. 報告長官，我們無法找到信號的來源。