TED演讲:探索世界最深洞穴(5)

 You need an AUV, an autonomous¹ underwater vehicle.  你需要个AUV，一个自行式水下航行器。

It needs to be one smart puppy, able to navigate² and make decisions on its own in an alien ocean.  它必须很聪明，能够自己导航在陌生的外星球的大洋里能够自己做决定。

What Jim didn't know when he released that movie was that six months earlier NASA had funded a team I assembled to develop a prototype for the Europa AUV.  吉姆公映这部电影时并不知道六个月前NASA(美国宇航局)已拨款给我集合的一个团队去研发木卫二自行式水下航行器的原型。

I mean, I cut through three years of engineering meetings, design and system integration³, and introduced DEPTHX Deep Phreatic Thermal⁴ Explorer.  我花了三年的工程会议，设计和系统整合，设计了DEPTHX-深水热源探索仪。

And as the movie says, this is one smart puppy.  就像电影描述的，这是一个灵敏的小东西。

It's got 96 sensors⁵, 36 onboard computers,  它有96个传感器，36台车携式电脑，

100,000 lines of behavioral autonomy code,  十万条自主行为指令，

packs more than 10 kilos of TNT in electrical onboard equivalent.  携带着十多公斤的炸药。

This is the target site,  这是目的地，

the world's deepest hydrothermal spring at Cenote Zacaton in northern Mexico.  墨西哥北部萨卡通石灰岩洞的世界最深温泉。

It's been explored to a depth of 292 meters.  有人曾经探索到292米深处。

and beyond that nobody knows anything.  再深就没人知道是什么样了。

This is part of DEPTHX's mission.  探索它是深水热源探测仪的任务之一。

There are two primary targets we're doing here.  我们有两个正在研究的主要方向。

One is, how do you do science autonomy underground?  一个是如何在地下自动地做科学实验？

How do you take a robot and turn it into a field microbiologist?  如何将机器人变成野外工作的生物学家？

There are more stages involved here than I've got time to tell you about, but basically we drive through the space, we populate it with environmental variables-sulphide, halide, things like that.  这个有更多的步骤,可惜我没有足够的时间细述，但是基本上我们操纵机器人穿过这个空间，我们让它探测环境变量-硫化物，卤化物，这样的东西。

We calculate gradient surfaces, and drive the bot over to a wall where there's a high probability of life.  我们计算倾斜的表面，操纵机器人爬上墙体,那里很有可能存在生命。

We move along the wall, in what's called proximity⁶ operations,  我们沿墙移动，这就是所谓的近距离操做,

looking for changes in color.  寻找颜色的变化。

If we see something that looks interesting, we pull it into a microscope.  如果我们遇到什么有趣的东西，我们把它放到显微镜下。

If it passes the microscopic⁷ test, we go for a collection.  如果它通过了显微镜测试，我们就收集样本。

1 autonomous   

adj.自治的；独立的

参考例句：

• They proudly declared themselves part of a new autonomous province.他们自豪地宣布成为新自治省的一部分。
• This is a matter that comes within the jurisdiction of the autonomous region.这件事是属于自治区权限以内的事务。

2 navigate   

v.航行，飞行；导航，领航

参考例句：

• He was the first man to navigate the Atlantic by air.他是第一个飞越大西洋的人。
• Such boats can navigate on the Nile.这种船可以在尼罗河上航行。

3 integration   

n.一体化，联合，结合

参考例句：

• We are working to bring about closer political integration in the EU.我们正在努力实现欧盟內部更加紧密的政治一体化。
• This was the greatest event in the annals of European integration.这是欧洲统一史上最重大的事件。

4 thermal   

adj.热的，由热造成的；保暖的

参考例句：

• They will build another thermal power station.他们要另外建一座热能发电站。
• Volcanic activity has created thermal springs and boiling mud pools.火山活动产生了温泉和沸腾的泥浆池。

5 sensors   

n.传感器，灵敏元件( sensor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• There were more than 2000 sensors here. 这里装有两千多个灵敏元件。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Significant changes have been noted where sensors were exposed to trichloride. 当传感器暴露在三氯化物中时，有很大变化。 来自辞典例句

6 proximity   

n.接近，邻近

参考例句：

• Marriages in proximity of blood are forbidden by the law.法律规定禁止近亲结婚。
• Their house is in close proximity to ours.他们的房子很接近我们的。

7 microscopic   

adj.微小的，细微的，极小的，显微的

参考例句：

• It's impossible to read his microscopic handwriting.不可能看清他那极小的书写字迹。
• A plant's lungs are the microscopic pores in its leaves.植物的肺就是其叶片上微细的气孔。