美国国家公共电台 NPR These Experimental Shorts Are An 'Exosuit' That Boosts Endurance On The Trail

 

AILSA CHANG, HOST:

Ordinary people may be one step closer to becoming superhuman. Exosuits are these wearable machines that can make a person faster and stronger. NPR's Merrit Kennedy reports on one new invention and where the technology might be heading.

MERRIT KENNEDY, BYLINE¹: If you hear the word exosuit, superheroes might come to mind - like Tony Stark², who invents an amazing exosuit and becomes Iron Man.

(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "IRON MAN")

ROBERT DOWNEY JR: (As Tony Stark) Engage heads up display.

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: (As character) Check.

DOWNEY JR: (As Tony Stark) Import all preferences from home interface³.

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: (As character) Will do, sir.

KENNEDY: One newly designed suit doesn't have all the bells and whistles of Iron Man's. It looks kind of like bike shorts with some wires and small machines around the waist and cables down the legs. And when it's turned on, a person expends⁴ less energy when they move.

CONOR WALSH: So essentially⁵, we've kind of, you know, recreated an artificial muscle, you know, on the outside of the human body that's working in parallel with the underlying⁶ biological muscle.

KENNEDY: That's Conor Walsh, an engineering professor at Harvard. He describes what it's like to put the suit on.

WALSH: You definitely notice that it's pulling across your joints⁷, so you feel kind of the small tugs⁸ from the cable. But after, you know, a fairly short while - say, maybe, like, five minutes - you don't really notice it anymore.

KENNEDY: He says you're just happily running along. And when the suit turns off...

WALSH: You really quickly notice that your legs feel a little bit heavier, and you feel a little bit more sluggish⁹.

KENNEDY: Other exosuits have made it easier to walk or run, but this team says theirs is novel because it can assist people with both kinds of movements. It's been a design challenge because the strides of walking and running are fundamentally different motions, so the machine has to be able to sense when a person changes their gait.

WALSH: So the person doesn't have to tell the system to do anything. It just automatically switches between those two modes.

KENNEDY: In the team's research published today in the journal Science, they found that a person using their suit expended¹⁰ 9% less energy walking and 4% less energy running. Walsh says he thinks the suit could be helpful for a soldier carrying heavy weights over long distances or your average weekend warrior¹¹.

WALSH: Helping¹² healthy people move more efficiently¹³ - could be, you know, someone who's, you know, a recreational hiker who wants to have a little bit more endurance.

KENNEDY: Other models could help people with medical issues to move more easily. And Walsh's lab is collaborating¹⁴ with a company to sell exosuits for stroke survivors¹⁵. This latest tight fabric¹⁶ suit looks more comfortable than some of its predecessors¹⁷ made of large and bulky pieces of metal. And Walsh says the exosuit field is changing fast. In the future, he says they may not be exosuits at all, but rather, technology implanted inside a person's body.

Merrit Kennedy, NPR News.

1 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

2 stark   

adj.荒凉的；严酷的；完全的；adv.完全地

参考例句：

• The young man is faced with a stark choice.这位年轻人面临严峻的抉择。
• He gave a stark denial to the rumor.他对谣言加以完全的否认。

3 interface   

n.接合部位，分界面；v.(使)互相联系

参考例句：

• My computer has a network interface,which allows me to get to other computers.我的计算机有网络接口可以与其它计算机连在一起。
• This program has perspicuous interface and extensive application. 该程序界面明了，适用范围广。

4 expends   

v.花费( expend的第三人称单数 )；使用（钱等）做某事；用光；耗尽

参考例句：

• The commercial value height also expends demand how many! 商业价值高低也就是消费需求多少！ 来自互联网
• The stimulation expends basis, also lies in enhances the resident income. 刺激消费的根本，还在于提高居民收入。 来自互联网

5 essentially   

adv.本质上，实质上，基本上

参考例句：

• Really great men are essentially modest.真正的伟人大都很谦虚。
• She is an essentially selfish person.她本质上是个自私自利的人。

6 underlying   

adj.在下面的，含蓄的，潜在的

参考例句：

• The underlying theme of the novel is very serious.小说隐含的主题是十分严肃的。
• This word has its underlying meaning.这个单词有它潜在的含义。

7 joints   

接头( joint的名词复数 )； 关节； 公共场所（尤指价格低廉的饮食和娱乐场所） （非正式）； 一块烤肉 （英式英语）

参考例句：

• Expansion joints of various kinds are fitted on gas mains. 各种各样的伸缩接头被安装在煤气的总管道上了。
• Expansion joints of various kinds are fitted on steam pipes. 各种各样的伸缩接头被安装在蒸气管道上了。

8 tugs   

n.猛拉( tug的名词复数 )；猛拖；拖船v.用力拉，使劲拉，猛扯( tug的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• The raucous sirens of the tugs came in from the river. 河上传来拖轮发出的沙哑的汽笛声。 来自辞典例句
• As I near the North Tower, the wind tugs at my role. 当我接近北塔的时候，风牵动着我的平衡杆。 来自辞典例句

9 sluggish   

adj.懒惰的，迟钝的，无精打采的

参考例句：

• This humid heat makes you feel rather sluggish.这种湿热的天气使人感到懒洋洋的。
• Circulation is much more sluggish in the feet than in the hands.脚部的循环比手部的循环缓慢得多。

10 expended   

v.花费( expend的过去式和过去分词 )；使用（钱等）做某事；用光；耗尽

参考例句：

• She expended all her efforts on the care of home and children. 她把所有精力都花在料理家务和照顾孩子上。
• The enemy had expended all their ammunition. 敌人已耗尽所有的弹药。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 warrior   

n.勇士，武士，斗士

参考例句：

• The young man is a bold warrior.这个年轻人是个很英勇的武士。
• A true warrior values glory and honor above life.一个真正的勇士珍视荣誉胜过生命。

12 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

13 efficiently   

adv.高效率地，有能力地

参考例句：

• The worker oils the machine to operate it more efficiently.工人给机器上油以使机器运转更有效。
• Local authorities have to learn to allocate resources efficiently.地方政府必须学会有效地分配资源。

14 collaborating   

合作( collaborate的现在分词 )； 勾结叛国

参考例句：

• Joe is collaborating on the work with a friend. 乔正与一位朋友合作做那件工作。
• He was not only learning from but also collaborating with Joseph Thomson. 他不仅是在跟约瑟福？汤姆逊学习，而且也是在和他合作。

15 survivors   

幸存者，残存者，生还者( survivor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The survivors were adrift in a lifeboat for six days. 幸存者在救生艇上漂流了六天。
• survivors clinging to a raft 紧紧抓住救生筏的幸存者

16 fabric   

n.织物，织品，布；构造，结构，组织

参考例句：

• The fabric will spot easily.这种织品很容易玷污。
• I don't like the pattern on the fabric.我不喜欢那块布料上的图案。

17 predecessors   

n.前任( predecessor的名词复数 )；前辈；（被取代的）原有事物；前身

参考例句：

• The new government set about dismantling their predecessors' legislation. 新政府正着手废除其前任所制定的法律。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Will new plan be any more acceptable than its predecessors? 新计划比原先的计划更能令人满意吗？ 来自《简明英汉词典》