VOA慢速英语2021 无人驾驶汽车仍然需要人类操作员（在线收听）

For the most part, humans are still necessary for operating what are supposed to be self-driving vehicles. This situation highlights the difficulties facing the automated vehicle industry, which has gotten billions of dollars in investor money over the past decade.

在大多数情况下，自动驾驶汽车仍然需要人类来操作。这种情况凸显了自动驾驶汽车行业面临的困境，该行业在过去十年里获得了投资者数十亿美元的投资。

In the past year, self-driving startups like Cruise and Pony.ai have begun testing their driverless cars in some parts of California. These cars have human operators.

去年，像克鲁斯和小马智行这种自动驾驶初创公司已经在加州的一些地区开始测试他们的无人驾驶汽车。这些汽车上有人工操作员。

The human is not "driving," but sitting in the passenger seat. Called a safety operator, the human "has a red button that can stop the vehicle just in case anything happens," Pony.ai CEO James Peng told the Reuters news agency.

这些人没在开车，而是坐在副驾。小马智行公司首席执行官彭军对路透社表示，这些人被称作安全操作员，他们有一个红色按钮，可以在万一发生任何事情时停止车辆。

The operator will be removed next year when Pony.ai, whose investors include Toyota Motor Corp., sends out its driverless vehicles in some areas of California. Still, an operator will supervise vehicles from a distance and give help when the vehicles run into trouble, Peng said.

彭军表示，明年当小马智行（其投资者包括丰田汽车公司）在加州某些地区推出无人驾驶车辆时，该操作员将被取消。不过操作员会在远程监控车辆，并在车辆遇到问题时提供帮助。

Cruise is majority-owned by General Motors. It started operating five driverless vehicles in San Francisco at night in October 2020. A human was in the front seat. The person has "the ability to stop the vehicle at any point during the ride," a Cruise spokesman told Reuters.

克鲁斯公司的大股东是通用汽车公司。该公司于2020年10月的晚上开始在旧金山运营5辆无人驾驶汽车。有个人坐在前排座位。克鲁斯公司发言人对路透社表示，这个人可以在乘车过程中随时停下车辆。

"Cruise views the development of self-driving vehicles as not only a tech race, but also a trust race," the spokesman said. He added that humans help with safe driverless vehicle development and help "build trust with the public."

这位发言人表示：“克鲁斯公司认为自动驾驶汽车的发展不仅是一场关于技术的竞赛，也是一场关于信任的竞赛。”他还表示，这些人有助于安全无人驾驶汽车的开发，并有助于与公众建立信任。

In the face of many technical and legal difficulties, some self-driving companies are accepting the need for human minders. The goal is to make money in the near future, investors and startup executives say.

面对诸多技术和法律上的困难，一些自动驾驶公司开始接受人工看管员的需求。投资者和初创公司高管表示，目标是在不久的将来盈利。

Tesla Inc. recently launched a new test version of what it calls "Full Self-Driving" software. The company said in a message to owners that drivers should "be prepared to act immediately, especially around blind corners, crossing intersections, and in narrow driving situations."

特斯拉公司最近推出了它所谓的全自动驾驶软件的全新测试版本。该公司在给车主的消息中表示，司机应该做好随时接管的准备，尤其是在盲角、十字路口和狭窄道路驾驶的情况下。

U.S. safety officials have opened an investigation into the automaker's Autopilot driver assistance system following several accidents.

在发生多起事故后，美国安全官员已经开始对汽车制造商的自动驾驶辅助系统进行调查。

Officials are also keeping humans involved with automated vehicles.

有关官员还保留人类参与自动驾驶汽车。

In a statement to Reuters, the California Department of Motor Vehicles said state laws "call for a two-way communication link that allows the manufacturer to continuously monitor the (driverless) vehicle's" location and status.

加州机动车管理局在给路透社的一份声明中表示，州法律要求建立双向通信链路，允许制造商持续监控无人驾驶车辆的位置和状态。

Other companies are using remote operation – operating vehicles from a distance - as a way to get vehicles on the road.

其它公司正在使用远程操作作为让车辆上路的一种方式。

In Las Vegas, startup Halo allows customers to call a driverless car, which is driven by a remote human operator over wireless networks operated by T-Mobile US Inc.

在拉斯维加斯，初创公司Halo允许乘客呼叫无人驾驶汽车，该汽车由远程人工操作员通过德国电信美国分公司的无线网络驾驶。

Elliot Katz is co-founder of teleoperation company Phantom Auto.

艾略特·凯兹是远程操作公司幻影汽车的联合创始人。

"Just a few years back, remote human assistance was a dirty little secret in this space," Katz said.

凯兹表示：“就在几年前，远程人工协助在这个领域还是个不可告人的小秘密。”

Katz suggested many developers hoped for vehicles that drove without any human assistance, doing "everything that a human driver would do."

凯兹表示，许多开发人员希望车辆能够在无需任何人工协助的情况下行驶，做到人类司机能做的一切。

He added: "Everyone now knows that's not going to be the case."

他还表示：“现在所有人都知道实际不会是这样。”