VOA慢速英语--新冠病毒危机改变了自动驾驶汽车的世界

The coronavirus crisis is changing the world of autonomous², or self-driving, cars. More companies are now thinking about using the vehicles to deliver goods instead of people.

John Krafcik is the head of Waymo, a self-driving technology company owned by Google's parent, Alphabet.

Earlier this month, Krafcik told the Reuters news agency, "The reality right now is that goods delivery is a bigger market than moving people."

Waymo started out working on autonomous taxis, but has also been developing self-driving trucks and delivery vehicles. The company recently raised $750 million dollars from investors³. It has signed deals with shipping⁴ company UPS and major retailer⁵ Walmart to test the delivery of goods.

But Waymo is not the only company raising new financing.

Over the past seven months, investors have put at least $6 billion into more than 20 companies working on autonomous delivery of goods and food. These include autonomous flying vehicles and heavy trucks, a recent Reuters study found.

Most of that investment – at least $4 billion since January – went to big companies like Waymo and Didi Chuxing, China's biggest ride-sharing company. Both companies are attempting to create separate autonomous vehicle services to carry goods and people.

While delivery robots built to operate on sidewalks have received much media attention, they have drawn⁶ little recent investment. Still, an increasing number of cities and companies are trying them out.

Christopher Bruno is head of the Fairfax, Virginia, economic development office. He worked to get Starship sidewalk robots on the streets as soon as the coronavirus crisis shut down the area. "I think without a crisis, there would have been some skepticism as to whether this would have been used or not," Bruno said. Skepticism refers to a kind of doubt.

Bruno said even though the approval process for new businesses usually takes six to 10 months, "we did it in a week and a half." Currently, 20 robots are delivering food and other products in Fairfax.

Some investors warn that recent media coverage⁷ has increased hopes too much about autonomous delivery services, which still face technical and legal difficulties.

Quin Garcia is the managing director of Autotech Ventures. He noted⁸ there is a certain amount of hype - talk that makes people excited - around autonomous delivery.

"While there's increased hype around automated⁹ delivery right now due to coronavirus," he said, "this health crisis will be mostly resolved in a few years from now before automated on-road delivery is ready for mass adoption¹⁰."

Still, autonomous startups are seeking to take advantage of virus-driven publicity¹¹ for human-free delivery services.

These include Michigan-based autonomous delivery startup Refraction AI, sidewalk robot maker¹² Kiwibot in California and self-driving technology company Optimus Ride in Boston. Ireland-based Manna Drone is also seeking to enter the market.

All the companies are involved in money raising as demand for their delivery services has increased.

Phantom¹³ Auto¹, which makes software to control delivery robots, has also seen rising demand and expects to raise more money this year.

James Peng is the founder¹⁴ and CEO of Pony¹⁵.ai. The company recently carried out tests of its vehicles for food deliveries in California during the pandemic.

Peng noted that the virus crisis has created a "need to provide some much needed food and package delivery services."

I'm John Russell.

Words in This Story

deliver – v. to take (something) to a person or place

retailer – n. a person or business that sells things directly to customers for their own use

sidewalk – n. a usually concrete path along the side of a street for people to walk on

adoption – n. the act or process of beginning to use something new or different

take advantage of – phr. to use (something, such as an opportunity) in a way that helps you : to make good use of (something)

package – n. a box or large envelope that is sent or delivered usually through the mail or by another delivery service

1 auto   

n.(=automobile)(口语)汽车

参考例句：

• Don't park your auto here.别把你的汽车停在这儿。
• The auto industry has brought many people to Detroit.汽车工业把许多人吸引到了底特律。

2 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。

3 investors   

n.投资者，出资者( investor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a con man who bilked investors out of millions of dollars 诈取投资者几百万元的骗子
• a cash bonanza for investors 投资者的赚钱机会

4 shipping   

n.船运（发货，运输，乘船）

参考例句：

• We struck a bargain with an American shipping firm.我们和一家美国船运公司谈成了一笔生意。
• There's a shipping charge of ￡5 added to the price.价格之外另加五英镑运输费。

5 retailer   

n.零售商(人)

参考例句：

• What are the retailer requirements?零售商会有哪些要求呢？
• The retailer has assembled a team in Shanghai to examine the question.这家零售商在上海组建了一支团队研究这个问题。

6 drawn   

v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的

参考例句：

• All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。
• Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。

7 coverage   

n.报导，保险范围，保险额，范围，覆盖

参考例句：

• There's little coverage of foreign news in the newspaper.报纸上几乎没有国外新闻报道。
• This is an insurance policy with extensive coverage.这是一项承保范围广泛的保险。

8 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

9 automated   

a.自动化的

参考例句：

• The entire manufacturing process has been automated. 整个生产过程已自动化。
• Automated Highway System (AHS) is recently regarded as one subsystem of Intelligent Transport System (ITS). 近年来自动公路系统(Automated Highway System,AHS)，作为智能运输系统的子系统之一越来越受到重视。

10 adoption   

n.采用，采纳，通过；收养

参考例句：

• An adoption agency had sent the boys to two different families.一个收养机构把他们送给两个不同的家庭。
• The adoption of this policy would relieve them of a tremendous burden.采取这一政策会给他们解除一个巨大的负担。

11 publicity   

n.众所周知，闻名；宣传，广告

参考例句：

• The singer star's marriage got a lot of publicity.这位歌星的婚事引起了公众的关注。
• He dismissed the event as just a publicity gimmick.他不理会这件事，只当它是一种宣传手法。

12 maker   

n.制造者，制造商

参考例句：

• He is a trouble maker，You must be distant with him.他是个捣蛋鬼，你不要跟他在一起。
• A cabinet maker must be a master craftsman.家具木工必须是技艺高超的手艺人。

13 phantom   

n.幻影，虚位，幽灵；adj.错觉的，幻影的，幽灵的

参考例句：

• I found myself staring at her as if she were a phantom.我发现自己瞪大眼睛看着她，好像她是一个幽灵。
• He is only a phantom of a king.他只是有名无实的国王。

14 Founder   

n.创始者，缔造者

参考例句：

• He was extolled as the founder of their Florentine school.他被称颂为佛罗伦萨画派的鼻祖。
• According to the old tradition,Romulus was the founder of Rome.按照古老的传说，罗穆卢斯是古罗马的建国者。

15 pony   

adj.小型的；n.小马

参考例句：

• His father gave him a pony as a Christmas present.他父亲给了他一匹小马驹作为圣诞礼物。
• They made him pony up the money he owed.他们逼他还债。