2020年经济学人 启动无人机(2)

Since wheeled drones are in effect selfdriving cars, albeit¹ passenger-less ones, they need authorities’ approval to operate. This has not always been forthcoming. Now the “corona shock” is softening² up regulators, says Ryu Kentaro of ZMP, a maker³ of rolling drones in Tokyo. ZMP plans to begin a trial in Japan’s capital this summer, faster than expected. In September another pilot project will see TwinswHeel’s “droids” shuttle mail for La Poste, France’s postal⁴ service in Montpelier (postal workers will handle the “last mile” to mailboxes). Officials look kindly⁵ on covid-proof contactless delivery, says Qi Kong, in charge of drones at JD Logistics, an arm of jd.com, a Chinese e-commerce giant. Its vehicles’ cargo⁶ bays open with a scan of a recipient’s face or smartphone screen. On June 26th Amazon said it would buy Zoox, an autonomous-car startup, for $1.2bn.

因为轮式无人机实际上很像自动驾驶汽车，不过乘客相对较少，所以需要官方批准才能操作。这并不是一直都能做到的。日本旋转无人机制造商ZMP的Ryu Kentaro表示,现在由于“冠状病毒冲击”,监管机构放松了管制。ZMP计划今年夏天在日本首都试飞无人机，这比预期的要快。九月，TwinswHeel将开展另一项试点项目，即利用无人机为法国Montpelier的邮政服务机构配送邮件（邮政工作人员的“最后一公里”信箱配送）。京东物流是中国电子商务巨头京东的分支机构，其无人机主管Qi Kong表示，官方很看好防疫无接触配送，通过扫描收件人的面部或智能手机屏幕，其车辆货舱就会打开。6月26日，亚马逊宣布将收购Zoox，一家价值12亿美元的自动驾驶创业公司。

Drone airmail remains⁷ fledgling. Matternet, an American firm, operates a limited network in Switzerland. Wing, Google’s sister company, serves parts of America, Australia and Finland. Zipline, which pioneered medical deliveries by winged drones in Ghana and Rwanda, opened a small droneport in North Carolina in May. But by one reckoning, less than a third of last year’s automated⁸ deliveries worldwide were by air. Amazon’s Prime Air, scheduled to launch in late 2019, remains grounded.

无人机空邮仍处于起步阶段。美国公司Matternet在瑞士运营一个有限网络。谷歌的姐妹公司Wing同时为美国、澳大利亚以及芬兰的部分地区提供服务。Zipline公司开创了利用有翼无人机在加纳和卢旺达配送医疗物资的先河，该公司五月份在北卡罗来纳州开辟了小型无人机机场。但据估计，去年全世界的自动配送业务中，空运占比不到三分之一。亚马逊的Prime Air计划于2019年底推出，目前仍处于停滞状态。

At least more regulators are getting on board. After much wavering, Ontario’s have at last allowed a local firm, Drone Delivery Canada, to supply a remote indigenous⁹ group called Beausoleil, fearful of lorry drivers bringing in the coronavirus. Flights are to begin in July.

至少有更多的监管机构加入进来。安大略省在经历了多次犹豫不决之后，终于允许一家当地公司，Drone Delivery Canada，为名为Beausoleil的偏远土著群体提供物资，因为他们担心卡车司机带来冠状病毒，空运预计将在七月份开始。

1 albeit   

conj.即使；纵使；虽然

参考例句：

• Albeit fictional,she seemed to have resolved the problem.虽然是虚构的，但是在她看来好象是解决了问题。
• Albeit he has failed twice,he is not discouraged.虽然失败了两次，但他并没有气馁。

2 softening   

变软，软化

参考例句：

• Her eyes, softening, caressed his face. 她的眼光变得很温柔了。它们不住地爱抚他的脸。 来自汉英文学 - 家（1-26） - 家（1-26）
• He might think my brain was softening or something of the kind. 他也许会觉得我婆婆妈妈的，已经成了个软心肠的人了。

3 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。

4 postal   

adj.邮政的，邮局的

参考例句：

• A postal network now covers the whole country.邮路遍及全国。
• Remember to use postal code.勿忘使用邮政编码。

5 kindly   

adj.和蔼的，温和的，爽快的；adv.温和地，亲切地

参考例句：

• Her neighbours spoke of her as kindly and hospitable.她的邻居都说她和蔼可亲、热情好客。
• A shadow passed over the kindly face of the old woman.一道阴影掠过老太太慈祥的面孔。

6 cargo   

n.(一只船或一架飞机运载的)货物

参考例句：

• The ship has a cargo of about 200 ton.这条船大约有200吨的货物。
• A lot of people discharged the cargo from a ship.许多人从船上卸下货物。

7 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

8 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。

9 indigenous   

adj.土产的，土生土长的，本地的

参考例句：

• Each country has its own indigenous cultural tradition.每个国家都有自己本土的文化传统。
• Indians were the indigenous inhabitants of America.印第安人是美洲的土著居民。