VOA常速英语2014--麻省理工学院研制出动如猎豹的机器人（在线收听）

MIT Scientists: Robots Will Soon Be Able to Run Like Cheetahs 麻省理工学院研制出动如猎豹的机器人

Scientists have been experimenting with four-legged robots for years, trying to see if they could be used as pack animals for carrying heavy loads over a difficult terrain. But the machine's power requirements limited their potential. That's changed, with a running robot designed by a group of engineers at Massachusetts Institute of Technology that operates on batteries rather than heavy gasoline-powered engines.

Scientists say their robots will soon be able to run like cheetahs.  

科学家们表示他们研制的机器人很快就可以像猎豹一样奔跑。

But for now, the different technologies that will bring them closer to everyday life are still being tested.

但截至目前科学家们仍在尝试各种各样的科技方法使得这种机器人能早日进入到我们的生活。

One of the obstacles continues to be power consumption. These complicated machines are still relatively heavy and their numerous motors require a lot of energy to run.

而能量消耗仍是目前面临的其中一个难题。这些仍然过于笨重的精密机械中数量众多的马达要消耗大量能量才能运转。

The most powerful among them are either tethered to a power source or have a gasoline-powered generator onboard.

而动力最强劲的机器人要么通过电线与电源相连，要么就要携带汽油发电机。

But engineers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have designed a 30-kilogram cheetah-like robot that is light enough to run on batteries.

但麻省理工学院的工程师们设计出一种重达30公斤、形如猎豹的机器人。这种身形小巧的机器人可以靠电池运行。

“This robot can actually jump 40 centimeters high and it can land very safely and then it can run, sprint, because of the special, motor technology we developed,” said Sangbae Kim, director of MIT Biomimetics Robotic Lab.   

由于我们研发的特殊马达技术，这种机器人可以跳40厘米高，并且在安全落地后可以奔跑冲刺。

Kim says the robot needs only about 700 watts of power. Its limbs and other parts were made in a 3-D printer and reinforced with the strong, light-weight plastic called Kevlar, used for modern military helmets and bodysuits.

麻省理工学院仿生机器人实验室主任金?桑格贝阿表示这种机器人只需要大约700瓦的电能。由3D打印机打印其四肢和其它部件后再用原本用于军队头盔和防弹服的坚固轻便凯夫拉塑料进行加固。

“The frame has to be very light and very stiff, so we designed this frame to handle these high forces and the high shock,” he said.

整个骨架必须兼具轻便坚固特性，所以我们的设计能够承受高强外力及震动。

But the development of MIT's robot is not without setbacks.  Its limbs must sustain tremendous force and sometimes they break.

但麻省理工学院研发的机器人并非完美无缺。它的缺憾在于四肢承受强大力量，因此有时会有折断风险。

Kim says another special feature is the custom-made motor controller.

金表示这种机器人的另一个特点就是定制的马达控制器。

“It is also designed by us because none of the commercially available products can handle this kind of power,” he said.

这是我们为机器人量身定制。因为市面上所有产品都不能满足能量需求。

Researchers say the new technologies used on this robot may find their way to artificial limbs as well as other high-tech machines being developed to replace humans at back-breaking jobs.

研究者们认为这种机器人所展现出的新技术也许可以用于人工义肢研究，还可以用于代替人类从事繁重体力劳动的其他高技术含量机械的研发。