新奇事件簿 日本销售家用机器人（在线收听）

A Japanese company started selling a futuristic home robot on September 16. The meter-high humanoid may make housework a thing of the past for the rich. Mitsubishi Heavy Industries put its internet-linked Wakamaru robot on sale at a price of $150,000. Just 100 of these home helps will initially be available. The robot is the idea of Japanese designer Toshiyuki Kita. He said his creation was “designed in the shape of a human being so that it is not considered simply a machine” and that it has an “independent personality”.

9月16日，日本公司开始售卖家用机器人。对于富裕阶层而言，一米高人形机器人将让家务成为过去时。三菱重工售卖联网机器人“Wakamaru”，售价为15万美金。初期销售数量仅为100台。机器人灵感来源于设计师喜多俊之。他称我们将机器人打造成人形，所以它不仅仅是一台机器，且拥有“独立人格”。

The robot has an impressive number of features. It is capable of recognizing up to ten individuals by name and has a vocabulary of 10,000 words. It can also navigate its way around the house. The Wakamaru website explains three major functions that will help the lives of the robot’s users. It can live with the family and provide daily schedules; it can speak with the family and be a friend; and it has its own role of looking after the house when no one is home. However, the price needs to come down to make it affordable by all.

这款机器人有诸多特点。听名识人达10人之多，还拥有一万词汇量。并能够独立导航。为帮助用户更好应用，“Wakamaru”官网对其中三大功能进行了说明。它能够提供家用日常时刻表；还能与家庭成员对话，与他们成为朋友；独自在家时，它将开启自己独有的“顾家”功能。但要想被广泛接纳还需降价。