VOA标准英语2015--机器人通过看视频学习做饭

Robot Learns to Cook by Watching Videos 机器人通过看视频学习做饭

Robots performing tasks according to a predetermined set of instructions are nothing new. But robots capable of learning how to do something by watching videos are a completely different approach, pursued by a group of researchers at the University of Maryland.

If you have posted a video of your favorite recipe on the popular web site YouTube, chances are that it will be tried by a robot.

University of Maryland professor Yiannis Aloimonos, who leads a team that is trying to teach a robot how to reproduce simple tasks by watching videos, said "there exists a gargantuan¹ amount of video information on the Internet that we can capitalize on and use our robots in order to learn.”

At the moment, the videos are fed electronically, said research scientist Cornelia Fermuller:

"Originally, actually, we took our own videos, so our own cameras looking at ourselves doing the cooking," she explained. "And, as [the robot] advance[d], it moved on to good quality videos. And it will move on to even lesser² quality home-made videos.”

So far, the robot named Julia can pour ingredients, add dressing³ and stir a simple salad. It learns by breaking each task into basic components⁴, such as grasping a spoon, bringing it to the bowl, stirring the salad and observing the results.

As Julia can see, hear and remember things and then combine those components to execute certain tasks, Aloimonos said the project amounts to integration⁵ of all those capabilities⁶.

“How do we demonstrate this capability⁷? By basically developing software that utilizes⁹ the perception, things that you see or hear, the knowledge that you have somehow in the computer, organized appropriately and the motor capabilities, the abilities that you have to move your hands and your fingers and affect the world,” said Aloimonos.

But why teach a robot how to understand a video when it can easily follow a fixed¹⁰ program? Aloimonos said predetermined instructions lack flexibility¹¹.

“You have a system that is done just for this particular task. And so, it can’t generalize," he said. "You cannot take it and put it into a different environment. It is not flexible.”

Aloimonos said one of the problems the researchers are trying to solve is how to make the robot understand and utilize⁸ what it learns during the performance of a certain task, the so-called feedback. Another problem, he says, will be the introduction of language.

“I believe it will take quite some time before the robots are able to understand metaphorical¹² language like the unbearable¹³ lightness of being,” he added.

But, he said, we don’t need that in order to create a new world in which the robots will be working for us.

1 gargantuan   

adj.巨大的，庞大的

参考例句：

• My gargantuan,pristine machine was good for writing papers and playing solitaire,and that was all.我那庞大的、早期的计算机只适合写文章和玩纸牌游戏，就这些。
• Right away,I realized this was a mistake of gargantuan proportions.我立刻意识到这是一个巨大的错误。

2 lesser   

adj.次要的，较小的；adv.较小地，较少地

参考例句：

• Kept some of the lesser players out.不让那些次要的球员参加联赛。
• She has also been affected,but to a lesser degree.她也受到波及，但程度较轻。

3 dressing   

n.(食物)调料；包扎伤口的用品，敷料

参考例句：

• Don't spend such a lot of time in dressing yourself.别花那么多时间来打扮自己。
• The children enjoy dressing up in mother's old clothes.孩子们喜欢穿上妈妈旧时的衣服玩。

4 components   

（机器、设备等的）构成要素，零件，成分； 成分( component的名词复数 )； [物理化学]组分； [数学]分量； （混合物的）组成部分

参考例句：

• the components of a machine 机器部件
• Our chemistry teacher often reduces a compound to its components in lab. 在实验室中化学老师常把化合物分解为各种成分。

5 integration   

n.一体化，联合，结合

参考例句：

• We are working to bring about closer political integration in the EU.我们正在努力实现欧盟內部更加紧密的政治一体化。
• This was the greatest event in the annals of European integration.这是欧洲统一史上最重大的事件。

6 capabilities   

n.能力( capability的名词复数 )；可能；容量；[复数]潜在能力

参考例句：

• He was somewhat pompous and had a high opinion of his own capabilities. 他有点自大，自视甚高。 来自辞典例句
• Some programmers use tabs to break complex product capabilities into smaller chunks. 一些程序员认为，标签可以将复杂的功能分为每个窗格一组简单的功能。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓

7 capability   

n.能力；才能；(pl)可发展的能力或特性等

参考例句：

• She has the capability to become a very fine actress.她有潜力成为杰出演员。
• Organizing a whole department is beyond his capability.组织整个部门是他能力以外的事。

8 utilize   

vt.使用，利用

参考例句：

• The cook will utilize the leftover ham bone to make soup.厨师要用吃剩的猪腿骨做汤。
• You must utilize all available resources.你必须利用一切可以得到的资源。

9 utilizes   

v.利用，使用( utilize的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• One highly successful approach utilizes a triplet aspheric lens array. 一种很成功的方法是利用一个三合非球面透镜阵列。 来自辞典例句
• The first utilizes a blend of finely ground ceramic powders. 第一种用的是一种磨细的陶瓷粉末混合物。 来自辞典例句

10 fixed   

adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的

参考例句：

• Have you two fixed on a date for the wedding yet?你们俩选定婚期了吗？
• Once the aim is fixed,we should not change it arbitrarily.目标一旦确定，我们就不应该随意改变。

11 flexibility   

n.柔韧性，弹性，（光的）折射性，灵活性

参考例句：

• Her great strength lies in her flexibility.她的优势在于她灵活变通。
• The flexibility of a man's muscles will lessen as he becomes old.人老了肌肉的柔韧性将降低。

12 metaphorical   

a.隐喻的，比喻的

参考例句：

• Here, then, we have a metaphorical substitution on a metonymic axis. 这样，我们在换喻（者翻译为转喻，一种以部分代替整体的修辞方法）上就有了一个隐喻的替代。
• So, in a metaphorical sense, entropy is arrow of time. 所以说，我们可以这样作个比喻：熵像是时间之矢。

13 unbearable   

adj.不能容忍的；忍受不住的

参考例句：

• It is unbearable to be always on thorns.老是处于焦虑不安的情况中是受不了的。
• The more he thought of it the more unbearable it became.他越想越觉得无法忍受。