“母亲”机器人建造自己的“孩子”

Mother Robot Builds Own Children “母亲”机器人建造自己的“孩子”

WASHINGTON—

What parent doesn't want to mold their child to be better - faster, smarter, more capable? Even though human parents can’t do that, a robot that builds its own children can. Scientists at the University of Cambridge in England have created a mother robot that not only constructs its own children, but tests their performance.

It's a robotic version of nature's survival of the fittest. The mother robot analyzes¹ the performance of each of the “children” it creates, and incorporates preferential traits into the next generation. 

"As the mother creates them and puts them to work, she evaluates how they’re behaving, and she uses data from this behavior to create the next generation of robots,” explained research scientist Andres Rosendo.

There’s no human intervention², except for a computer command to create a robot capable of moving from one place to another. The mother builds its children by gluing together pieces with small motors inside, in different configurations³. Then it watches how quickly the children move, keeping the designs of the ones that moved the fastest.

 “The mother robot can actually build hundreds of child robots and see the performance of these child robots. And if their performance is good, keep their design for the next generation.  And if bad, just let it go,” said Fumiya Iida, lead researcher.

The motivation to produce better children is controlled by the research team, which provides an incentive⁴.

“We program the robot based on some functions that define the reward the robot is going to get, depending on the construction that they make.  They cannot change their own reward.  In the case of the child robot, it’s distance, so the longer the distance the robot walks, the better the reward it receives,” said Rosendo.

After several generations, the "children" were running twice as fast.

“The mother robot generated 500 robots to see what one is good and which one is bad,” said Iida.

The researchers suggest the machines could be used  in an auto⁵ plant, for example, where robot cameras scrutinize⁶ each car in the assembly line, evaluate any mistakes, and then design a better car.

1 analyzes   

v.分析( analyze的第三人称单数 )；分解；解释；对…进行心理分析

参考例句：

• This approach analyzes management by studying experience usually through cases. 这个学派通常从实例获得经验，用以分析管理。 来自辞典例句
• The econometrician analyzes statistical data. 经济计量学者要分析统计材料。 来自辞典例句

2 intervention   

n.介入，干涉，干预

参考例句：

• The government's intervention in this dispute will not help.政府对这场争论的干预不会起作用。
• Many people felt he would be hostile to the idea of foreign intervention.许多人觉得他会反对外来干预。

3 configurations   

n.[化学]结构( configuration的名词复数 )；构造；（计算机的）配置；构形（原子在分子中的相对空间位置）

参考例句：

• Such configurations, obtained theoretically by calculation, are called models of a star. 通过理论计算得到的恒星结构称为恒星模型。 来自辞典例句
• The other two configurations have overriding advantages for special applications. 其它两种接法对特殊应用具有突出的优点。 来自辞典例句

4 incentive   

n.刺激；动力；鼓励；诱因；动机

参考例句：

• Money is still a major incentive in most occupations.在许多职业中，钱仍是主要的鼓励因素。
• He hasn't much incentive to work hard.他没有努力工作的动机。

5 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。

6 scrutinize   

n.详细检查，细读

参考例句：

• Her purpose was to scrutinize his features to see if he was an honest man.她的目的是通过仔细观察他的相貌以判断他是否诚实。
• She leaned forward to scrutinize their faces.她探身向前，端详他们的面容。