NASA Aims to Put Human-like Robots in Space

NASA Aims to Put Human-like Robots in Space

NASA计划将类人机器人送入太空

【听力音频】

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　　By John Russell

　　01 January 2024

　　The American space agency NASA's human-like robot Valkyrie looks powerful. It stands 188 centimeters tall and weighs 136 kilograms.

　　Valkyrie is named after supernatural females in Norse mythology. The robot is being tested at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas.

　　The robot is designed to operate in "...damaged human-engineered environments," like areas hit by natural disasters, NASA said.

　　But robots like Valkyrie could also work in space one day.

　　Robots that look like humans, or humanoid robots, have a torso, head, two arms and two legs. Engineers believe that humanoid robots will be able to work similarly to humans and use the same tools and equipment. They just need the right software.

　　NASA Dexterous Robotics team leader Shaun Azimi said humanoid robots in space could do dangerous jobs. Such jobs include cleaning solar panels or dealing with equipment outside the spacecraft. As a result, human astronauts could pay more attention to exploration and discovery.

　　"We're not trying to replace human crews, we're really just trying to take the dull, dirty and dangerous work off their plates to allow them to focus on those higher-level activities," Azimi said.

　　NASA is partnering with robotics companies like Apptronik, which is based in Austin, Texas. The goal is to learn how humanoid robots developed for purposes on Earth could help the development of future humanoid robots meant for space.

　　Apptronik is developing Apollo, a humanoid robot whose jobs on Earth will include working in warehouses and manufacturing plants. The robot can move packages and organize objects. Apptronik plans to start providing the humanoid robots to companies in early 2025.

　　Apptronik Chief Technology Officer Nick Paine said Apollo has strengths in comparison to humans.

　　"We're targeting having this system online 22 hours a day," Paine said. "This does have a swappable battery, so you can work for four hours, swap the battery and then keep going."

　　Apptronik chief Jeff Cardenas said there are many possibilities as new software and development increase Apollo's abilities.

　　"The approach is we're starting in the warehouse and on the manufacturing floor, but then it can move into retail...to delivery and out more into what we call unstructured spaces," Cardenas said.

　　In years to come, those "unstructured" areas could include space, Azimi said. He said the robots are being designed so they can be easily changed to do many different jobs.

　　"Robots like Apollo are designed with modularity in mind to be able to adapt to many applications," Azimi said.

　　Azimi added that NASA is aiming to find out what areas it needs to look into "to bring a terrestrial system into the space environment..."

　　I'm John Russell.

　　Evan Garcia reported on this story for Reuters. John Russell adapted it for VOA Learning English.

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　　作者：约翰·罗素

　　日期：2024年1月1日

　　美国航天局NASA的类人机器人“瓦尔基里”看起来十分强大。它的身高为188厘米，重136公斤。

　　“瓦尔基里”这个名字来源于北欧神话中的超自然女性。这个机器人正在德克萨斯州休斯顿的约翰逊太空中心进行测试。

　　NASA表示，这个机器人被设计用于在“...人为环境受损的地方”进行操作，比如被自然灾害击中的区域。

　　但是，像瓦尔基里这样的机器人有朝一日也可能在太空中工作。

　　看起来像人的机器人，或者说是人形机器人，有一个躯干、头部、两只手臂和两只腿。工程师们相信，人形机器人将能够像人类一样工作，并使用相同的工具和设备。他们只需要正确的软件。

　　NASA灵巧机器人团队的领导者Shaun Azimi表示，太空中的人形机器人可以做危险的工作。这些工作包括清洁太阳能板或处理飞船外部的设备。因此，人类宇航员可以更多地关注探索和发现。

　　Azimi说：“我们并不是试图取代人类船员，我们真正想做的只是把那些枯燥、肮脏和危险的工作从他们的任务中剔除，让他们能够专注于那些更高级别的活动。”

　　NASA正在与像Apptronik这样的机器人公司合作，该公司位于德克萨斯州的奥斯汀。目标是了解为地球上的目的开发的人形机器人如何能帮助未来为太空设计的人形机器人的发展。

　　Apptronik正在开发名为Apollo的人形机器人，其在地球上的工作将包括在仓库和制造工厂中工作。这个机器人可以移动包裹和整理物品。Apptronik计划在2025年初开始向公司提供人形机器人。

　　Apptronik的首席技术官Nick Paine表示，与人类相比，Apollo有其优势。

　　Paine说：“我们的目标是让这个系统每天在线22小时。这个机器人有可更换的电池，所以你可以工作四小时，换电池然后继续工作。”

　　Apptronik的首席执行官Jeff Cardenas表示，随着新软件的开发和Apollo能力的提升，有许多可能性。

　　Cardenas说：“我们的方法是从仓库和制造業开始，然后可以进入零售业...到配送，再到我们所说的非结构化空间。”

　　Azimi表示，未来几年，这些“非结构化”区域可能包括太空。他说，这些机器人正在被设计成可以轻易改变来做许多不同的工作。

　　Azimi说：“像Apollo这样的机器人在设计时就考虑到了模块化，以便能适应许多应用。”

　　Azimi补充说，NASA的目标是找出需要研究的领域，“将地面系统带入太空环境...”

　　我是约翰·罗素。

　　这个故事是由路透社的Evan Garcia报道的，约翰·罗素为VOA学英语改编了它。

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　　故事中的词汇

　　mythology – n.特定群体或文化的神话

　　torso –n.人体颈部以下、腰部以上的部分

　　dull – adj. 不有趣的

　　solar panel – n. 一种使用太阳光或热量产生电力的设备

　　focus – v. 将你的注意力或努力集中在某个特定的事物上

　　swappable –adj. 描述交换一样东西以换取另一样东西的行为

　　battery –n.存储电力并为电子设备提供直流电的设备

　　delivery –n. 将某物从一个地方送到另一个地方的行为

　　modularity – n.由独立部分构成的特性

　　application – n. 能够被用于实际目的的能力

　　terrestrial –adj.与地球上发生的事情有关的