TEDxWarwick
Jonathan Rossiter: A robot that eats pollution
乔纳森·罗斯特: 吃污染物的机器人
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“划水机器人”，一种清除污染物并且靠吃污染物自行发电的机器人。机器人专家乔纳森·罗斯特解释了这种特殊的游泳机器人，它使用微生物燃料电池，能中和爆发的藻类和油污，它会成为可生物降解、自主对抗污染物的机器人的先驱。
Jonathan Rossiter - Roboticist
Jonathan Rossiter develops soft robotic technologies and turns them into real robots and smart machines for engineers, musicians, doctors and artists. Full bio
Jonathan Rossiter develops soft robotic technologies and turns them into real robots and smart machines for engineers, musicians, doctors and artists. Full bio
Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.
00:12
Hi, I'm an engineer
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大家好，我是一名工程师，
00:14
and I make robots.
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我是做机器人的。
当然了，你们都知道什么是机器人，
00:16
Now, of course you all know
what a robot is, right?
what a robot is, right?
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如果你不知道，
可能会去谷歌搜索一下，
可能会去谷歌搜索一下，
00:19
If you don't, you'd probably go to Google,
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问问谷歌，什么是机器人？
00:21
and you'd ask Google what a robot is.
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咱们用谷歌搜一下。
00:23
So let's do that.
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这就是我们在谷歌上得到的。
00:25
We'll go to Google
and this is what we get.
and this is what we get.
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你会发现这里有很多
不同样式的机器人，
不同样式的机器人，
00:28
Now, you can see here there are
lots of different types of robots,
lots of different types of robots,
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但它们的结构
主要是模仿人类的，
主要是模仿人类的，
00:31
but they're predominantly
humanoid in structure.
humanoid in structure.
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而且看上去都是常规的样子，
00:35
And they look pretty conventional
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因为它们有塑料、有金属，
00:37
because they've got plastic,
they've got metal,
they've got metal,
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还有发动机、齿轮等等。
00:39
they've got motors and gears and so on.
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有些机器人看起来很友善，
00:41
Some of them look quite friendly,
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你可以过去抱一下。
00:43
and you could go up
and you could hug them.
and you could hug them.
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也有些看起来不怎么友善，
00:45
Some of them not so friendly,
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就像是从电影《终结者》里
直接走出来的一样。
直接走出来的一样。
00:47
they look like they're
straight out of "Terminator,"
straight out of "Terminator,"
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其实，他们可能
真的就从《终结者》来的。
真的就从《终结者》来的。
00:49
in fact they may well be
straight out of "Terminator."
straight out of "Terminator."
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有了这些机器人，
你可以做很多很酷的事情——
你可以做很多很酷的事情——
00:52
You can do lots of really cool
things with these robots --
things with these robots --
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还有很刺激的事情。
00:54
you can do really exciting stuff.
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但我想去关注另一种机器人——
00:56
But I'd like to look
at different kinds of robots --
at different kinds of robots --
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我想做不同种类的机器人。
00:59
I want to make different kinds of robots.
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给我灵感的东西
看起来并不像我们人类，
看起来并不像我们人类，
01:01
And I take inspiration
from the things that don't look like us,
from the things that don't look like us,
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而是像这些。
01:04
but look like these.
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这些便是自然生物有机体，
01:06
So these are natural biological organisms
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它们能做很多很酷的事、
01:09
and they do some
really cool things that we can't,
really cool things that we can't,
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我们和现有的机器人
都做不到的事。
都做不到的事。
01:11
and current robots can't either.
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它们能做的很厉害的事
包括在地面上到处走；
包括在地面上到处走；
01:14
They do all sorts of great things
like moving around on the floor;
like moving around on the floor;
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去花园，吃农作物；
01:17
they go into our gardens
and they eat our crops;
and they eat our crops;
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爬树；
01:19
they climb trees;
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出入水面；
01:21
they go in water, they come out of water;
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捕捉并消化昆虫等等。
01:23
they trap insects and digest them.
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所以说，它们所能做的事很有趣。
01:26
So they do really interesting things.
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它们出生、呼吸、死亡，
01:27
They live, they breathe, they die,
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他们也从自然环境中摄取食物。
01:31
they eat things from the environment.
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这都是我们现有的机器人所不能做的。
01:33
Our current robots don't really do that.
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那么，如果我们可以
把这些特性的一部分
把这些特性的一部分
01:35
Now, wouldn't it be great
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01:36
if you could use some of those
characteristics in future robots
characteristics in future robots
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放到未来的机器人身上，
01:40
so that you could solve
some really interesting problems?
some really interesting problems?
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来解决一些很有趣的问题，会不会很棒？
下面讨论几个环境问题，
01:43
I'm going to look at a couple of problems
now in the environment
now in the environment
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我们可以在这些环境中
01:46
where we can use
the skills and the technologies
the skills and the technologies
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应用这些动植物
拥有的能力和技巧
拥有的能力和技巧
01:49
derived from these animals
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01:51
and from the plants,
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来解决这些问题。
01:52
and we can use them
to solve those problems.
to solve those problems.
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我们来看两个环境问题。
01:54
Let's have a look
at two environmental problems.
at two environmental problems.
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都是人类造成的——
01:57
They're both of our making --
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这是人类与环境相互作用，
01:59
this is man interacting
with the environment
with the environment
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造成的一些不怎么好的后果。
02:01
and doing some rather unpleasant things.
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第一个问题与人口压力有关。
02:04
The first one is to do
with the pressure of population.
with the pressure of population.
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世界人口的压力
02:08
Such is the pressure
of population around the world
of population around the world
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要求农业生产更多农作物。
02:10
that agriculture and farming is required
to produce more and more crops.
to produce more and more crops.
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要做到这一点，
02:15
Now, to do that,
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农民需要对土地
使用越来越多的化学品。
使用越来越多的化学品。
02:16
farmers put more and more
chemicals onto the land.
chemicals onto the land.
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他们使用的包括
肥料、硝酸盐、农药——
肥料、硝酸盐、农药——
02:18
They put on fertilizers,
nitrates, pesticides --
nitrates, pesticides --
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各种促进农作物生长的东西，
02:21
all sorts of things
that encourage the growth of the crops,
that encourage the growth of the crops,
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但这也有负面影响。
02:25
but there are some negative impacts.
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其中一个负面影响是，
如果在田里施很多肥料，
如果在田里施很多肥料，
02:27
One of the negative impacts is
if you put lots of fertilizer on the land,
if you put lots of fertilizer on the land,
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作物并不能吸收所有的肥料。
02:30
not all of it goes into the crops.
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很多肥料会留在土壤里，
02:33
Lots of it stays in the soil,
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然后下雨时，
02:35
and then when it rains,
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这些化学品流进地下水。
02:37
these chemicals go into the water table.
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顺着地下水，
02:39
And in the water table,
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进入小溪、湖泊、河流，
02:41
then they go into streams,
into lakes, into rivers
into lakes, into rivers
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最后进入海洋。
02:44
and into the sea.
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当这些化学品、硝酸盐
02:46
Now, if you put all
of these chemicals, these nitrates,
of these chemicals, these nitrates,
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进入环境中时，
02:49
into those kinds of environments,
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生活在这些环境里的生物
就会受到影响——
就会受到影响——
02:50
there are organisms in those environments
that will be affected by that --
that will be affected by that --
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比如藻类。
02:54
algae, for example.
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藻类热爱硝酸盐，它喜欢肥料，
02:56
Algae loves nitrates, it loves fertilizer,
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所以它吸收这些化学品。
02:58
so it will take in all these chemicals,
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条件适宜时，藻类大量繁殖，
03:00
and if the conditions are right,
it will mass produce.
it will mass produce.
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繁殖出一堆一堆的新藻。
03:03
It will produce masses
and masses of new algae.
and masses of new algae.
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这叫做爆藻。
03:06
That's called a bloom.
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麻烦的是，藻类这样繁殖时，
03:07
The trouble is that
when algae reproduces like this,
when algae reproduces like this,
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会耗尽水中的氧气。
03:10
it starves the water of oxygen.
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氧气一旦耗尽，
03:13
As soon as you do that,
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水中其它生物就无法生存。
03:14
the other organisms
in the water can't survive.
in the water can't survive.
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那怎么办？
03:18
So, what do we do?
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我们尝试制造
会吃水藻的机器人，
会吃水藻的机器人，
03:20
We try to produce a robot
that will eat the algae,
that will eat the algae,
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能把水藻吃光，又很安全。
03:24
consume it and make it safe.
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这是第一个问题。
03:26
So that's the first problem.
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而第二个问题也是人类的杰作，
03:27
The second problem is also of our making,
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是油污染。
03:30
and it's to do with oil pollution.
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我们的发动机、船只
03:32
Now, oil comes out
of the engines that we use,
of the engines that we use,
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都会释放出油类。
03:36
the boats that we use.
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有时候油轮把油箱里的物质排进海里，
03:37
Sometimes tankers
flush their oil tanks into the sea,
flush their oil tanks into the sea,
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油就这样进入海水。
03:41
so oil is released into the sea that way.
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如果我们可以使用
能吃掉油污染物的机器人，
能吃掉油污染物的机器人，
03:43
Wouldn't it be nice
if we could treat that in some way
if we could treat that in some way
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03:45
using robots that could eat the pollution
the oil fields have produced?
the oil fields have produced?
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那是不是很美好？
这就是我们正在做的。
03:51
So that's what we do.
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03:52
We make robots that will eat pollution.
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我们做的是
能吃掉污染物的机器人。
能吃掉污染物的机器人。
为了实际造出这种机器人，
03:55
To actually make the robot,
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我们从两种生物中获取灵感。
03:57
we take inspiration from two organisms.
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右边那张是姥鲨。
04:00
On the right there
you see the basking shark.
you see the basking shark.
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姥鲨是大型鲨鱼，
04:02
The basking shark is a massive shark.
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它是非肉食动物，
所以你可以跟它一起游泳，
所以你可以跟它一起游泳，
04:05
It's noncarnivorous,
so you can swim with it,
so you can swim with it,
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04:07
as you can see.
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就像这样。
姥鲨张着大嘴，
04:09
And the basking shark opens its mouth,
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游过水面，收集浮游生物。
04:10
and it swims through the water,
collecting plankton.
collecting plankton.
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同时，它消化食物，
04:14
As it does that, it digests the food,
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在体内产生能量，赖以继续活动。
04:17
and then it uses that energy
in its body to keep moving.
in its body to keep moving.
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那么，我们能不能
做个这样的机器人 --
做个这样的机器人 --
04:21
So, could we make a robot like that --
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像姥鲨一样在水里慢慢前进
04:23
like the basking shark
that chugs through the water
that chugs through the water
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吃掉污染物？
04:25
and eats up pollution?
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那我们来看看能不能做。
04:28
Well, let's see if we can do that.
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另外我们从另一生物得到的灵感。
04:29
But also, we take the inspiration
from other organisms.
from other organisms.
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这照片是水船虫。
04:33
I've got a picture here
of a water boatman,
of a water boatman,
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水船虫真的很可爱。
04:35
and the water boatman is really cute.
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它游泳时，
04:36
When it's swimming in the water,
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用船桨一样的腿向前推自己。
04:38
it uses its paddle-like legs
to push itself forward.
to push itself forward.
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那么我们取两者之长处，
04:41
So we take those two organisms
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结合在一起，
做成一种新型机器人。
做成一种新型机器人。
04:43
and we combine them together
to make a new kind of robot.
to make a new kind of robot.
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实际上，因为从水船虫得到的灵感，
04:47
In fact, because we're using
the water boatman as inspiration,
the water boatman as inspiration,
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以及我们的机器人坐在水面上，
04:50
and our robot sits on top of the water,
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划行向前，
04:53
and it rows,
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我们就称它为“划水机器人”。
04:54
we call it the "Row-bot."
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所以划水机器人是个
会划水的机器人。
会划水的机器人。
04:56
So a Row-bot is a robot that rows.
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好，那它长什么样子？
05:00
OK. So what does it look like?
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这是一些照片。
05:03
Here's some pictures of the Row-bot,
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你们看，
05:05
and you'll see,
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它一点都不像
我们开头看到的机器人。
我们开头看到的机器人。
05:06
it doesn't look anything like the robots
we saw right at the beginning.
we saw right at the beginning.
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所以谷歌错了，
机器人不是它说的那样，
机器人不是它说的那样，
05:09
Google is wrong;
robots don't look like that,
robots don't look like that,
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机器人长这样。
05:11
they look like this.
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我这里有一只划水机器人。
05:13
So I've got the Row-bot here.
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我拿起来给你们看，
05:15
I'll just hold it up for you.
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让你们了解一下它的大小，
05:16
It gives you a sense of the scale,
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而且它一点也不像其它机器人。
05:18
and it doesn't look
anything like the others.
anything like the others.
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它是塑料的。
05:20
OK, so it's made out of plastic,
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现在我们来看看
05:21
and we'll have a look now
at the components
at the components
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划水机器人的组件——
05:24
that make up the Row-bot --
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使它特别的地方。
05:25
what makes it really special.
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划水机器人由三个部分组成，
05:27
The Row-bot is made up of three parts,
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就像任何生物的组成部分。
05:30
and those three parts are really
like the parts of any organism.
like the parts of any organism.
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它有大脑、
05:33
It's got a brain,
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有身体、
05:35
it's got a body
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有胃。
05:37
and it's got a stomach.
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它需要胃来产生能量。
05:39
It needs the stomach to create the energy.
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所有划水机器人都有这三部分，
05:41
Any Row-bot will have
those three components,
those three components,
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就像任何生物都有这三部分一样。
05:44
and any organism
will have those three components,
will have those three components,
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我们一个个来看。
05:46
so let's go through them one at a time.
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它有身体，
05:48
It has a body,
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塑料制成的身体，
05:49
and its body is made out of plastic,
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它可以坐在水面上。
05:51
and it sits on top of the water.
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脚蹼在旁边这里——
05:53
And it's got flippers on the side here --
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帮助机器人移动，
05:56
paddles that help it move,
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就像水船虫一样。
05:58
just like the water boatman.
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它的身体是塑料的，
06:00
It's got a plastic body,
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但这里有软橡胶做的嘴。
06:01
but it's got a soft rubber mouth here,
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这里还有另一张嘴，
它有两张嘴。
它有两张嘴。
06:04
and a mouth here --
it's got two mouths.
it's got two mouths.
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为什么要两张嘴？
06:06
Why does it have two mouths?
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一张让食物进来，
06:07
One is to let the food go in
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另一张让食物出去。
06:09
and the other is to let the food go out.
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所以你们可以看到，
它有嘴，有臀部，
它有嘴，有臀部，
06:11
So you can see really
it's got a mouth and a derriere,
it's got a mouth and a derriere,
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或者是 --
06:15
or a --
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排泄的地方，
06:16
(Laughter)
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06:17
something where the stuff comes out,
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就像真的生物一样。
06:19
which is just like a real organism.
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所以它开始有点像那个姥鲨了。
06:20
So it's starting to look
like that basking shark.
like that basking shark.
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那么刚才说的是身体。
06:23
So that's the body.
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06:25
The second component might be the stomach.
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第二部分是胃。
我们需要给机器人输入能量，
06:28
We need to get the energy into the robot
and we need to treat the pollution,
and we need to treat the pollution,
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还需要处理污染。
所以污染物从这里进去，
06:32
so the pollution goes in,
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机器人会处理一下，
06:33
and it will do something.
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中间这里有电池，
称为微生物燃料电池。
称为微生物燃料电池。
06:35
It's got a cell in the middle here
called a microbial fuel cell.
called a microbial fuel cell.
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我把这个放下，
06:38
I'll put this down,
and I'll lift up the fuel cell.
and I'll lift up the fuel cell.
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把燃料电池拿起来。
06:42
Here. So instead of having batteries,
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这不是电池，
也不是传统的供电系统，
06:44
instead of having
a conventional power system,
a conventional power system,
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而是这个——
06:46
it's got one of these.
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它的胃。
06:47
This is its stomach.
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它真的是个胃。
06:48
And it really is a stomach
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因为你可以在这边
放进污染物形式的能量，
放进污染物形式的能量，
06:50
because you can put energy in this side
in the form of pollution,
in the form of pollution,
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它就发电。
06:53
and it creates electricity.
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所以这是什么？
06:55
So what is it?
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它叫做微生物燃料电池。
06:56
It's called a microbial fuel cell.
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它有点像化学燃料电池。
06:58
It's a little bit
like a chemical fuel cell,
like a chemical fuel cell,
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你大概在学校看过，
07:00
which you might have
come across in school,
come across in school,
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或者新闻里看过。
07:02
or you might've seen in the news.
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化学燃料电池利用氢气和氧气，
07:03
Chemical fuel cells
take hydrogen and oxygen,
take hydrogen and oxygen,
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把两者结合，获得电力。
07:06
and they can combine them together
and you get electricity.
and you get electricity.
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这是成熟的技术，
在阿波罗太空计划里用过，
在阿波罗太空计划里用过，
07:08
That's well-established technology;
it was in the Apollo space missions.
it was in the Apollo space missions.
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就是说四、五十年以前就有了。
07:12
That's from 40, 50 years ago.
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07:14
This is slightly newer.
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但这个比较新，
07:15
This is a microbial fuel cell.
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这是微生物燃料电池。
07:17
It's the same principle:
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原理相同：
07:18
it's got oxygen on one side,
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氧气在一边，
07:19
but instead of having
hydrogen on the other,
hydrogen on the other,
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但另一边不是氢气，
而是一种混合液。
07:22
it's got some soup,
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07:23
and inside that soup
there are living microbes.
there are living microbes.
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混合液中有活的微生物。
如果你拿一些有机材料——
07:26
Now, if you take some organic material --
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可以是某种废品、食物，
07:28
could be some waste products, some food,
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07:31
maybe a bit of your sandwich --
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或者用一点你的三明治 --
07:32
you put it in there,
the microbes will eat that food,
the microbes will eat that food,
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把它放进这里面，
微生物会吃掉它，
微生物会吃掉它，
07:35
and they will turn it into electricity.
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然后把这食物转化成电力。
07:38
Not only that, but if you select
the right kind of microbes,
the right kind of microbes,
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不仅如此，如果微生物的种类正确，
07:41
you can use the microbial fuel cell
to treat some of the pollution.
to treat some of the pollution.
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你可以用微生物燃料电池
处理某些污染物。
处理某些污染物。
如果选对了微生物，
07:46
If you choose the right microbes,
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07:48
the microbes will eat the algae.
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那微生物可以吃掉藻类；
如果用另一种微生物，
07:50
If you use other kinds of microbes,
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07:53
they will eat petroleum
spirits and crude oil.
spirits and crude oil.
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它可以吃掉石油醚和原油。
所以你看到了
如何使用这个胃
如何使用这个胃
07:56
So you can see
how this stomach could be used
how this stomach could be used
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07:59
to not only treat the pollution
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来不仅处理污染物，
08:02
but also to generate electricity
from the pollution.
from the pollution.
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而且能用污染物发电。
08:06
So the robot will move
through the environment,
through the environment,
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所以这个机器人
在环境中到处移动，
在环境中到处移动，
把食物吃进胃里，
08:09
taking food into its stomach,
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消化吃进去的食物，发电，
08:11
digest the food, create electricity,
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再利用电力在环境中继续移动，
08:13
use that electricity
to move through the environment
to move through the environment
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08:16
and keep doing this.
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如此周而复始。
08:17
OK, so let's see what happens
when we run the Row-bot --
when we run the Row-bot --
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那么，我们看看
划水机器人工作的样子——
划水机器人工作的样子——
它划水时的样子。
08:21
when it does some rowing.
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08:22
Here we've got a couple of videos,
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这里有几段影片。
你们看到的第一个动作——
希望大家都能看到，
希望大家都能看到，
08:24
the first thing you'll see --
hopefully you can see here
hopefully you can see here
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是张开嘴巴。
08:26
is the mouth open.
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08:28
The front mouth and the bottom mouth open,
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前嘴后嘴都张开，
它会一直把嘴张得足够大，
08:31
and it will stay opened enough,
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08:32
then the robot will start to row forward.
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然后机器人开始向前划行。
08:34
It moves through the water
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它在水中移动，
08:36
so that food goes in
as the waste products go out.
as the waste products go out.
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使食物进去，废弃物出来。
当它移动够了，
08:39
Once it's moved enough,
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就停下，合上嘴巴——
08:40
it stops and then it closes the mouth --
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慢慢合上——
08:43
slowly closes the mouths --
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08:45
and then it will sit there,
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然后就坐在那里，
08:47
and it will digest the food.
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开始消化食物。
08:50
Of course these microbial fuel cells,
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当然这些微生物燃料电池里
有微生物存在。
08:52
they contain microbes.
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你真正想要的是从这些微生物
08:54
What you really want is lots of energy
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08:55
coming out of those microbes
as quickly as possible.
as quickly as possible.
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得到很多能量，并且越快越好。
但我们不能强迫微生物，
08:58
But we can't force the microbes
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09:00
and they generate a small amount
of electricity per second.
of electricity per second.
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它们每秒只能产生一点点电，
发电量是毫瓦或微瓦级。
09:03
They generate milliwatts, or microwatts.
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对这个发电量做个比较。
09:06
Let's put that into context.
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比如你的手机，
09:08
Your mobile phone for example,
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09:09
one of these modern ones,
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像这种现代一点的。
09:11
if you use it, it takes about one watt.
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使用手机时，耗电量大约一瓦。
09:13
So that's a thousand or a million times
as much energy that that uses
as much energy that that uses
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所以手机的耗电量
是微生物燃料电池的
一千倍或一百万倍。
一千倍或一百万倍。
09:17
compared to the microbial fuel cell.
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那我们怎么办呢？
09:20
How can we cope with that?
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09:21
Well, when the Row-bot
has done its digestion,
has done its digestion,
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划水机器人消化完食物之后，
当它吃进食物后，
09:24
when it's taken the food in,
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09:25
it will sit there and it will wait
until it has consumed all that food.
until it has consumed all that food.
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就会坐在那里，
一直等到食物消化完。
一直等到食物消化完。
那需要几个小时，甚至好几天。
09:29
That could take some hours,
it could take some days.
it could take some days.
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09:32
A typical cycle for the Row-bot
looks like this:
looks like this:
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划水机器人典型的工作周期
是这样的：
是这样的：
张开嘴，
09:36
you open your mouth,
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移动，
09:37
you move,
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合上嘴，
09:39
you close your mouth
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09:40
and you sit there for a while waiting.
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坐在那里等。
一旦把食物消化完，
09:42
Once you digest your food,
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09:43
then you can go about
doing the same thing again.
doing the same thing again.
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就把相同的事情再做一遍。
可是你看，
这是不是很像真的生物啊？
这是不是很像真的生物啊？
09:46
But you know what, that looks
like a real organism, doesn't it?
like a real organism, doesn't it?
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跟我们做的事情很像。
09:49
It looks like the kind of thing we do.
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周六晚上，我们出门，张嘴，
09:51
Saturday night,
we go out, open our mouths,
we go out, open our mouths,
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把胃塞满，
09:53
fill our stomachs,
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09:54
sit in front of the telly and digest.
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坐在电视机前，消化。
觉得消化完了，又重复同样的事。
09:57
When we've had enough,
we do the same thing again.
we do the same thing again.
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10:00
OK, if we're lucky with this cycle,
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好，如果这次循环很幸运，
10:03
at the end of the cycle
we'll have enough energy left over
we'll have enough energy left over
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循环结束时还有足够的剩余能量
10:06
for us to be able to do something else.
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去做点别的事，
10:08
We could send a message, for example.
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比如可以发个短信。
我们可以发个短信说，
10:10
We could send a message saying,
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“我最近吃了这么多污染物”，
10:12
"This is how much pollution
I've eaten recently,"
I've eaten recently,"
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10:14
or, "This is the kind of stuff
that I've encountered,"
that I've encountered,"
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或者“我最近遇到了这东西”，
10:17
or, "This is where I am."
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或者“这是我的当前位置”。
10:19
That ability to send a message
saying, "This is where I am,"
saying, "This is where I am,"
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能够发出“这是我的当前位置”的短信
10:23
is really, really important.
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是非常非常重要的。
10:25
If you think about the oil slicks
that we saw before,
that we saw before,
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设想一下之前看到的
水面的油污画面，
水面的油污画面，
10:27
or those massive algal blooms,
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或者大片藻类。
10:29
what you really want to do
is put your Row-bot out there,
is put your Row-bot out there,
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你真的想把划水机器人送过去，
10:31
and it eats up all of those pollutions,
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把所有污染物吃光，
10:33
and then you have to go collect them.
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然后你得把它们收回来。
10:35
Why?
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为什么？
因为目前这些划水机器人
10:37
Because these Row-bots at the moment,
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和我这里的这只划水机器人，
10:39
this Row-bot I've got here,
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里面有马达、电线，
10:40
it contains motors, it contains wires,
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10:42
it contains components
which themselves are not biodegradable.
which themselves are not biodegradable.
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有自己不能生物降解的组件。
目前的划水机器人里面
包括有毒电池等等，
包括有毒电池等等，
10:45
Current Row-bots contain
things like toxic batteries.
things like toxic batteries.
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2736
10:48
You can't leave those in the environment,
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1976
你不能把它们留在环境里，
10:50
so you need to track them,
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所以必须追踪它们的位置。
10:52
and then when they've finished
their job of work,
their job of work,
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在它们完成工作后，
10:54
you need to collect them.
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必须回收。
这会限制可用机器人的数量。
10:55
That limits the number
of Row-bots you can use.
of Row-bots you can use.
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10:58
If, on the other hand,
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另一方面，
如果你的机器人有点像生物体，
10:59
you have robot a little bit
like a biological organism,
like a biological organism,
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那它在生命结束时，
11:02
when it comes to the end of its life,
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11:04
it dies and it degrades to nothing.
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会死亡且降解消失。
11:07
So wouldn't it be nice if these robots,
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所以，
如果这些机器人不是
像现在这样用塑料制成，
像现在这样用塑料制成，
11:09
instead of being like this,
made out of plastic,
made out of plastic,
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而是用其它材料，
11:11
were made out of other materials,
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1593
那种丢在外面就可以
降解消失的材料
降解消失的材料
11:13
which when you throw them out there,
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该有多好？
11:15
they biodegrade to nothing?
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那就会改变我们使用机器人的方式。
11:16
That changes the way
in which we use robots.
in which we use robots.
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11:18
Instead of putting 10 or 100
out into the environment,
out into the environment,
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与其放10个、100个
机器人到环境中，
机器人到环境中，
不得不追踪它们，
11:21
having to track them,
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11:23
and then when they die,
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还要在死掉后
11:24
collect them,
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收回来，
11:25
you could put a thousand,
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不如放1000个、
11:27
a million, a billion robots
into the environment.
into the environment.
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2736
一百万个、十亿个机器人，
就让它们随意散落在环境中。
11:30
Just spread them around.
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11:32
You know that at the end of their lives,
they're going to degrade to nothing.
they're going to degrade to nothing.
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你知道它们寿终时会降解消失，
而不需要担心它们的回收。
11:35
You don't need to worry about them.
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那样会改变你对机器人的想法，
11:37
So that changes the way
in which you think about robots
in which you think about robots
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以及使用它们的方式。
11:40
and the way you deploy them.
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随之而来的问题：
你能做吗？
你能做吗？
11:41
Then the question is: Can you do this?
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11:43
Well, yes, we have shown
that you can do this.
that you can do this.
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是的，我们已经证明，
你也可以做。
你也可以做。
你可以制造可生物降解的机器人。
11:45
You can make robots
which are biodegradable.
which are biodegradable.
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真正有意思的是，
你可以使用日常原料，
你可以使用日常原料，
11:47
What's really interesting
is you can use household materials
is you can use household materials
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来制造这种可生物降解的机器人。
11:50
to make these biodegradable robots.
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11:52
I'll show you some;
you might be surprised.
you might be surprised.
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我给大家看几个，
你们可能会很惊讶。
你们可能会很惊讶。
11:54
You can make a robot out of jelly.
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你能用果冻做出机器人。
11:57
Instead of having a motor,
which we have at the moment,
which we have at the moment,
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那么取代现在这个马达的是，
12:00
you can make things
called artificial muscles.
called artificial muscles.
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你可以造出叫做人造肌肉的东西。
12:03
Artificial muscles are smart materials,
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人造肌肉是一种智能材料，
12:05
you apply electricity to them,
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给它通电，
它就会收缩、弯曲或扭转，
12:06
and they contract,
or they bend or they twist.
or they bend or they twist.
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12:09
They look like real muscles.
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它看起来就像真的肌肉。
12:11
So instead of having a motor,
you have these artificial muscles.
you have these artificial muscles.
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3000
所以，与其使用马达，
不如使用人造肌肉。
不如使用人造肌肉。
12:14
And you can make
artificial muscles out of jelly.
artificial muscles out of jelly.
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你可以用果冻做人造肌肉。
12:17
If you take some jelly and some salts,
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给果冻加点盐，
12:19
and do a bit of jiggery-pokery,
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然后鼓捣鼓捣，
12:20
you can make an artificial muscle.
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就做出人造肌肉了。
12:22
We've also shown you can make
the microbial fuel cell's stomach
the microbial fuel cell's stomach
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3576
我们还证明了，可以用纸，
做微生物燃料电池的胃。
12:26
out of paper.
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12:27
So you could make the whole
robot out of biodegradable materials.
robot out of biodegradable materials.
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因此整个机器人都可以
用生物降解材料制造。
用生物降解材料制造。
把它们丢出去，
它们会自己降解消失。
它们会自己降解消失。
12:31
You throw them out there,
and they degrade to nothing.
and they degrade to nothing.
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12:35
Well, this is really, really exciting.
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这真的非常令人兴奋。
12:37
It's going to totally change the way
in which we think about robots,
in which we think about robots,
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这会彻底改变我们对机器人的看法。
而且还让你变得有创意，
12:40
but also it allows you
to be really creative
to be really creative
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12:42
in the way in which you think
about what you can do with these robots.
about what you can do with these robots.
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想出更多机器人的用途。
我举个例子。
12:46
I'll give you an example.
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如果你能用果冻做机器人——
12:47
If you can use jelly to make a robot --
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12:50
now, we eat jelly, right?
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大家都吃果冻吧？
12:52
So, why not make something like this?
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那，为什么不这样做？
12:54
A robot gummy bear.
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橡皮熊机器人。
12:57
Here, I've got some I prepared earlier.
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这里，我准备了几个。
好了，我有一袋——
12:59
There we go. I've got a packet --
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我拿了一个柠檬味儿的。
13:02
and I've got a lemon-flavored one.
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我要吃掉这个橡皮熊软糖——
13:05
I'll take this gummy bear --
he's not robotic, OK?
he's not robotic, OK?
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这个不是机器人，
我们得先假装一下。
我们得先假装一下。
13:08
We have to pretend.
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13:09
And what you do with one of these
is you put it in your mouth --
is you put it in your mouth --
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你要拿它做什么用呢？
把它放进嘴里——
把它放进嘴里——
柠檬味儿不错。
13:12
the lemon's quite nice.
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不要太用力嚼，
机器人可能不喜欢。
机器人可能不喜欢。
13:14
Try not to chew it too much,
it's a robot, it may not like it.
it's a robot, it may not like it.
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13:18
And then you swallow it.
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然后吞下去。
然后它进入你的胃。
13:21
And then it goes into your stomach.
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13:22
And when it's inside your stomach,
it moves, it thinks, it twists, it bends,
it moves, it thinks, it twists, it bends,
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到胃里之后，
它移动、思考、扭转、弯曲，
它移动、思考、扭转、弯曲，
各种折腾。
13:26
it does something.
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然后再跑到你的肠道，
13:27
It could go further down
into your intestines,
into your intestines,
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看看你有没有溃疡或癌症，
13:30
find out whether you've got
some ulcer or cancer,
some ulcer or cancer,
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或许顺便打个针之类的。
13:32
maybe do an injection,
something like that.
something like that.
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你知道它完成任务后，
13:34
You know that once
it's done its job of work,
it's done its job of work,
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会被你的胃消化掉。
13:37
it could be consumed by your stomach,
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或者，如果你不愿意，
13:39
or if you don't want that,
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13:41
it could go straight through you,
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它可以只在你的身体里走个过场，
13:43
into the toilet,
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掉进马桶，
13:44
and be degraded safely in the environment.
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在环境中安全分解。
所以再次说明，
这会改变我们对机器人的想法。
这会改变我们对机器人的想法。
13:46
So this changes the way, again,
in which we think about robots.
in which we think about robots.
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13:50
So, we started off looking
at robots that would eat pollution,
at robots that would eat pollution,
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我们从可以吃掉污染物的机器人开始，
直到可以被我们吃掉的机器人。
13:55
and then we're looking
at robots which we can eat.
at robots which we can eat.
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13:57
I hope this gives you some idea
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希望能给大家一些灵感，
13:59
of the kinds of things
we can do with future robots.
we can do with future robots.
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看看我们能如何使用
未来的机器人。
未来的机器人。
谢谢大家！
14:03
Thank you very much for your attention.
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14:05
(Applause)
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（掌声）
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Jonathan Rossiter - RoboticistJonathan Rossiter develops soft robotic technologies and turns them into real robots and smart machines for engineers, musicians, doctors and artists.
Why you should listen
Jonathan Rossiter is Professor of Robotics at University of Bristol, and heads the Soft Robotics Group at Bristol Robotics Laboratory. His group researches soft robotics: robots and machines that go beyond conventional rigid and motorized technologies into the world of smart materials, reactive polymers biomimetics and compliant structures. Because they're soft, these robots are inherently safe for interaction with the human body and with the natural environment. They can be used to deliver new healthcare treatments, wearable and assistance devices, and human-interface technologies. They wide impact from furniture to fashion and from space systems to environmental cleanup. They can even be made biodegradable and edible.
Currently a major focus of Rossiter's work is on the development of soft robotic replacement organs for cancer and trauma sufferers and on smart "trousers" to help older people stay mobile for longer.
Jonathan Rossiter | Speaker | TED.com