ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Jonathan Rossiter - Roboticist
Jonathan 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.


More profile about the speaker
Jonathan Rossiter | Speaker | TED.com
TEDxWarwick

Jonathan Rossiter: A robot that eats pollution

強納生.羅斯特: 會吃汙染物的機器人

Filmed:
1,337,180 views

來看划水機器人,一種會清除汙染物,而且靠吃汙水就會自我發電的機器人。機器人專家強納生.羅斯特解釋這種特殊的游泳機器,本身使用微生物燃料電池,能中和藻華及油汙,成為可生物分解、自主對抗污染物的機器人先驅。
- Roboticist
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你好, I'm an engineer工程師
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嗨,我是工程師,
我製造機器人。
00:14
and I make robots機器人.
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00:16
Now, of course課程 you all know
what a robot機器人 is, right?
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當然你們都知道機器人,對吧?
00:19
If you don't, you'd probably大概 go to Google谷歌,
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如果你不知道,
你大概會用谷歌 (Google),
00:21
and you'd ask Google谷歌 what a robot機器人 is.
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查一下什麼是機器人。
00:23
So let's do that.
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我們也來試一下。
00:25
We'll go to Google谷歌
and this is what we get.
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我們用谷歌得到這些。
00:28
Now, you can see here there are
lots of different不同 types類型 of robots機器人,
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你可以看到這裡
有很多種不同的機器人,
但是它們很明顯在結構上都很像人。
00:31
but they're predominantly主要
humanoid人形 in structure結構體.
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00:35
And they look pretty漂亮 conventional常規
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而且它們有傳統的外型,
因為它們有塑膠、金屬,
00:37
because they've他們已經 got plastic塑料,
they've他們已經 got metal金屬,
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還有馬達、傳動裝置等等。
00:39
they've他們已經 got motors馬達 and gears齒輪 and so on.
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00:41
Some of them look quite相當 friendly友善,
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有些看起來很友善,
你可以過去抱一下。
00:43
and you could go up
and you could hug擁抱 them.
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00:45
Some of them not so friendly友善,
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有一些就不那麼友善,
它們看起來好像從
《魔鬼終結者》裡直接走出來,
00:47
they look like they're
straight直行 out of "Terminator終結者,"
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事實上它們的確很可能是從
《魔鬼終結者》裡出來的。
00:49
in fact事實 they may可能 well be
straight直行 out of "Terminator終結者."
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你可以用這些機器人
做很多很酷的事,
00:52
You can do lots of really cool
things with these robots機器人 --
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很令人興奮的事。
00:54
you can do really exciting扣人心弦 stuff東東.
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00:56
But I'd like to look
at different不同 kinds of robots機器人 --
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但是我想研究不同種類的機器人。
我想製造不同種的機器人。
00:59
I want to make different不同 kinds of robots機器人.
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01:01
And I take inspiration靈感
from the things that don't look like us,
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我的靈感來自跟我們不太像的東西,
反而像這樣的東西。
01:04
but look like these.
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01:06
So these are natural自然 biological生物 organisms生物
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這些都是天然的生物體,
它們會做很酷的事,我們做不到的,
01:09
and they do some
really cool things that we can't,
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而且目前的機器人也做不到。
01:11
and current當前 robots機器人 can't either.
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它們會做各種很厲害的事,
像在地板上移動;
01:14
They do all sorts排序 of great things
like moving移動 around on the floor地板;
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它們會去花園,吃我們的作物;
01:17
they go into our gardens花園
and they eat our crops作物;
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它們會爬樹;
01:19
they climb trees樹木;
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它們會入水出水;
01:21
they go in water, they come out of water;
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它們捕捉並消化昆蟲。
01:23
they trap陷阱 insects昆蟲 and digest消化 them.
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01:26
So they do really interesting有趣 things.
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它們會做很有意思的事情。
它們生存、呼吸、死亡,
01:27
They live生活, they breathe呼吸, they die,
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01:31
they eat things from the environment環境.
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它們會吃環境裡的東西。
01:33
Our current當前 robots機器人 don't really do that.
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我們現有的機器人不會做這件事。
01:35
Now, wouldn't不會 it be great
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那麼,這不是很棒嗎?
01:36
if you could use some of those
characteristics特點 in future未來 robots機器人
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如果你可以在未來的機器人上
應用這些特點,
01:40
so that you could solve解決
some really interesting有趣 problems問題?
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不就可以解決某些非常
有意思的難題?
01:43
I'm going to look at a couple一對 of problems問題
now in the environment環境
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我要讓大家看目前
在環境中的幾個難題。
01:46
where we can use
the skills技能 and the technologies技術
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我們可以運用
從這些動植物得到的技巧及科技,
01:49
derived派生 from these animals動物
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01:51
and from the plants植物,
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01:52
and we can use them
to solve解決 those problems問題.
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我們可以用來解決這些問題。
我們來看兩個環境問題。
01:54
Let's have a look
at two environmental環境的 problems問題.
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01:57
They're both of our making製造 --
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兩者都是人搞出來的──
這是人跟環境互動
01:59
this is man interacting互動
with the environment環境
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所做出的一些很討厭的事。
02:01
and doing some rather unpleasant不愉快 things.
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第一個問題跟人口壓力有關。
02:04
The first one is to do
with the pressure壓力 of population人口.
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02:08
Such這樣 is the pressure壓力
of population人口 around the world世界
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全世界的人口壓力
02:10
that agriculture農業 and farming農業 is required需要
to produce生產 more and more crops作物.
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讓農業必須生產更多的作物。
02:15
Now, to do that,
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那麼,要做到這點,
02:16
farmers農民 put more and more
chemicals化學製品 onto the land土地.
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農夫得施更多化學製品到田裡。
02:18
They put on fertilizers化肥,
nitrates硝酸鹽, pesticides農藥 --
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他們得施肥料、硝酸鹽、殺蟲劑──
02:21
all sorts排序 of things
that encourage鼓勵 the growth發展 of the crops作物,
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各式各樣的東西促進作物成長,
02:25
but there are some negative impacts影響.
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但是這有負面影響。
02:27
One of the negative impacts影響 is
if you put lots of fertilizer肥料 on the land土地,
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其中一個負面影響就是,
如果你在田裡施很多肥料,
02:30
not all of it goes into the crops作物.
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不是所有的肥料都會被作物吸收。
02:33
Lots of it stays入住 in the soil,
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很多會留在土裡,
02:35
and then when it rains降雨,
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然後下雨時,
02:37
these chemicals化學製品 go into the water table.
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這些化學品就會流進地下水裡。
02:39
And in the water table,
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順著地下水,
02:41
then they go into streams,
into lakes湖泊, into rivers河流
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它們會流進小溪、湖泊、河流,
02:44
and into the sea.
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然後進入海洋。
02:46
Now, if you put all
of these chemicals化學製品, these nitrates硝酸鹽,
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如果你把這些化學品,這些硝酸鹽,
放進像這樣的環境中,
02:49
into those kinds of environments環境,
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生活在這些環境內的生物
就會受到影響──
02:50
there are organisms生物 in those environments環境
that will be affected受影響 by that --
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02:54
algae藻類, for example.
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譬如藻類。
02:56
Algae藻類 loves nitrates硝酸鹽, it loves fertilizer肥料,
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藻類很愛硝酸鹽,它喜歡肥料,
02:58
so it will take in all these chemicals化學製品,
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所以它會吸收這些化學製品,
03:00
and if the conditions條件 are right,
it will mass produce生產.
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在適宜的條件下,它會大量繁殖。
03:03
It will produce生產 masses群眾
and masses群眾 of new algae藻類.
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它會繁殖出一大團又一大團的新藻類,
03:06
That's called a bloom盛開.
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稱為藻華。
03:07
The trouble麻煩 is that
when algae藻類 reproduces再現 like this,
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麻煩的是當藻類像這樣繁殖,
03:10
it starves忍飢挨餓的 the water of oxygen.
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它會耗盡水中的氧。
03:13
As soon不久 as you do that,
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一旦如此,
其它水中生物就無法生存。
03:14
the other organisms生物
in the water can't survive生存.
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03:18
So, what do we do?
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那,我們要怎麼辦?
03:20
We try to produce生產 a robot機器人
that will eat the algae藻類,
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我們試著做出一種
會吃水藻的機器人,
03:24
consume消耗 it and make it safe安全.
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吃光水藻又很安全。
03:26
So that's the first problem問題.
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所以這是第一個問題。
03:27
The second第二 problem問題 is also of our making製造,
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第二個問題也是我們的傑作,
03:30
and it's to do with oil pollution污染.
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它跟油的汙染有關。
03:32
Now, oil comes out
of the engines引擎 that we use,
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油從我們使用的引擎、
03:36
the boats that we use.
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船隻中釋放出來。
03:37
Sometimes有時 tankers油輪
flush紅暈 their oil tanks坦克 into the sea,
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有時候油輪會把油排放到海洋,
03:41
so oil is released發布 into the sea that way.
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所以油就這樣流到海裡。
03:43
Wouldn't豈不 it be nice不錯
if we could treat對待 that in some way
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這樣不是很好?
如果我們可以想辦法用機器人
03:45
using運用 robots機器人 that could eat the pollution污染
the oil fields領域 have produced生成?
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吃掉油田產生的汙染物?
03:51
So that's what we do.
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所以那就是我們做的。
03:52
We make robots機器人 that will eat pollution污染.
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我們製造能吃汙染物的機器人。
03:55
To actually其實 make the robot機器人,
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要實際製造出機器人,
03:57
we take inspiration靈感 from two organisms生物.
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我們從兩種生物取得靈感。
04:00
On the right there
you see the basking shark鯊魚.
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你看到右邊的那張是姥鯊。
04:02
The basking shark鯊魚 is a massive大規模的 shark鯊魚.
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姥鯊是一種大型鯊魚。
04:05
It's noncarnivorousnoncarnivorous,
so you can swim游泳 with it,
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牠並非肉食性,
所以你可以跟牠一起游泳,
04:07
as you can see.
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就像你在這裡看到的。
04:09
And the basking shark鯊魚 opens打開 its mouth,
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姥鯊張開嘴巴,
04:10
and it swims游泳 through通過 the water,
collecting蒐集 plankton浮游生物.
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游過水裡,收集浮游生物。
04:14
As it does that, it digests摘要 the food餐飲,
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這麼做的同時,牠消化食物,
04:17
and then it uses使用 that energy能源
in its body身體 to keep moving移動.
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然後利用在體內
產生的能量繼續活動。
04:21
So, could we make a robot機器人 like that --
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所以,我們能不能做
像那樣的機器人──
04:23
like the basking shark鯊魚
that chugs一班班 through通過 the water
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像姥鯊一樣可以在水中徐徐前進,
04:25
and eats up pollution污染?
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然後吃掉汙染物?
04:28
Well, let's see if we can do that.
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嗯,我們來看看能不能做到。
04:29
But also, we take the inspiration靈感
from other organisms生物.
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我們也從其它生物獲取靈感。
04:33
I've got a picture圖片 here
of a water boatman船工,
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我這裡有一張水椿的照片,
水椿真的很可愛。
04:35
and the water boatman船工 is really cute可愛.
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當它游水時,
04:36
When it's swimming游泳的 in the water,
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就用船槳般的腿將自己推向前。
04:38
it uses使用 its paddle-like槳狀 legs
to push itself本身 forward前鋒.
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04:41
So we take those two organisms生物
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所以我們取兩者所長
04:43
and we combine結合 them together一起
to make a new kind of robot機器人.
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結合在一起,做成一種新型機器人。
04:47
In fact事實, because we're using運用
the water boatman船工 as inspiration靈感,
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事實上,因為我們從水椿得到靈感,
04:50
and our robot機器人 sits坐鎮 on top最佳 of the water,
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而且我們的機器人坐在水上,
04:53
and it rows,
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它會划行,
04:54
we call it the "Row-bot行機器人."
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我們就叫它「划水機器人」。
04:56
So a Row-bot行機器人 is a robot機器人 that rows.
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所以划水機器人是會划水的機器人。
05:00
OK. So what does it look like?
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好,那它長什麼樣子?
05:03
Here's這裡的 some pictures圖片 of the Row-bot行機器人,
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這裡有一些划水機器人的照片,
你們看,
05:05
and you'll你會 see,
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它一點都不像我們
一開始看到的機器人。
05:06
it doesn't look anything like the robots機器人
we saw right at the beginning開始.
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所以谷歌錯了,
機器人不像那樣,
05:09
Google谷歌 is wrong錯誤;
robots機器人 don't look like that,
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它們像這樣。
05:11
they look like this.
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我這裡有一隻划水機器人。
05:13
So I've got the Row-bot行機器人 here.
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05:15
I'll just hold保持 it up for you.
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我拿起來給你們看。
讓你們了解一下它的大小,
05:16
It gives you a sense of the scale規模,
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而且它跟其它的都不像。
05:18
and it doesn't look
anything like the others其他.
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05:20
OK, so it's made製作 out of plastic塑料,
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好,它是塑膠做的,
05:21
and we'll have a look now
at the components組件
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現在我們來看一下
05:24
that make up the Row-bot行機器人 --
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划水機器人的組件──
05:25
what makes品牌 it really special特別.
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使它特別的地方。
05:27
The Row-bot行機器人 is made製作 up of three parts部分,
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划水機器人由三個部分組成,
05:30
and those three parts部分 are really
like the parts部分 of any organism生物.
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這三個部分真的很像任何生物的部分。
05:33
It's got a brain,
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它有個頭腦,
05:35
it's got a body身體
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它有身體,
05:37
and it's got a stomach.
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而且它有胃。
05:39
It needs需求 the stomach to create創建 the energy能源.
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它需要胃以產生能量。
05:41
Any Row-bot行機器人 will have
those three components組件,
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任何划水機器人都有這三個組件,
05:44
and any organism生物
will have those three components組件,
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就像任何生物都有這三個部分一樣。
05:46
so let's go through通過 them one at a time.
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我們就一個個來看。
05:48
It has a body身體,
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它有身體,
05:49
and its body身體 is made製作 out of plastic塑料,
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它的身體由塑膠製成,
05:51
and it sits坐鎮 on top最佳 of the water.
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而且它可以坐在水面上。
05:53
And it's got flippers蛙鞋 on the side here --
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它的蹼在旁邊這裡──
05:56
paddles that help it move移動,
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幫助它移動,
05:58
just like the water boatman船工.
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就像水椿一樣。
06:00
It's got a plastic塑料 body身體,
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它有個塑膠的身體,
06:01
but it's got a soft柔軟的 rubber橡膠 mouth here,
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而這裡有一張軟橡膠做的嘴,
06:04
and a mouth here --
it's got two mouths嘴巴.
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這裡還有另一張嘴──
它有兩張嘴。
06:06
Why does it have two mouths嘴巴?
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會什麼要兩張嘴?
06:07
One is to let the food餐飲 go in
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一張讓食物進來,
06:09
and the other is to let the food餐飲 go out.
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另一張讓食物出去。
06:11
So you can see really
it's got a mouth and a derriere臀部,
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所以你們可以看到它有嘴有臀,
06:15
or a --
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或是說 ──
06:16
(Laughter笑聲)
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東西排出去的地方,
06:17
something where the stuff東東 comes out,
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就像真的生物一樣。
06:19
which哪一個 is just like a real真實 organism生物.
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所以它開始看起來像那個姥鯊了。
06:20
So it's starting開始 to look
like that basking shark鯊魚.
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06:23
So that's the body身體.
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這是身體。
06:25
The second第二 component零件 might威力 be the stomach.
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第二個部分可能是胃。
06:28
We need to get the energy能源 into the robot機器人
and we need to treat對待 the pollution污染,
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我們必須讓要處理污染的
機器人得到能量,
06:32
so the pollution污染 goes in,
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所以汙染從這裡進,
06:33
and it will do something.
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它會搞一下。
06:35
It's got a cell細胞 in the middle中間 here
called a microbial微生物 fuel汽油 cell細胞.
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中間這裡有個電池,
稱作微生物燃料電池。
06:38
I'll put this down,
and I'll lift電梯 up the fuel汽油 cell細胞.
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我把這個放下來,
把這個燃料電池拿起來。
06:42
Here. So instead代替 of having batteries電池,
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這裡沒有電池,
06:44
instead代替 of having
a conventional常規 power功率 system系統,
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也不用是傳統的電力系統,
06:46
it's got one of these.
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它有一個這個。
06:47
This is its stomach.
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這是它的胃。
06:48
And it really is a stomach
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它真的是一個胃,
06:50
because you can put energy能源 in this side
in the form形成 of pollution污染,
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因為你可以把能量放在這邊,
以汙染物的形式,
06:53
and it creates創建 electricity電力.
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它產生電力。
06:55
So what is it?
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所以這是什麼?
這稱為微生物燃料電池。
06:56
It's called a microbial微生物 fuel汽油 cell細胞.
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這跟化學燃料電池有點像。
06:58
It's a little bit
like a chemical化學 fuel汽油 cell細胞,
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你大概在學校看過,
07:00
which哪一個 you might威力 have
come across橫過 in school學校,
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或者在新聞裡看過。
07:02
or you might've可能已經 seen看到 in the news新聞.
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化學燃料電池利用氫及氧,
07:03
Chemical化學 fuel汽油 cells細胞
take hydrogen and oxygen,
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07:06
and they can combine結合 them together一起
and you get electricity電力.
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把兩者結合你就得到電力。
07:08
That's well-established成熟 technology技術;
it was in the Apollo阿波羅 space空間 missions任務.
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這是成熟的技術;
在阿波羅太空計畫裡就有了。
07:12
That's from 40, 50 years年份 ago.
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那是四、五十年前。
07:14
This is slightly newer.
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這個比較新。
07:15
This is a microbial微生物 fuel汽油 cell細胞.
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這是微生物燃料電池。
07:17
It's the same相同 principle原理:
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運用同樣的原理:
07:18
it's got oxygen on one side,
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氧氣在一邊,
07:19
but instead代替 of having
hydrogen on the other,
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但是另一邊不是氫氣,
07:22
it's got some soup,
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而是一種混和液,
07:23
and inside that soup
there are living活的 microbes微生物.
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在這種混和液中有活的微生物。
07:26
Now, if you take some organic有機 material材料 --
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如果你拿一些有機材料──
07:28
could be some waste浪費 products製品, some food餐飲,
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可以是某種廢料,食物,
07:31
maybe a bit of your sandwich三明治 --
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或許拿一點你的三明治 ──
07:32
you put it in there,
the microbes微生物 will eat that food餐飲,
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你把它放在這裡面,
微生物會吃這個食物,
07:35
and they will turn it into electricity電力.
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然後把食物轉化成電力。
07:38
Not only that, but if you select選擇
the right kind of microbes微生物,
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不僅如此,如果你選對微生物的種類,
07:41
you can use the microbial微生物 fuel汽油 cell細胞
to treat對待 some of the pollution污染.
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你還可以用微生物燃料電池
處理一些污染。
07:46
If you choose選擇 the right microbes微生物,
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如果你選對微生物,
07:48
the microbes微生物 will eat the algae藻類.
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微生物會吃藻類。
07:50
If you use other kinds of microbes微生物,
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如果你用其它種微生物,
07:53
they will eat petroleum石油
spirits and crude原油 oil.
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它們能吃石油醚及原油。
07:56
So you can see
how this stomach could be used
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所以你們可以看到怎麼使用這個胃,
07:59
to not only treat對待 the pollution污染
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不只處理污染,
08:02
but also to generate生成 electricity電力
from the pollution污染.
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還能從污染產生電力。
08:06
So the robot機器人 will move移動
through通過 the environment環境,
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所以這個機器人會在環境中移動,
08:09
taking服用 food餐飲 into its stomach,
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把食物吃進胃裡,
08:11
digest消化 the food餐飲, create創建 electricity電力,
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消化吃進的食物,產生電力,
08:13
use that electricity電力
to move移動 through通過 the environment環境
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再用產生的電在環境中移動,
08:16
and keep doing this.
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如此週而復始。
08:17
OK, so let's see what happens發生
when we run the Row-bot行機器人 --
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好,那我們來看看
划水機器人工作的樣子 ──
08:21
when it does some rowing划船.
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當它划的時候。
08:22
Here we've我們已經 got a couple一對 of videos視頻,
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這裡我們有幾段影片,
08:24
the first thing you'll你會 see --
hopefully希望 you can see here
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你們看到的第一件事,
希望大家都看得到,
是張開嘴巴。
08:26
is the mouth open打開.
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08:28
The front面前 mouth and the bottom底部 mouth open打開,
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前嘴和後嘴都張開,
08:31
and it will stay opened打開 enough足夠,
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它會一直張大嘴,
08:32
then the robot機器人 will start開始 to row forward前鋒.
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2016
然後機器人會開始向前划。
08:34
It moves移動 through通過 the water
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它在水中移動,
08:36
so that food餐飲 goes in
as the waste浪費 products製品 go out.
215
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所以食物進去,廢物出來。
08:39
Once一旦 it's moved移動 enough足夠,
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當它移動夠了,
08:40
it stops停止 and then it closes關閉 the mouth --
217
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就會停止,然後閉上嘴巴──
08:43
slowly慢慢地 closes關閉 the mouths嘴巴 --
218
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慢慢閉上嘴──
08:45
and then it will sit there,
219
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然後坐在那裡,
08:47
and it will digest消化 the food餐飲.
220
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1640
開始消化食物。
08:50
Of course課程 these microbial微生物 fuel汽油 cells細胞,
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當然這些微生物燃料電池
08:52
they contain包含 microbes微生物.
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裡面有微生物。
08:54
What you really want is lots of energy能源
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你真的想要的是很多能量
08:55
coming未來 out of those microbes微生物
as quickly很快 as possible可能.
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從這些微生物得到,愈快愈好。
08:58
But we can't force the microbes微生物
225
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但是我們不能強迫微生物,
09:00
and they generate生成 a small amount
of electricity電力 per second第二.
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而且它們每秒產生很少量的電力。
09:03
They generate生成 milliwatts毫瓦, or microwatts.
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它們生產毫瓦或微瓦電力。
09:06
Let's put that into context上下文.
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我們多解釋一下。
09:08
Your mobile移動 phone電話 for example,
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譬如說你的手機,
09:09
one of these modern現代 ones那些,
230
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像這種現代一點的,
09:11
if you use it, it takes about one watt.
231
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2216
如果你使用它,它需要一瓦。
09:13
So that's a thousand or a million百萬 times
as much energy能源 that that uses使用
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所以手機使用的能量
是微生物燃料電池的
一千或一百萬倍。
09:17
compared相比 to the microbial微生物 fuel汽油 cell細胞.
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09:20
How can we cope應付 with that?
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我們怎麼應付這個情況?
09:21
Well, when the Row-bot行機器人
has doneDONE its digestion消化,
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嗯,划水機器人消化完食物後,
09:24
when it's taken採取 the food餐飲 in,
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當它吃了食物,
09:25
it will sit there and it will wait
until直到 it has consumed消費 all that food餐飲.
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它會坐在那裡,
直到食物都消化完為止。
09:29
That could take some hours小時,
it could take some days.
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那要花好幾個小時,甚至好幾天。
09:32
A typical典型 cycle週期 for the Row-bot行機器人
looks容貌 like this:
239
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3696
划水機器人典型的
工作循環週期像這樣:
09:36
you open打開 your mouth,
240
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你打開嘴巴,
09:37
you move移動,
241
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1256
你移動,
09:39
you close your mouth
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你閉上嘴巴,
09:40
and you sit there for a while waiting等候.
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然後坐在那裡等。
09:42
Once一旦 you digest消化 your food餐飲,
244
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一旦你消化完食物,
09:43
then you can go about
doing the same相同 thing again.
245
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就可以起來再繼續做相同的事。
09:46
But you know what, that looks容貌
like a real真實 organism生物, doesn't it?
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2976
但是你知道嗎,這看起來
很像真的生物,不是嗎?
它跟我們做的事很像。
09:49
It looks容貌 like the kind of thing we do.
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星期六晚上,我們出門,張嘴,
09:51
Saturday星期六 night,
we go out, open打開 our mouths嘴巴,
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2056
09:53
fill our stomachs,
249
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1536
把胃填滿,
09:54
sit in front面前 of the telly電視中 and digest消化.
250
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2936
坐在電視機前面消化。
09:57
When we've我們已經 had enough足夠,
we do the same相同 thing again.
251
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2376
我們覺得夠了,又開始做同樣的事。
10:00
OK, if we're lucky幸運 with this cycle週期,
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好,如果這次循環很幸運,
10:03
at the end結束 of the cycle週期
we'll have enough足夠 energy能源 left over
253
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3536
在循環結束後
我們會有足夠的剩餘能量,
10:06
for us to be able能夠 to do something else其他.
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2136
讓我們能做別的事。
10:08
We could send發送 a message信息, for example.
255
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2016
例如,我們可送個簡訊。
10:10
We could send發送 a message信息 saying,
256
598960
1496
我們可送個簡訊說:
10:12
"This is how much pollution污染
I've eaten吃過 recently最近,"
257
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「這是我最近吃掉的污染量;」
10:14
or, "This is the kind of stuff東東
that I've encountered遇到,"
258
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2576
或是,「這是我最近碰到的東西;」
10:17
or, "This is where I am."
259
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或是,「我現在在什麼地方。」
10:19
That ability能力 to send發送 a message信息
saying, "This is where I am,"
260
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能傳送簡訊說「我現在在什麼地方」,
10:23
is really, really important重要.
261
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1936
是非常非常重要的事。
10:25
If you think about the oil slicks浮油
that we saw before,
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如果你們想一下
我們以前看到的水面油汙畫面,
10:27
or those massive大規模的 algal藻類 blooms綻放,
263
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1456
或非常大片的藻華,
10:29
what you really want to do
is put your Row-bot行機器人 out there,
264
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你真正想做的是
把你的划水機器人送到那裡,
10:31
and it eats up all of those pollutions污染,
265
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1976
把汙染物吃光光,
10:33
and then you have to go collect蒐集 them.
266
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然後你得去把它們收回來。
10:35
Why?
267
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1216
為什麼?
因為眼下這些划水機器人,
10:37
Because these Row-bots行機器人 at the moment時刻,
268
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1816
和我這裡的這隻划水機器人,
10:39
this Row-bot行機器人 I've got here,
269
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裡面有馬達、有線路,
10:40
it contains包含 motors馬達, it contains包含 wires電線,
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1856
裡面有生物不能分解的原件。
10:42
it contains包含 components組件
which哪一個 themselves他們自己 are not biodegradable可生物降解.
271
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3456
10:45
Current當前 Row-bots行機器人 contain包含
things like toxic有毒的 batteries電池.
272
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2736
當下的划水機器人裡面包含
有毒的電池等東西。
10:48
You can't leave離開 those in the environment環境,
273
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1976
你不能把這些留在環境中,
10:50
so you need to track跟踪 them,
274
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1496
所以你必須追蹤它們在哪裡,
10:52
and then when they've他們已經 finished
their job工作 of work,
275
640040
2336
在它們完成工作之後,
你必須收回它們。
10:54
you need to collect蒐集 them.
276
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1256
這會限制你能使用的
划水機器人數量。
10:55
That limits範圍 the number
of Row-bots行機器人 you can use.
277
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2336
10:58
If, on the other hand,
278
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1256
另一方面,
如果你的機器人有一點像生物體,
10:59
you have robot機器人 a little bit
like a biological生物 organism生物,
279
647320
3136
11:02
when it comes to the end結束 of its life,
280
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2096
在生命結束時,
11:04
it dies and it degrades降級 to nothing.
281
652600
2456
它會死亡且分解無形。
11:07
So wouldn't不會 it be nice不錯 if these robots機器人,
282
655080
2336
那不是很好嗎?如果這些機器人
11:09
instead代替 of being存在 like this,
made製作 out of plastic塑料,
283
657440
2239
不像現在由塑膠製成,
而是用其它的材料,
11:11
were made製作 out of other materials物料,
284
659703
1593
當你把它們丟在外面,
11:13
which哪一個 when you throw them out there,
285
661320
1736
它們就在那裡分解於無形。
11:15
they biodegrade生物降解 to nothing?
286
663080
1336
這會改變我們使用機器人的方法。
11:16
That changes變化 the way
in which哪一個 we use robots機器人.
287
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2096
11:18
Instead代替 of putting 10 or 100
out into the environment環境,
288
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3376
與其放 10 或 100 個
機器人到環境中,
11:21
having to track跟踪 them,
289
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1256
要追蹤它們,
11:23
and then when they die,
290
671240
1336
而且它們死掉以後,
11:24
collect蒐集 them,
291
672600
1216
還要收回來,
11:25
you could put a thousand,
292
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1696
你可以放一千個,
11:27
a million百萬, a billion十億 robots機器人
into the environment環境.
293
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2736
一百萬個,十億個這種
機器人到環境中。
11:30
Just spread傳播 them around.
294
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1816
把它們散到四處。
11:32
You know that at the end結束 of their lives生活,
they're going to degrade降級 to nothing.
295
680160
3616
你知道在它們壽終時
將會分解至無形。
你不需要擔心它們。
11:35
You don't need to worry擔心 about them.
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那樣會改變你對機器人的想法,
11:37
So that changes變化 the way
in which哪一個 you think about robots機器人
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以及你派遣它們的方式。
11:40
and the way you deploy部署 them.
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隨之而來的問題是:
你真的可以做得到嗎?
11:41
Then the question is: Can you do this?
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11:43
Well, yes, we have shown顯示
that you can do this.
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是的,我們已經讓你看到的確可以。
你可以製造可生物分解的機器人。
11:45
You can make robots機器人
which哪一個 are biodegradable可生物降解.
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真正有意思的是,
你可以用生活常見的材料
11:47
What's really interesting有趣
is you can use household家庭 materials物料
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11:50
to make these biodegradable可生物降解 robots機器人.
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來製造這種可生物分解的機器人。
11:52
I'll show顯示 you some;
you might威力 be surprised詫異.
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我給大家看幾個;
你們可能會很驚訝。
11:54
You can make a robot機器人 out of jelly果凍.
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你可以用果凍做機器人。
11:57
Instead代替 of having a motor發動機,
which哪一個 we have at the moment時刻,
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代替目前機器人用的馬達,
12:00
you can make things
called artificial人造 muscles肌肉.
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你可以用人工肌肉。
12:03
Artificial人造 muscles肌肉 are smart聰明 materials物料,
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人工肌肉是一種智慧型材料,
12:05
you apply應用 electricity電力 to them,
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你把它們接上電,
12:06
and they contract合同,
or they bend彎曲 or they twist.
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它們會收縮、彎曲或扭轉。
12:09
They look like real真實 muscles肌肉.
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它們看起來就像真的肌肉。
12:11
So instead代替 of having a motor發動機,
you have these artificial人造 muscles肌肉.
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所以與其使用馬達,
還不如用人工肌肉。
12:14
And you can make
artificial人造 muscles肌肉 out of jelly果凍.
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你可以用果凍做人工肌肉。
12:17
If you take some jelly果凍 and some salts,
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如果你可以拿果凍加點鹽,
12:19
and do a bit of jiggery-pokery在暗中搗鬼,
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然後東搞搞西弄弄,
12:20
you can make an artificial人造 muscle肌肉.
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就可以做出人工肌肉。
12:22
We've我們已經 also shown顯示 you can make
the microbial微生物 fuel汽油 cell's細胞 stomach
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我們已經讓大家看到可以用紙
12:26
out of paper.
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做微生物燃料電池的胃。
12:27
So you could make the whole整個
robot機器人 out of biodegradable可生物降解 materials物料.
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因此你可以用生物分解材料
做整個機器人。
12:31
You throw them out there,
and they degrade降級 to nothing.
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你把它們丟出去,
它們將會自己分解。
12:35
Well, this is really, really exciting扣人心弦.
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這真的超興奮。
12:37
It's going to totally完全 change更改 the way
in which哪一個 we think about robots機器人,
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這會完全改變我們對機器人的想法,
12:40
but also it allows允許 you
to be really creative創作的
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也讓你變得非常有創意,
12:42
in the way in which哪一個 you think
about what you can do with these robots機器人.
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想出很多機器人的用途。
我舉一個例子。
12:46
I'll give you an example.
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如果你能用果凍做機器人──
12:47
If you can use jelly果凍 to make a robot機器人 --
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12:50
now, we eat jelly果凍, right?
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我們都吃果凍對吧?
12:52
So, why not make something like this?
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那,為什麼不用這個
做像這樣的東西?
12:54
A robot機器人 gummy粘性的 bear.
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熊軟糖機器人。
12:57
Here, I've got some I prepared準備 earlier.
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這裡,我準備了幾個。
12:59
There we go. I've got a packet --
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在這裡,我有個袋子──
13:02
and I've got a lemon-flavored檸檬味 one.
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我拿了一個檸檬口味的。
13:05
I'll take this gummy粘性的 bear --
he's not robotic機器人, OK?
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我拿這個熊軟糖──
這不是機器人,好嗎?
13:08
We have to pretend假裝.
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我們要假裝一下。
13:09
And what you do with one of these
is you put it in your mouth --
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你要拿它做什麼?
放到你的嘴巴裡──
檸檬口味不錯。
13:12
the lemon's檸檬 quite相當 nice不錯.
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13:14
Try not to chew it too much,
it's a robot機器人, it may可能 not like it.
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不要嚼太大力,這是機器人,
它可能不喜歡那樣。
13:18
And then you swallow it.
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然後吞下去。
13:21
And then it goes into your stomach.
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然後它就跑到你的胃裡。
13:22
And when it's inside your stomach,
it moves移動, it thinks, it twists曲折, it bends彎曲,
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它在你的胃裡移動、
思考、扭動、彎曲,
13:26
it does something.
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做一些事。
13:27
It could go further進一步 down
into your intestines,
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然後它繼續跑到你的腸道,
13:30
find out whether是否 you've got
some ulcer潰瘍 or cancer癌症,
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看看你有沒有潰瘍或癌症,
或許順便打個針,諸如此類。
13:32
maybe do an injection注射,
something like that.
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13:34
You know that once一旦
it's doneDONE its job工作 of work,
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你知道一旦它做完工作後,
13:37
it could be consumed消費 by your stomach,
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就會被你的胃消化,
13:39
or if you don't want that,
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如果你不要那樣,
13:41
it could go straight直行 through通過 you,
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它還可以直接通過你,
13:43
into the toilet廁所,
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掉進馬桶,
13:44
and be degraded降級 safely安然 in the environment環境.
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在環境中安全分解。
13:46
So this changes變化 the way, again,
in which哪一個 we think about robots機器人.
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所以再說一次,
這會改變我們對機器人的想法。
13:50
So, we started開始 off looking
at robots機器人 that would eat pollution污染,
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我們從可以吃汙染的機器人開始看,
13:55
and then we're looking
at robots機器人 which哪一個 we can eat.
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然後我們看到可以吃掉機器人。
13:57
I hope希望 this gives you some idea理念
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我希望這能給大家一點靈感,
13:59
of the kinds of things
we can do with future未來 robots機器人.
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看看我們能如何使用
未來的機器人。
14:03
Thank you very much for your attention注意.
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謝謝大家!
14:05
(Applause掌聲)
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(掌聲)
Translated by Regina Chu
Reviewed by Melody Tang

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ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Jonathan Rossiter - Roboticist
Jonathan 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.


More profile about the speaker
Jonathan Rossiter | Speaker | TED.com