题型:阅读理解 题类:常考题 难易度:普通
浙江省浙南名校联盟2020-2021学年高一上学期英语期中联考试卷(含听力音频)
Robots are one step closer to gaining a human sense: touch. Scientists published an artificial skin that makes robots feel and respond to physical contact, a skill that will be needed as they come in increasingly close contact with people.
In 2017, robot-makers worldwide used over 85 industrial robots every 10,000 workers, according to a report. The report predicts the global supply of industrial robots to grow 14% every year until 2021. But if robots end up working more closely with their co-workers, one worry is how they will work together safely.
"Nowadays, robots do not have any sense of touch," says Professor Gordon Cheng, who developed the special skin with his team at the Technical University of Munich.
To develop the artificial skin, the researchers began by studying humans. Each person has about 5 million skin receptors (接受器) that sense what's happening on the body's surface and send signals to the brain. But the brain can't deal with information from each one at the same time. Instead, the nervous system deals with new senses at first. Copying this, the team covered a human-size autonomous (自动的) robot with more than 13,000 sensors, which are able to test temperature and pressure.
Some scientists doubted it. The high cost of each sensor and its fragility (易碎性) is a main problem for lots of production of robots, says Etienne Burdet, a professor of human robotics.
"Technology like this could open opportunities where robots could work much more closely with humans, such as the caregiving jobs," says Bob Doyle, president of the Robotic Industries Association. "They could help someone get out of bed, or help them around the house," he adds. However, Doyle says that these technologies are still a long way from actual uses in the field, and that making sure of the safety of humans will come first.
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