機器人的發展

Robots， becoming increasingly prevalent in factories and industrial plants throughout the developed world， are programmed and engineered to perform industrial tasks without human intervention. Most of todays robots are employed in the automotive industry， where they are programmed to take over such jobs as welding and spray painting automobile and truck bodies. They also load and unload hot， heavy metal forms used in machines casting automobile and truck frames.

機器人在所有發達國家的工廠日益普及，人們對它們進行編程和設計，使其在無人情況下執行工業任務。現今，大多數機器人用于汽車工業，人們對其編程，從事如汽車和卡車車身焊接、噴漆之類的工作。它們也用于裝卸鑄造汽車和卡車框架的機器中熾熱、笨重的金屬鑄模。

Robots， already taking over human tasks in the automotive field， are beginning to be seen， although to a lesser degree， in other industries as well. There they build electric motors， small appliances， pocket calculators， and even watches. The robots used in nuclear power plants handle the radioactive materials， preventing human personnel from being exposed to radiation. These are the robots responsible for the reduction in job-related injuries in this new industry.

機器人已經在汽車行業接任了人類工作，在其他行業也開始看到它們的身影，雖然使用程度低一些。在那里它們制造電動馬達、小型設備、袖珍計算器，甚至手表。用于核電站的機器人處理輻射材料，避免工作人員暴露于輻射中。這些機器人可以減少這一新型工業帶來的傷害。

What makes a robot a robot and not just another kind of automatic machine？ Robots differ from automatic machines in that after completion of one specific task， they can be reprogrammed by a computer to do another one. As an example， a robot doing spot welding one month can be reprogrammed and switched to spray painting the next. Automatic machine， on the other hand， are not capable of many different uses; they are built to perform only one task.

什么使機器變成機器人而不是其他的自動化機器呢？機器人與自動化機器的區別在于：機器人完成一項特定工作后，它們可以被電腦重新編程去執行另一項任務。比如，一個機器人做了一個月的點焊，可以被重新編程，下個月轉向噴漆。相反，自動化機器卻沒有許多不同用途，它們只是為了完成一項任務而被建造。

The next generation of robots will be able to see objects， will have a sense of touch， and will make critical decisions. Engineers skilled in microelectronics and computer technology are developing artificial vision for robots. With the ability to “see”， robots can identify and inspect one specific class of objects out of a stack of different kinds of materials. One robot vision system used electronic digital cameras containing many rows of light-sensitive materials. When light from an object such as a machine part strikes the camera， the sensitive materials measure the intensity of light and convert the light rays into a range of numbers. The numbers are part of a grayscale system in which brightness is measured in a range of values. One scale ranges from 0 to 15， and another from 0 to 255. The 0 is represented by black. The highest number is white. The numbers between is represented by different shades of gray. The computer then makes the calculations and converts the numbers into a picture that shows an image of the object in question. It is not yet known whether robots will one day have vision as good as human vision. Technicians believe they will， but only after years of development.

下一代機器人將能看見物體，具有觸覺，能做出關鍵性的決定。精通微電子和電腦技術的工程師正在為機器人開發人造視力，有了“看”的能力，機器人就能從一堆不同的材料中鑒別檢查出具體的一類物體。機器人視覺系統采用包含多行感官材料的電子數碼相機。當一個物體上的光，如機器零件，照射到相機上時，敏感材料就可測量出光的強度，把光線轉換為一組數字。這些數字是灰度系統的一部分，其亮度由一系列數值測量。一個刻度范圍是0到15，另一個是0到225。0用黑色表示，最高值用白色，其間的數值用不同的灰色陰影來表示。然后計算機進行計算，并將數字轉換為表明該物體形象的圖像。現在還不知道有一天機器人是否具有人類一樣的好視力。技術人員相信它們會的，只是需要多年的開發。

Engineers are designing and experimenting with new types of metal hands and fingers， giving robots a sense of touch. Some engineers are writing new programs allowing robots to make decisions such as whether to discard defective parts in finished products. To do this， the robot will also have to be capable of identifying those defective parts.

工程技術人員正在設計和試驗新型金屬手臂和手指，使機器人具有觸覺。一些工程人員正在編寫新的程序，使機器人能決定是否拋棄成品中有缺陷的零件。要做到這點，機器人還必須具有鑒別有缺陷零件的能力。

These future robots， assembled with a sense of touch and the ability to see and make decisions， will have plenty of work to do. They can be used to explore for minerals on the ocean floor or in deep areas of mines too dangerous for humans to enter. They will work as gas station attendants， firemen， housekeepers， and security personnel. Anyone wanting to understand the industry of the future will have to know about robotics.

集觸覺、視覺和作決定能力于一體的這些未來機器人將會做大量工作。它們可以用于海底探礦，或探測對人類太危險的深層區域的礦物。它們可以做加油站服務人員、消防人員、房屋管理員和安全人員的工作。任何想了解未來工業的人必須懂得機器人。