Robot Dogs Join the New York Fire Department機器狗加入紐約市消防局

切爾西婭·羅絲·馬修斯　喬虹/譯

Inside a dimly1 lit tunnel along a stretch of simulated subway track， one of the New York Fire Departments new dogs showed off a few of its tricks. Lie down. Roll over. Stay.

燈光昏暗的隧道內，在一段模擬地鐵軌道邊上，紐約市消防局新來的兩只狗之一表演了幾個絕活兒：躺下、翻滾、定住不動。

But the most remarkable things that the two robotic dogs can do were mastered by real dogs long ago： jogging across rugged terrain， hopping over small obstacles and helping keep their masters out of harms way.

但這兩只機器狗能做到的兩件最了不起的事，真的狗狗們早就會做了：在高低不平的地形上慢跑、躍過小障礙物、使主人免受傷害。

The department， which plans to deploy the robots in the months ahead， is the first fire agency in the country to purchase the 70-pound machines， which cost $75，000 each and are built and sold by Boston Dynamics， a robotics company.

紐約市消防局計劃在未來幾個月部署這些機器狗，這是美國首個購買此類機械的消防機構。這種機器狗每只重70磅，售價為7.5萬美元，由機器人技術公司波士頓動力研制并銷售。

The department plans to use the robots to aid in some of its most precarious search and rescue missions.

該部門計劃用機器狗來協助執行一些極危險的搜尋和救援任務。

At the command of a human oper-ator， the device can provide vital information in the midst of a calamitous event. It has the ability to descend deep underground after a steam leak to collect images and data about dangerous debris. It can also be deployed moments after a building collapse to gauge structural2 integrity or measure the concentration of toxic， flammable gasses like carbon monoxide to better inform firefighters responding to the scene.

該設備遵循操作員指令，能夠在災難性事件中提供重要信息。它能在蒸汽泄漏后深入地下，收集有關危險殘骸的圖像和數據。建筑坍塌后，它能立即接受部署，評估結構完整性，或測定如一氧化碳等有毒、易燃氣體的濃度，使搶險救援的消防員更好地了解現場情況。

“The real-life scenarios in which the robots， known as Spot， will be used are far different from Hollywood depictions in which humanoid or animalistic machines often inflict damage and invoke fear，” said Capt. Michael Leo from the Fire Departments robotics unit.

紐約市消防局機器人技術部的中隊長邁克爾·利奧說：“好萊塢影片里常常出現人形或動物形機器人造成傷害、引發恐懼的場景，機器狗Spot將大展身手的現實情境跟好萊塢虛構的大不相同。”

“Our whole mission is a lifesaving one，” he added.

“我們的全部使命是挽救生命。”他補充道。

“In the Bronx， where 17 people were killed in an apartment fire earlier last year， using the robots to enter hazardous conditions could save the lives of firefighters and others，” Borough President Vanessa L. Gibson said.

“在布朗克斯區，有17人喪生于去年早些時候的一場公寓火災。如果用機器人進入那樣的危險環境，就能拯救消防員和其他人的生命。”區長瓦妮莎·L.吉布森說。

A Fire Department spokesman said the robots would only collect data on hazardous materials situations and added that department compliance officers had been trained on confidentiality rules.

消防局的一位發言人稱，機器人將僅用于收集危險物質情況的數據，并補充說，部門的合規主管已就保密條約進行了培訓。

Boston Dynamics said it first made its Spot robots commercially available for lease in 2019， and began selling them in 2020.

波士頓動力公司表示，他們于2019年首次將Spot機器狗用于商務租賃，并于2020年開始發售。

Spot made a guest appearance in February 2022 on The Tonight Show3， and recently had a cameo role in the first episode of The Book of Boba Fett4， as a docile， sheeplike animal. The Fire Department also has plans to show the dog to school STEM5 programs across the city.

Spot機器狗于2022年2月做客《今夜秀》，最近還在電視劇《波巴·費特之書》第一集里客串了一個角色，飾演一只溫順聽話的動物。該部門還打算在全市學校的STEM課程中展示這種機器狗。

But concerns about privacy， surveillance and cybersecurity doomed the robots earlier rollout6 in New York.

然而，對隱私、監視和網絡安全的擔憂注定了機器狗早些時候紐約首秀的失敗命運。

The robots first came under scrutiny when the Police Department， responding to a home invasion， sent the dog in to determine whether anyone was still inside an apartment. More criticism followed after the robot was seen out with officers in the lobby of a public housing7 building in Manhattan.

這些機器狗首次受到審查，是在一起入室搶劫案中，當時，警局出警人員放機器狗入室，以確認公寓內是否還有人。在人們看到機器狗跟警員們一起出現在曼哈頓一公共住宅樓的大廳后，更多批評接踵而至。

At the time， John Miller， the Police Departments deputy commissioner for intelligence and counterterrorism， said the department had terminated its lease early because the device became a target for critics who he said used the robot to fuel debate over race and surveillance.

當時，警局負責情報和反恐的副警監約翰·米勒說，由于該設備成為批評者攻擊的目標，警局提前終止了租賃。他說這些批評者利用機器狗給有關種族和監視的辯論火上澆油。

For Professor Asaro， who is a faculty member at the New School， more education and outreach are key particularly when it comes to robotics and public safety.

對于任職于新學院的阿薩羅教授來說，更多的教育和外展服務是關鍵——在機器人科學和公共安全方面尤其如此。

“The rollout of Spot by the N.Y.P.D. was very poor， ” he said. “They didnt really explain to anybody what they had used it for; it just showed up. Therere also potentially good uses of robots by police—but you have to be very careful about keeping clear that its not weaponized， and that its not collecting surveillance.”

“紐約市警察局在Spot機器狗的推出方面做得很差。”他說，“他們沒跟任何人真正解釋他們用機器狗做了什么，就直接帶著它出警。警察是有可能好好使用機器人的，但是必須很謹慎，要清楚地說明它沒有配備武器，也不收集監視數據。”

“There are always concerns over robots capturing imagery of tragic scenes， and you do want to see strong control of that information once its collected，” he added. “Other than that， I dont really see any situations where the Fire Department could use this in a way that potentially hurts people. ”

“人們總是擔心機器人會捕捉到悲慘場景的圖像，一旦收集到這類數據，確實希望能進行有力控制。”他補充道，“除此之外，我認為消防局不會把這類信息用在其他任何可能傷人的場合。”

The Fire Department first turned its attention to ground robotics almost 10 years ago， when members began to explore how these devices could assist firefighters in the field.

大約10年前，紐約市消防局首次將注意力轉向地面機器人，當時工作人員開始探索這類設備如何在救援現場協助消防員。

But older models had significant shortcomings. The department tried out several ground robots before purchasing a promising machine in 2014 called Super Droid. The bulky， red robot had caterpillar tracks that propelled it forward or backward on bands of tread like those found on military tanks， and could be used to detect some hazardous materials.

但老型號存在明顯的缺點。試用了幾部地面機器人后，消防局于2014年購入了一臺頗有前景的機器，名為Super Droid。這臺笨重的紅色機器人裝有履帶，像軍用坦克上的履帶一樣推動它前進或后退。該機器人可用于探測一些危險物質。

Operators， however， quickly discovered it was too cumbersome to perform some basic functions well， like maneuvering up steep stairs or over large piles of rubble. The agency soon began searching for a replacement. By the summer of 2020， when robotics became a stand alone unit within the department， the team already had its eyes on Spot.

然而，操作人員很快發現，這部機器太笨重了，不能很好地執行一些基本功能，如爬上陡峭的臺階，或是越過大堆碎石。消防局很快就開始尋找替代品。到了2020年夏季，紐約市消防局單獨成立班組研究機器人應用，班組成員已將目光投向了Spot。

“Its superior in every capacity. This is the most reliable technology of its kind out there，” said Captain Leo as he stood in between the three now-retired Super Droid robots—clunky compared to Spots sleek8 yellow-and-black frame.

“它在各方面都很出色，采用的是同類中最可靠的技術。”利奧中隊長說，這時他站在三臺退役的Super Droid機器人之間。相較于有著黃黑相間框架、造型優美的Spot，這些老機器人顯得很笨重。

While his unit often deploys drones in smoky conditions to capture aerial footage of a fire， Spot is designed to take on rarer， mostly non-fire related assignments like monitoring the air for an array of hazardous materials or traversing a subway tunnel where flying drones would stir up a swirl of dust， clouding its onboard cameras.

他的班組經常在煙霧彌漫的環境中部署無人機來拍攝火災的空中畫面，而Spot的設計目的是執行更罕見、大多與火災無關的任務，例如：監測空氣中是否存在大量有害物質；或是穿梭于地鐵隧道，在這里，飛行的無人機會揚起灰塵，使其所載攝像頭蒙塵。

“Its like every piece of equipment we have，” he said. “We hope to never， ever have to use it. But when we need it， its important that we have the right thing.”

“它就像是我們擁有的每一件設備。”他說，“我們希望永遠都用不上。但需要時，手邊就有合用的東西，這很重要。”

（譯者為“《英語世界》杯”翻譯大賽獲獎者）