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Family Robots – The Next Big Thing?
WASHINGTON—
Robots that can help us with daily chores like cooking and cleaning are a long way off, but automatons that serve as family companions may be much closer. Researchers in the United States, France, Japan and other countries are racing to build robots that can entertain and perform some simpler tasks for us.
Several years after it was introduced to the world, the advanced Japanese humanoid robot Asimo is still serving only as a demonstration and experimentation platform. Even if available for purchase, it would be too expensive for ordinary families.
尖端的日本類人機器人阿西莫面世7年后仍處于展示和實驗平臺的階段，即使能上市，但對普通家庭來說仍太貴。
It is much easier and cheaper to build a robot like Jibo, which uses simple movements and has the ability to interact with people through sound, pictures and touch.
制作Jibo這樣的機器人變得更簡單和便宜，Jibo使用簡單的動作，能用聲音、圖片和觸摸與人進行交流。
Massachusetts Institute of Technology researcher Cynthia Breazeal created Jibo initially as a platform for exploring how people communicate with technology.
馬薩諸塞科技研究所的研究員辛西婭·布雷齊爾制造Jibo最初的目的是探索人類如何和科技進行溝通。
“Jibo as a robot is something that can move, with cameras that can move and see you and interact with you like a living thing, so to speak. It can bring content to life off the screen in an entirely new way,” explained Brezeal.
“Jibo這樣的機器人可以運動，上面的攝像頭可以移動，能看到你，像個活物一樣和你交流，能以全新的方式給屏幕外的生活帶來內(nèi)容?！?BR> Jibo can remind you about appointments, take photos, entertain people and tell stories to children.
Jibo可以提醒你各種安排、拍照、供人娛樂并給孩子講故事。
Breazeal said it also incorporates touch-sensitive technology.
布雷齊爾說Jibo還融合了觸覺敏感技術。
“People often communicate through touch, so they might pat Jibo if it does something that they like and Jibo can actually learn from that,” said Breazeal.
“人們通常通過觸摸來交流，所以如果Jibo做些人喜歡的事就會拍拍它，Jibo能明白這個的?！?BR> Therapists at Amici di Nico Autism Center, in Lecce, Italy, use a small talking robot to treat autistic children.
意大利萊切埃米希迪尼克自閉癥中心的理療專家使用一臺小的講話機器人來治療自閉兒童。
11-year old Marco has shown great improvement in focusing and communication since he started playing with the robot that carefully keeps track of the child's behavior, said engineer Giuseppe Palestra.
11歲的馬克自從和這臺機器人玩耍以來，其關注力和溝通能力有了很大提高，這臺機器人能追蹤孩子的行為，工程師Giuseppe Palestra如是說。
"We would like to be one step ahead of state of the art, so that we can make the human-robot interaction better, and let's say 'humanize' the interaction between the robot and the child," said Palestra.
“我們希望能再進一步實現(xiàn)最先進技術，這樣就能進一步改良類人機器人的互動能力，讓機器人和孩子之間的互動更人性化?！?BR> Researchers say they want to develop robots that can be programmed for individual patients, because each child reacts differently to outside stimuli.
研究者說他們希望開發(fā)專門為單個的患者設計的機器人，因為每個孩子對外界刺激的反應都不一樣。
French researcher Pierre Lebeau’s family robot Keecker was designed as an entertainment platform that can follow its owner around.
法國研究者利比的家庭機器人Keecker的設計初衷是能讓它作為娛樂平臺并跟蹤周圍的主人。
“I came up with the idea of a computer with a projector inside and a great sound system and a camera, something that can move and go to any room to give me a kind of TV-like experience, but anywhere I want without the cables and the complexity,” said Lebeau.
“我想到設計有內(nèi)部投影儀、大的聲音系統(tǒng)和攝像頭的電腦，希望它能移動，到任何房間里去給我看電視那樣的體驗，但我不希望用電纜，不希望太復雜?！?BR> Researchers say robots intended for entertainment may soon be on the market with prices ranging from about $500 to $5,000 - still expensive for ordinary buyers. Therapeutic robots are still in the experimental phase but they too point to what we can expect from artificial intelligence in the near future.
研究者稱用于娛樂的機器人將很快面市，價格在500美元到5000美元不等，這對普通消費者來說仍太貴。理療機器人仍在研發(fā)階段，但我們將在不遠的未來能期待看到人工智能。
Family Robots – The Next Big Thing?
WASHINGTON—
Robots that can help us with daily chores like cooking and cleaning are a long way off, but automatons that serve as family companions may be much closer. Researchers in the United States, France, Japan and other countries are racing to build robots that can entertain and perform some simpler tasks for us.
Several years after it was introduced to the world, the advanced Japanese humanoid robot Asimo is still serving only as a demonstration and experimentation platform. Even if available for purchase, it would be too expensive for ordinary families.
尖端的日本類人機器人阿西莫面世7年后仍處于展示和實驗平臺的階段，即使能上市，但對普通家庭來說仍太貴。
It is much easier and cheaper to build a robot like Jibo, which uses simple movements and has the ability to interact with people through sound, pictures and touch.
制作Jibo這樣的機器人變得更簡單和便宜，Jibo使用簡單的動作，能用聲音、圖片和觸摸與人進行交流。
Massachusetts Institute of Technology researcher Cynthia Breazeal created Jibo initially as a platform for exploring how people communicate with technology.
馬薩諸塞科技研究所的研究員辛西婭·布雷齊爾制造Jibo最初的目的是探索人類如何和科技進行溝通。
“Jibo as a robot is something that can move, with cameras that can move and see you and interact with you like a living thing, so to speak. It can bring content to life off the screen in an entirely new way,” explained Brezeal.
“Jibo這樣的機器人可以運動，上面的攝像頭可以移動，能看到你，像個活物一樣和你交流，能以全新的方式給屏幕外的生活帶來內(nèi)容?！?BR> Jibo can remind you about appointments, take photos, entertain people and tell stories to children.
Jibo可以提醒你各種安排、拍照、供人娛樂并給孩子講故事。
Breazeal said it also incorporates touch-sensitive technology.
布雷齊爾說Jibo還融合了觸覺敏感技術。
“People often communicate through touch, so they might pat Jibo if it does something that they like and Jibo can actually learn from that,” said Breazeal.
“人們通常通過觸摸來交流，所以如果Jibo做些人喜歡的事就會拍拍它，Jibo能明白這個的?！?BR> Therapists at Amici di Nico Autism Center, in Lecce, Italy, use a small talking robot to treat autistic children.
意大利萊切埃米希迪尼克自閉癥中心的理療專家使用一臺小的講話機器人來治療自閉兒童。
11-year old Marco has shown great improvement in focusing and communication since he started playing with the robot that carefully keeps track of the child's behavior, said engineer Giuseppe Palestra.
11歲的馬克自從和這臺機器人玩耍以來，其關注力和溝通能力有了很大提高，這臺機器人能追蹤孩子的行為，工程師Giuseppe Palestra如是說。
"We would like to be one step ahead of state of the art, so that we can make the human-robot interaction better, and let's say 'humanize' the interaction between the robot and the child," said Palestra.
“我們希望能再進一步實現(xiàn)最先進技術，這樣就能進一步改良類人機器人的互動能力，讓機器人和孩子之間的互動更人性化?！?BR> Researchers say they want to develop robots that can be programmed for individual patients, because each child reacts differently to outside stimuli.
研究者說他們希望開發(fā)專門為單個的患者設計的機器人，因為每個孩子對外界刺激的反應都不一樣。
French researcher Pierre Lebeau’s family robot Keecker was designed as an entertainment platform that can follow its owner around.
法國研究者利比的家庭機器人Keecker的設計初衷是能讓它作為娛樂平臺并跟蹤周圍的主人。
“I came up with the idea of a computer with a projector inside and a great sound system and a camera, something that can move and go to any room to give me a kind of TV-like experience, but anywhere I want without the cables and the complexity,” said Lebeau.
“我想到設計有內(nèi)部投影儀、大的聲音系統(tǒng)和攝像頭的電腦，希望它能移動，到任何房間里去給我看電視那樣的體驗，但我不希望用電纜，不希望太復雜?！?BR> Researchers say robots intended for entertainment may soon be on the market with prices ranging from about $500 to $5,000 - still expensive for ordinary buyers. Therapeutic robots are still in the experimental phase but they too point to what we can expect from artificial intelligence in the near future.
研究者稱用于娛樂的機器人將很快面市，價格在500美元到5000美元不等，這對普通消費者來說仍太貴。理療機器人仍在研發(fā)階段，但我們將在不遠的未來能期待看到人工智能。