原作者：
来源World\'s Most Advanced Robots
译者nanazhang
Humans have long dreamed of droids to do our dirty work, whether washing the dishes or fighting our wars. From the skies of Afghanistan to assembly lines in Detroit, those dreams are already a reality. Today sophisticated robots are being developed by universities, the private sector, and the military (or a combination of the three) that not so long ago would have been found only in the pages of comic book or on the movie screen. While we have a long way to go before robots become as practical, affordable, and ubiquitous as, say, automobiles or computers, it may be only a matter of time before they become the next big consumer electronic must-have.
长期以来，人类就梦想着由机器人来完成日常的工作，不管是洗盘子还是打仗。从阿富汗的天空到底特律的生产线，这些梦想都已经变成了现实。如今，精密的机器人不只出现在漫画书上或者电影屏幕里，大学、私人企业和军队（或者三方合作）正在把它们研制出来。在机器人变得实用、价格适中、普遍之前，我们还有很长的路要走，就如同汽车或电脑一样，让机器人成为下一个必须的、无处不在的大型电子消费品大概只是时间的问题。
Robot: BigDog
机器人：BigDog
Created by: Boston Dynamics
制造者：波士顿动力
Size: 2 ft., 4 in. tall, weighing 165 lbs.
尺寸：2英尺，4英寸高，体重165磅
Purpose: Deployment as a mobility platform
用途：移动平台
A four-legged robot that resembles the Walkers from Star Wars, BigDog was designed to help Army grunts hump gear into roadless areas. Built around a combustion engine, the first prototypes of BigDog are in the testing phase and the next two years will involve working alongside defense contractors to come up with a deployable robot to work in a battlefield scenario. That will be followed by another 18 months of testing, according to Boston Dynamics founder and President Marc Raibert. BigDog can already make decisions about whether to go left or right around a tree, but carrying a gun and making a decision about shooting a gun are not really possibilities at this point. 'To be honest, I get a little irritated with the gun question, because, to be honest, it's no different from putting a gun on a pickup truck,' Raibert says. 'People immediately jump to the point where they're imagining science fiction robots [that are] thinking, sentient being[s]. We're really building a mobility platform. It's like a truck that can go anywhere.'
这款四条腿的机器人类似于《星球大战》中的行走器，设计这一机器人是为了协助美国步兵在没有道路的地区搬运装备。围绕内燃机的建设，BigDog的第一个雏形还在试验阶段，接下来的两年它将会与国防设备承包商一道，参与到战场场景的部署中去。据波士顿动力的创办者、董事长马克·雷伯特介绍，这之后会再持续测试十八个月。BigDog已经能够自己判断往左还是往右，还是围着树绕圈，BigDog也有可能携带枪支并且自动开枪射击。“老实说，我讨厌带枪这个问题，因为这和在一辆小卡车上装把枪没什么区别，”雷伯特说。“人们立刻把BigDog想象成科幻小说里的机器人，它们能思考，有感知能力。其实我们真的只是在做一个移动平台，它就像一架卡车一样能到任何地方。”
Robot: Bina
机器人：Bina
Created by: David Hanson of Hanson Robotics
创造者：汉森机器的大卫汉森
Size: A life-size head and shoulders
尺寸：一个真人大小的头和肩
Purpose: To create robot avatars for actual humans
用途：人类的机器人化身
Commissioned through a Vermont nonprofit by a self-made millionaire named Martine Rothblatt, BINA 48 was designed to look and act like Rothblatt's spouse, Bina. (The couple were married before Rothblatt underwent a sex-change operation, and they remain together, according to The New York Times.) The idea, explains Bruce Duncan, the managing director of the Terasem Movement Foundation, the nonprofit, is to 'explore the opportunity for people to achieve techno-immortality.' To that end, Bina did more than 20 hours of videotaped interviews that were fed into the chips that power BINA 48's responses to questions. The result is a robot that can have a conversation at roughly the level of a three- or four-year-old. Duncan says Terasem is working toward a day when that database could be downloaded into human clones and robot avatars. To begin, the organization is inviting people to contribute details of their own lives to create avatars, in a project called Lifenaut. 'The project of transferring the human mind to a computer is in the early phases,' Duncan says, 'but there are a number of scientists trying to find a way to do it.'
马蒂罗斯布莱特，这位白手起家的百万富翁，以个人的名义通过授权佛特蒙州非盈利组织设计出BINA48，它的外貌和行为跟罗斯布莱特的配偶一样（这对夫妻在罗斯布莱特实施变性手术之前结婚，根据《纽约时报》的报道，他们现在仍在一起）。非盈利机构Terasem运动基金会的常务董事布鲁斯邓肯解释说，这个想法是“为了探索人类实现技术上永生的机会。”为此，Bina录制了超过20小时的会谈，这个会谈能提供碎片，为BINA48在回应问题的时候提供动力。结果机器人能进行一场谈话，智商大概在3、4岁的水平。邓肯说Terasem是为某一天数据库能下载到克隆人和机器阿凡达里而工作的。开始是邀请人们贡献他们自己生活的细节来创造阿凡达，这个项目取名“Lifenaut”。“把人类的思想转化为电脑的项目还还处于初期阶段，”邓肯说：“但还是有很多科学家努力找到这样做的方法。”
Robot: Chembot
机器人：Chembot
Created by: iRobot and the University of Chicago
创造者：iRobot公司和芝加哥大学
Size: Prototypes run from the size of a ping pong ball to basketball size
尺寸：形状可以由一个乒乓球变化到一个篮球大小
Purpose: Shape-shift and fit through small spaces
用途：能改变外形，适合从狭小的空间通过
The makers of the Roomba and Scooba took on a grant from the U.S. Army and the Defense Dept. to create a shape-shifting robot. The result is the Chembot. It moves by inflating and deflating as well as by pushing certain sections out and jumping along. Still in the realm of technology research, iRobot will not produce these soon. It could be a long while before we see a shape-shifting robot squeeze through a crack in the door.
清洁机器人的制造者从美国陆军和国防部那里得到了一份津贴来制造一个可以改变外形的机器人。结果 Chembot就此诞生。它通过充气和漏气就像推出一些部分和移动，虽然还处于技术研究阶段，iRobot不会立刻生产出来。还有很长一段时间我们才能看到一个会变形的机器人从门缝挤进来。
Robot: Curiosity Rover
机器人： Curiosity Rover
Created by: NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory
创造者：美国宇航局喷气推进实验室
Size: Car size: 10 ft. long, 9 ft. wide, 7 ft. tall; weighing 2,000 lbs.
尺寸：汽车大小，10英尺长，9英尺宽，7英尺高
重量：2,000磅
Purpose: To explore Mars for evidence of life and conditions favorable to life
用途：探索火星的生命证据和有利于生命的条件
Built with such goodies as a rock-vaporizing laser and cameras on every side, this new Mars rover is ready to go explore our neighbor planet. Curiosity will be able to grab rocks and bring them inside the rover for testing. So scientists believe the robot is NASA's best chance yet to discover organic materials on Mars. Also, for the first time, the new rover will send video back to Earth. Launch is scheduled for November or December 2011 from Cape Canaveral. Until then, you'll have to content yourself with watching scientists in white lab coats put it together, live.
这个新的火星流动站准备用来探索我们的邻星。Curiosity能为实验抓取岩石并把它们放入流动站内。因此科学家们相信机器人是美国宇航局发现火星上有机物的最好机会。这个新的流动站也会在第一时间内把录像发回地球。这款机器人预计在2011年11月或12月的卡纳维拉尔角发射。在那之前，我们只能满足于看头戴白色实验面罩的科学家们把它组装起来的现场直播。
Robot: Dynamic Autonomous Sprawled Hexapod (DASH)
机器人：Dynamic Autonomous Sprawled Hexapod (DASH)
Created by: Ronald Fearing at Berkeley University's Biomimetic Millisystems Lab
创造者：加州大学伯克利分校Millisystems仿生实验室的罗纳德Fearing
Size: 3.9 in. long, weighing 0.035 lbs.
尺寸：3.9英寸长
重量：0.035英镑
Purpose: Search missions
用途：完成搜索任务
The cockroaches of the robot world, these were designed to search disaster sites. The 16 gram DASH can move 15 body lengths per second and survive a fall at terminal velocity. Fitted with a cell-phone camera and gyros built around a tiny custom processor, the DASH could be carried by the thousand in a backpack or kicked by the boxful out of a helicopter. 'We're very interested in the situation where you need to have a lot of robots explore an area very quickly,' says Berkeley roboticist and DASH creator Ronald Fearing.
机器人界的蟑螂，该款机器人设计用于搜索灾难现场。16克重的DASH每秒能移动15个体长，从高处落下也能毫发无损。DASH配置了一个无线电话摄影机和微型定制中央处理器回转仪，一个背包能背上千只，还可以从一架直升机上满盒踢下来。“我们相当感兴趣的一种情况是，你需要一大批机器人快速地搜索一个地区”伯克利机器人专家、DASH创造者罗纳德菲尔说。
Robot: da Vinci Si Surgical System
机器人：da Vinci Si Surgical System
Created by: Intuitive Surgical
创造者： Intuitive Surgical公司
Size: Multiple units; main robotic unit has four surgical arms
尺寸：多个单位组成，其中主要单位是4个机械手臂
Purpose: Human surgery
用途：人类外科手术
Advertised as minimally invasive surgery, the da Vinci system is meant to be used by a surgeon who operates using robotic arms while looking into a monitor. Three arms hold tools, while the fourth is a camera that gives surgeons a view, in a 3D visualization at up to 10 times magnification, of what they are working on. Currently more than 1,000 units are in used in operating rooms worldwide.
广告上宣称能最大限度的减低外科手术的风险，外科医生一般在使用机械手臂做手术时，浏览监视器而使用the da Vinci system。三个手臂握住工具，第四个手臂是一台摄影机能用放大10倍的效果传输清晰的3D画面给外科医生看它们正在工作的部位。目前在世界范围内有超过1000个单位运用于手术室。
Robot: EMIEW 2
机器人：EMIEW2
Created by: Hitachi
创造者：日立公司
Size: 2 ft., 7 in. tall, weighing 29 lbs.
尺寸：2英尺，7英寸高
重量：29磅
Purpose: Designed for office assistance
用途：作办公室助理
Two years after the launch of EMIEW 2, Hitachi upgraded the 2010 version with better situational awareness and improved voice recognition. This second robot in Hitachi's EMIEW series (which stands for Excellent Mobility and Interactive Existence as Work-mate) is the perfect deskmate. EMIEW 2 can deliver drinks or documents and take visitors to the right place while navigating desks, chairs, and corridors using map generation and a scanning range finder. Speak to EMIEW 2, and the robot will recognize commands or conversation through voice recognition and a microphone array. And as you follow the robot around the office, this little guy relies on wheels to get around, while with a heavier load, EMIEW 2 kneels down for greater stability.
在EMIEW2投产两年之后，日立公司推出了升级的2010版EMIEW2，让它拥有更好的环境识别功能和改进的声音识别功能。在日立i整个EMIEW系列（这一系列作为桌面伴侣代表了优秀的灵活性和交互的存在）中这个“第二”机器人堪称完美同桌。EMIEW2能递送饮料或者文件，还能使用地图生成和扫描测距仪引导来访者到达正确的桌子、椅子和通道。向EMIEW2发言，它能通过声音识别和麦克风系列分辨是命令还是谈话。跟着这个机器人绕一圈办公室，这个小家伙还能依靠轮子转弯。当它负重的时候，EMIEW2能稳稳地跪着。
Robot: Robotic Fly
机器人：Robotic Fly
Created by: Robert Wood at the Harvard Microrobotics Lab
创造者：罗伯特伍德，哈佛大学微型机器人实验室
Size: 1.18 in. wingspan, weighing 0.002 lbs.
尺寸：1.18英寸翼展
重量：0.002磅
Purpose: Reconnaissance or search capabilities
用途：用于侦查或搜索
The tiny aerial vehicle pictured here, made with carbon-fiber wings that flap 120 times per second, is the first insect-size robot to fly. Robotics scientist Robert Wood and the students in his lab are building numerous robots designed to mimic insects. Study topics are the movement of cockroaches and the glide of butterflies. Although that first flight of the fly took place between two wires, the goal is to make these mechanical insects fly for miles with a camera attached. The result would be something that Ian Fleming's Q would drool over.
这个微型航拍工具有每秒拍动120下的碳素纤维翅膀，是第一个昆虫大小的飞行机器人。机器人专家罗伯特伍德和他实验室里的学生正在建造许多模仿昆虫设计的机器人。蟑螂的移动和蝴蝶的滑翔是研究的主题。虽然机器人的第一次飞行只是很短的距离，而此次飞行的目的就是让机器昆虫携带照相机飞上几米。这个结果将会让伊恩弗莱明的Q羡慕不已。
Robot: Home Exploring Robot Butler (HERB)
机器人：Home Exploring Robot Butler (HERB)
Created by: Intel's Personal Robotics Program and Carnegie Mellon University
创造者：英特尔私人机器人项目和卡耐基梅隆大学
Size: 4 ft. tall, 2 ft. wide, with two robotic arms and a two-wheeled base
尺寸：4英尺高，2英尺宽，两个机器人手臂，两轮及地
Purpose: Household chores
用途：做家务琐事
The creators of HERB noted that top answers to surveys about what Americans would like robots to do consistently involve household chores such as laundry, dishwashing, and ironing. These simple tasks are no small feat for a robot, however. Enter the butler. That would be HERB, the robot that can throw items in the trash, clear dishes, and place them in the dishwasher. There were reportedly still a few bugs at a recent demonstration; HERB is a long way from mass-market-ready. But it's one step closer to the Jetsons' Rosie.
HERB的创造者注意到，“美国人最想机器人做的事”的调查居首位的答案一贯都涉及家务琐事，像洗衣服、洗碗、熨衣服之类。但这些简单的任务对于机器人来说却是不小的壮举。要做管家做的事，那就非HERB莫属。这个机器人能扔垃圾、刷盘子、把盘子摆进洗碗机。最近的示范仍有几个小缺陷；从市场质量完善度的要求来看，HERB还有很长的路要走。但它已经向杰森家的罗西（美国动画片中的机器人保姆）迈出了接近的一步。
Robot: HRP-4C
机器人：HRP-4C
Created by: Japan's National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology
创造者：日本国立先进工业科学与技术部
Size: 5 ft., 1 in. and 95 lbs.
尺寸：5英尺，1英寸
重量：95磅。
Purpose: To be a diva
用途：成为一名天后
HRP-4C is among the most advanced humanoid robots out there. She wowed the audience at Tokyo's Digital Content Expo in October when she danced at a demonstration, using some 30 internal motors to rock out. Her face was controlled by an additional eight motors as she sang--yes, sang--the song to accompany the dance.
HRP-4C是最先进的人形机器人之一。她在十月的东京数字博览会上做跳舞示范，使用30个内部马达来回摇摆，引起了观众们的阵阵惊呼。她的面部由额外的8个马达做控制，当她唱歌的时候，是的，她可以载歌载舞。
Robot: Justin
机器人：Jusiin
Created by: Institute of Robotics and Mechatronics at the Deutsches Zentrum für Luft-und Raumfahrt (DLR)
创造者：德国航空航天中心，机器人和机电一体化研究所
Size: Life-size, with various configurations尺寸：真人大小，具有不同的配置
Purpose: From making coffee to repairing satellites
用途：从冲咖啡到修理卫星
Designed by the German version of NASA, Justin is intended to use arms and fingers for delicate tasks. In one demonstration, officials showed Justin making coffee. Most recently, Justin was reportedly rolled out as a possible telepresence robot for space applications. In the long run, the hope would be that a button could be pressed on Earth and Justin could do complex tasks in space. Justin's sensors and cameras create a 3D view of his surroundings that help Justin perform tasks with a certain level of autonomy.
由德国宇航研究所设计的机器人Justin，能用手臂和手指处理细微的任务。在一次官方示范中，Justin展示了冲泡咖啡的过程。最近，听说Justin有可能会被作为远程操控机器人应用到外空间。从长远来看，人们希望在地球按一个按钮，Justin就能够在太空中完成复杂的任务。Justin的传感器和摄像头能将它的外部环境用3的效果呈现，这将有助于Justin执行一定程度的自主性任务。
Robot: MAARS System
机器人：MAARA System
Created by: QinetiQ North America
创造者：QinetiQ 北美公司
Size: a few feet high depending on configuration; weighs 350 lbs.
尺寸：由配置而定几英尺身高
重量：350英镑
Purpose: Remotely operated weapons system
用途：遥控操作武器系统
Designed by the same company that has shipped 3,500 TALON robots to Iraq and Afghanistan for dismantling improvised explosive devices (IEDs), the new Modular Advance Armed Robotic System (MAARS) has left the robotic arm at home. Instead, MAARS is outfitted with 40mm high-explosive grenades and an M240B machine gun with 450 rounds. Three prototype models, called SWORDS, made it to Baghdad for 18 months. 'All we know is that the company commander reported to the Army Science Board in 2009 that the SWORDS saved lives,' says Bob Quinn, vice-president for TALON operations at QinetiQ in McLean, Va. 'His only request was to send more.' Army officials say SWORDS robots never fired a shot outside of testing. The latest models are outfitted with extra cameras and other capabilities to increase situational awareness for the soldier behind the video game-style controller. Quinn says he is not concerned about 2009 reports that insurgents hacked into the video feeds of unmanned aerial vehicles operating in Afghanistan and says the software and security on MAARS are solid. Still, an expert in legal issues surrounding robots, Ryan Calo, says guns on robots make him concerned. 'It turns out to be next to impossible to debug software,' Calo says. 'You can have a sense of what a program is going to do, but getting it 100 percent right is not possible.' Fewer than 10 MAARS robots are currently with Special Forces units, Quinn says. Army officials say MAARS robots are not currently being tested in theaters of war.已把3500架TALON机器人运往伊拉克和阿富汗拆除简易爆破装置的QinetiQ 北美公司设计了这款机器人。新的标准先进武装机器人系统(MAARS)已经能很熟练的使用机器人手臂。不同的是，MAARS装配有40毫米的高爆榴弹和一把拥有450发子弹的M240B型机枪。用18个的时间，设计了3个原型，叫SWORDS，供给巴格达。“据我们说知，公司高层在2009年给陆军科学委员会的报告指出SWORDS拯救生命。”鲍勃奎因说。他是弗吉尼亚麦克林QinetiQ 公司TALON业务的副总裁。“他的唯一要求就是送更多的过去。”最新的模型配备了额外的摄像头，这有助于增加士兵们在视频前面操控机器人时对环境的感知能力。军方说SWORDS从没有在测试之外开过火。奎因说他不担心2009年的报道，报道说，MAARS的软件和安全性都是稳定的。作为机器人合法存在事务方面的专家，瑞安卡罗说，他很担心机器人身上配枪。“下一个结果不可能是调试软件”卡罗说。“你会知道一个程序将会怎么做，但给它百分之百的权利是不可能的。”目前，特种部队拥有的MAARS少于10台，奎因说。官方部队说MAARS机器人还没有在战争的环境中接受过检验。
Robot: Mobile untethered robots (microbots)
机器人： Mobile untethered robots (microbots)
Created by: Bruce Donald at Duke University
创造者：杜克大学，布鲁斯唐纳德
Size: 200 microns long (smaller than the width of a human hair)
尺寸：200微米长（小于人类头发的宽度）
Purpose: Studying possibilities for manipulating cells
用途：研究操控细胞的可能性
Researchers at Duke University have created dozens of microbots, robots small enough to line up 200 on a single M&M. "They are programmable to do simple tasks," says Duke scientist Bruce Donald. "It's the same as a car. We spent many years building something that could drive around at that scale." The future is now open for the tiny mobile devices, with possible medical collaborations or jobs repairing computer chips.
杜克大学的研究人员已经创造出几十个微型机器人，这些机器人小到可以在M&M巧克力豆上排上200个。“它们是可编程去完成一些简单任务的，”杜克大学的科学家布鲁斯唐纳德说。“就像一架汽车一样。我们花了几年的时间在那个规模上建立了一些能控制的东西。”对微小的移动设备来说，未来是开放的，它们可能会被运用到医疗合作或者修理电脑芯片的工作中。
Robot: Murata Girl
机器人：Murata Girl
Created by: Murata Manufacturing
创造者：村田制作所
Size: 1 ft., 7 in. tall; weighing 13 lbs.
尺寸：1英尺、7英寸高
重量：13磅重
Purpose: Unicycling
用途：独轮车
Launched in 2008, Murata Girl was the unicycling better half of bicycling Murata Boy. Both robots were equipped with gyro sensors to control motion and keep balance, sensors to detect obstacles, cameras to transmit images, and the ability to operate through Bluetooth. The 2010 model of Murata Girl was upgraded to unicycle along a tiny S-curve beam without falling off, perfect for the robot circus. And in case you were wondering, a press release on Murata Girl lets us know that she a Virgo who is "physically active but shy."
Murata Girl研发于2008年，她与双轮车Murata Boy的一半相比，是更好的独轮车。两种机器人都装备了陀螺传感器来控制移动和保持平衡，传感器用来侦测障碍物，摄像头传输画面，整个功能通过蓝牙开启。Murata Girl的2010版本已经进行了升级，独轮车靠一条做小的S曲线运动的梁而不跌倒，比马戏机器人表现得还好。如果你有什么疑惑，开启Murata Girl的电源，你会发现，她只是一个“做运动但害羞”的小女孩。
Robot: Octavia
机器人：Octavia
Created by: Intelligent Systems Section of the Naval Research Lab
创造者：海军研究实验室智能系统部
Size: 5 ft., 8 in.
尺寸：5英尺、8英寸
Purpose: Interface with U.S. naval personnel
用途：美国海军人员的人机界面
Although Octavia looks more like C3PO than like a humanoid, her eyebrows can shoot up in a skeptical response and her eyes will turn to track a questioner. This is what scientists at the Naval Research Lab were going for in trying to design a robot that can interact well with a human. Classified as an MDS robot--mobile, dexterous, social--Octavia is packed with infrared and laser sensors and microphones to communicate. When thinking, Octavia blinks. When shocked, she opens her mouth as she knits her brows.
虽然Octavia看起来像更像C3PO，而不太像一个人形机器人，她的眉毛在对有疑问的应答时能迅速升起，并且眼睛会转向追踪提问者。这就是海军研究实验室的科学家们正在努力尝试设计的机器人，这款机器人可以很好的与人类进行互动。被归类于一款MDS机器人——移动、灵活、交际——Octavia装配了红外线和镭射传感器，还有微型摄像头进行交流。当她进行思考的时候，就会眯上眼睛。当她震惊的时候，她会张开嘴巴，同时皱起眉头。
Robot: Partner Robots
机器人：Parter Robots
Created by: Toyota
创造者：丰田公司
Size: 4 ft., 3 in.; 119 lbs.
尺寸：4英尺，3英寸
重量：119英磅
Purpose: Assistance and elderly care
用途：助手和老年人看护
Toyota's partner robots, which made their debut in 2005 playing drums and trumpets, and a 2007 debut playing violin, can do any number of things to help people. Currently the robot comes in five versions, including a so-called mountable robot that is essentially a wheelchair with legs instead of wheels.
丰田的伴侣机器人在2005年首次亮相，表演了打鼓和吹小号，2007年演奏小提琴，能做很多事帮助人们。目前，这种机器人有5个版本，包括一个号称能攀爬的机器人，本质上是一张轮椅，只是用腿代替了轮子。
Robot: PR2
机器人：PR2
Created by: Willow Garage
创造者：Willow Garage公司
Size: Up to 5 ft., 4 in. tall
尺寸：
Purpose: Open source robotics as a robot design platform
用途：作为一个机器人设计平台的开源机器人
The software base for the robotics industry is siloed at this point, with every company and garage tinkerer creating operating systems from scratch. Willow Garage spokesman Tim Smith says the company was 'founded on the premise that 90 percent of robot scientists spend their time wasting their time.' Started and funded by ex-Googler Scott Hassan, Willow Garage is trying to create the standard robot operating system (ROS). They began by building robots with open source software and giving 11 of them away to research institutions and companies, at a total cost of $4 million. The robots went on sale last month at $400,000, or a discounted price of $280,000 to a company or institution with a history of contributing to open source projects. 'You have to be a roboticist to want one of these,' Smith says. 'They don't help around the house. These are platforms. They don't do much until they are put in the hands of researchers who decide what they will do.' Georgia Tech researchers have programmed PR2 to work on elder care, while scientists at Berkeley taught PR2 to fold towels.
基于机器人工业的软件基础在这一点是筒仓式的，每一个公司和研究机构都是从零开始创造操作系统。Willow Garage公司的发言人蒂姆史密斯说公司是“建立在一个前提之下，那就是90%的机器人科学家花费他们的时间都浪费掉了。”由前谷歌人斯科特哈森启动并建立的Willow Garage公司正在尝试创造开源机器人操作系统（ROS）.他们通过建构一个拥有开源软件的机器人，并把11个机器人赠送给研究机构和公司，这总共要花掉4百万美元。上个月这款机器人的售价是40万美元，或者打折到28万美元销售给对开源项目做过贡献的公司和机构。“你想要个这样的机器人，你自己就不得不先做个机器人专家，”史密斯说。“他们不会在房间里四处帮忙。他们只是一个平台。他们不会做得很多，直到他们到了研究人员的手中，那些研究人员会决定让他们做什么。”乔治亚理工学院的研究院安排PR2去完成老人看护工作，伯克利大学的科学家们教PR2叠毛巾。
Robot: QB
机器人：QB
Created by: Anybots
创造者：Anybots公司
Size: 5 ft. tall, weighing 35 lbs.
尺寸：5英寸高，35磅重
Purpose: Remote avatar
用途：远程机器人化身
Telepresence is a big buzzword in robotics these days. The idea is for people to use robots in multiple locations so as to be in many places at once. QB is a telepresence robot that went on sale this fall from Anybots, in Mountain View, Calif. For $15,000, you can get a robot that will take your place in meetings and conferences at work. The operator sees through video chat capabilities and can operate the robot, set on two wheels, as it moves through corridors and rooms. To help interact, QB has a laser pointer, twin high-resolution cameras, a 3.5-in. touch screen, and speakers. Best of all, meetings can't drag on any longer than the six-hour battery life allows.
最近，远程呈现在机器人界是一个非常时髦的术语。这个想法是为了让人们在遥远的地方能操控机器人以便同时出席多个场合。QB是一台远程呈现机器人，Anybots公司今年秋天在美国加州山景城发售，你只要花上15000美元，就能把机器人买回来，在你工作的时候，代替你参加聚会和出席会议。操作者能通过视频进行聊天，还能操控机器人，用配备的两个轮子穿过走廊和房间。为了有助于互动，QB有一个激光指针，双高清晰度的摄像头，3.5英寸触摸屏和扬声器。最好的是，会议不会超过6个小时，因为机器人的电池只能维持这么长的时间。
Robot: Ranger
机器人：Ranger
Created by: Andy Ruina at Cornell University
创造者：康奈尔大学的安迪瑞那
Size: Stands 3 ft. tall and weighs 17 lbs.
尺寸：站立时3英寸高，17磅重
Purpose: Walk using minimal energy
用途：用最小的能量行走
Many roboticists are concerned with maximizing performance independent of energy use, while Andy Ruina is trying to maximize energy use. The Cornell Ranger can't have a conversation with you, and the 'eyes' are just foam bouncers for protection in case it falls. But this summer the Ranger broke the record for nonstop distance walked by an untethered legged robot by walking around a 1/8 mile track at Cornell University 108 times in 10 hours before the batteries went dead. 'We are trying to understand the mechanics of walking,' Ruina said. 'All the other robots we have seen use way, way more energy than a human uses when a human walks.'
许多机器人专家都关心使用能源来最大限度的提高性能，而安迪瑞那关心的是最大限度的使用能源。康奈尔大学的Ranger不会与人交流，它的“眼睛”只是弹簧床，万一它不小心跌倒的时候能起到保护作用。但今年夏天，Ranger打破了一个记录——在电池耗尽之前，绕着康奈尔大学一条1/8英里的轨道在10小时内走了108次。“我们正在试着理解徒步的力学，”瑞那说。“我们已经看到了所有其他机器人使用的方式，比一个人走路用的能量用得多。”
Robot: Stickybot III
机器人：StickybotIII
Created by: Mark Cutkosky at Stanford University's Biomimetics and Dextrous Manipulation Lab
创造者：马克库特考斯基，史丹佛大学，仿生灵活操控实验室
Size: 2 ft. long and weighs 1 lb.
尺寸：2英寸长，1磅重
Purpose: Climbing walls
用途：爬墙
To learn how to climb walls, Stanford roboticist Mark Cutkosky turned to the best wall climbers around: geckos. To create nonsticky adhesive materials, geckos showed the way to van der Waals force, the sum total of attracting or repelling forces between molecules. 'The trick is that it's not very strong, and it only works over very, very short distances,' Cutkosky says. What he means by very short is molecular-length scales. If you can make van der Waals forces work for you, as Cutkosky has, you can climb nearly any surface. One secret behind it is directional adhesion, and, as Cutkosky points out, geckos have it. 'If you feel their little feet, they don't feel sticky at all. But as soon as you pull on it, suddenly it grabs. Our adhesives work the same way. And it makes all the difference.' The most recent version of Stickybot is a bit bigger, with 19 microprocessors that are responsible for moving the joints. Bigger means heavier, so Stickbot needed a bigger tail for balance if the first two legs miss a step. 'If you think about most animals that climb really well,' says Cutkosky, 'almost all of them have tails.'
为了得知怎样爬墙，史丹佛大学的机器人专家马克库特考斯基开始注意最优秀的攀爬能手：壁虎。为了创造出非粘性的黏合材料，壁虎展示了范德华力的方式，分子间吸合或排斥的全部总和。“这个技巧就在于力量不是很大，只在很短很短的距离里移动。”库考特斯基说。他说的很短的距离是指分子长度的鳞。如果你可以用范德华力做功，就想库考特斯基那样，那么你几乎可以爬上任何表面。“如果你感觉壁虎的小脚，它们不会觉得太黏。但一旦你把它放在墙上，它立刻就能抓住。我们的黏合剂就是按这个原理发生作用，并且让它有所不同。”Stickybot最新的版本是个头大点，有19个负责移动关节的微型处理器。大点意味着重点，因此如果两个前腿踩空的话，Stickbot需要一个更大的尾巴来保持平衡，。“大多数你觉得爬行得很好动物，”库考特斯基说，“它们都有尾巴。”
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