93 Robots The Next Generation

CHAPTER 1 Robots and Japan IF IN THE FUTURE YOU BUY A HOUSEHOLD ROBOT, THE CHANCES ARE IT WILL BE JAPANESE. Japan is famous for its long tradition of automatons, or machines that look and act like humans. In the 18th and 19th centuries, realistic human models, known as Karakuri ningyä, or "dolls that trick," were seen in homes, theaters, and religious ceremonies. The most common example was a small model of a woman in a kimono that served cups of tea to guests. These sophisticated dolls became highly popular. Interestingly, the great engineer Tanaka Hisashige, founder of the company that would eventually become TOSHIBA, actually started his career in the early 19th century as a maker of Karakuri dolls.

第一章机器人与日本如果将来你买一个家用机器人，它很可能是日本的。 日本以其悠久的机器人传统而闻名，这些机器的外观和行为都像人类。 在18世纪和19世纪，现实主义的人体模型，被称为Karakuri ningyä，或“会恶作剧的娃娃”，在家庭，剧院和宗教仪式中都可以看到。 最常见的例子是一个穿着和服的女人给客人端茶的小模型。 这些精致的娃娃非常受欢迎。 有趣的是，伟大的工程师田中久重，最终成为东芝公司的创始人，实际上是在19世纪早期开始他的职业生涯的，他是一个卡拉库里娃娃的制造者。

But Japan did not invent automatons. In fact, they have been with us for thousands of years. The word automaton comes from the Greek "it moves itself." The 1st-century Greek inventor Hero was famous for his automated machines, which included moving dancers and fountains. There are also many stories from ancient China of wooden automatons that sang, danced, or served drinks. Later, in the 12th century, the Islamic scholar A1-Jazarr wrote a whole book on mechanisms and automatons, which included clocks, animals, a waitress, and even a programmable musical band complete with flute-player and drummer! The English word robot comes from the Czech language and means "to serve." It was first used in the 1920s in a play by the Czech writer Karel Capek, titled R.U.R. (Rossum's Universal Robots). The play showed a futuristic world where human-like machines did all the work. In Capek's play these machines could think and feel, and eventually they rebelled against their human rulers.

但日本并没有发明机器人。 事实上，它们已经伴随我们几千年了。 automaton这个词来自希腊语“它自己移动”。 1世纪的希腊发明家希罗（Hero）以他的自动化机器而闻名，其中包括会移动的舞者和喷泉。 中国古代也有许多木制机器人唱歌、跳舞或提供饮料的故事。 后来，在12世纪，伊斯兰学者A1-Jazarr写了一本关于机械和自动机的书，其中包括时钟，动物，女服务员，甚至还有一个由长笛手和鼓手组成的可编程乐队！英语单词robot来自捷克语，意思是“服务”。 20世纪20年代，捷克作家卡雷尔·卡佩克（Karel Capek）在一部名为《R.U.R.》的戏剧中首次使用了这个词 （Rossum's Universal Robots）。 该剧展示了一个未来世界，在那里，类人机器完成了所有的工作。 在卡佩克的剧本中，这些机器可以思考和感受，最终它们反抗了人类统治者。

By the 1920s in Japan robots were starting to appear in department stores. At first, however, they were not much more than complicated Karakuri. The first Japanese humanoid robot was created in 1928 and was called Gakutcnsoku, or "Learning from the Laws of Nature." It was a Buddha-like model that used air to move its head and hands. Its creator, the biologist Makoto Nishimura, believed these machines were part of nature. He is quoted as saying, "If one considers humans as the children of nature, artificial humans created by the hand of man are thus nature's grandchildren." His robot became a huge success and toured Asia and Europe. Nishimura's opinions highlight the Japanese attitude to machines and technology and the fascination they have with robots. This may be linked to Japan's Shinto religion, whose followers regard all things as having spirits. Tools and all objects made with tools possess their own special qualities, almost as if they were individuals. Certainly the Japanese view of robots is very different from the views traditionally held in Western cultures, which are often suspicious of robots.

到了20世纪20年代，日本的百货商店开始出现机器人。 然而，一开始，它们只不过是复杂的卡拉库里。 日本第一个人形机器人诞生于1928年，被称为“学习自然法则”。 这是一个像佛一样的模型，用空气来移动它的头和手。 它的创造者，生物学家西村诚（Makoto Nishimura）认为这些机器是大自然的一部分。 引用他的话说：“如果把人类看作自然的孩子，那么由人类之手创造的人造人就是自然的孙子。” 他的机器人获得了巨大的成功，并在亚洲和欧洲巡演。 西村的观点凸显了日本人对机器和技术的态度，以及他们对机器人的迷恋。 这可能与日本的神道教有关，其信徒认为所有事物都有灵魂。 工具和所有用工具制成的物品都有自己的特殊品质，几乎就像它们是个体一样。 当然，日本人对机器人的看法与西方文化中传统的观点非常不同，西方文化通常对机器人持怀疑态度。

The Japanese look upon robots as things of interest and beauty, designed to help humans and make our lives better. This view was most famously expressed in the 1951 Manga comic, Tetsuwan Atomu. Atomu, or Astro Boy, as he was later known in the West, was the first major robot character to show robots as friendly and helpful. The Japanese love of comic book robot characters, together with the country's fast increasing electronics industry, meant that by the 1980s Japan had become a world leader in robot research and production. Today, many of the world's industrial robots work in factories in Japan. As well as the typical industrial robots, many robots are designed simply as toys or for entertainment. Animal robots, dancing robots, car-driving robots, even piano- playing robots are all made and sold in Japan. And as technology improves the differences between humans and machines may become increasingly blurred.

日本人认为机器人是有趣而美丽的东西，旨在帮助人类，使我们的生活更美好。 这种观点在1951年的漫画《铁拳》中得到了最著名的表达。 阿木，或阿童木，后来在西方被称为阿童木，是第一个主要的机器人角色，展示了机器人的友好和乐于助人。 日本人对漫画中机器人角色的喜爱，加上该国快速发展的电子工业，意味着到20世纪80年代，日本已成为机器人研究和生产的世界领导者。 今天，世界上许多工业机器人都在日本的工厂里工作。 和典型的工业机器人一样，许多机器人只是被设计成玩具或娱乐用途。 动物机器人、跳舞机器人、汽车机器人、甚至弹钢琴的机器人都是在日本制造和销售的。 随着技术的进步，人类和机器之间的差异可能会变得越来越模糊。

CHAPTER 2 Robots and Recreation FOR THE JAPANESE, ROBOTS ARE A GREAT SOURCE OF ENTERTAINMENT. Technically, a robot is any kind of autonomous self-controlled or remote-controlled machine, often used in factories for dangerous or precision work. But when we think of a robot, we often imagine a machine with a recognizably human face and figure. These robots are called androids (from the Greek for man, andr-) and are specifically designed to have characteristics that make them more attractive to humans. Japan has a keen interest in humanoid models. Karakuri dolls, for example, were seen as more than models; they were respected as an art form. The Japanese fascination with robots meant that in the late 20th century, when huge improvements were being made in motors and computing, many electronics companies began to design humanoid robots that could interact with people on a social level.

机器人与娱乐对日本人来说，机器人是一大娱乐来源。 从技术上讲，机器人是任何一种自主、自我控制或远程控制的机器，通常用于工厂从事危险或精密工作。 但是，当我们想到机器人时，我们通常会想象一台具有可识别的人脸和身材的机器。 这些机器人被称为androids（来自希腊语中的“人”andr-），它们被专门设计成具有对人类更有吸引力的特征。 日本对人形模型有着浓厚的兴趣。 例如，Karakuri娃娃被视为不仅仅是模特；它们作为一种艺术形式受到尊重。 日本人对机器人的迷恋意味着，在20世纪末，当电机和计算技术取得巨大进步时，许多电子公司开始设计能够在社交层面上与人互动的类人机器人。

The first entertainment robot with commercial success was not a humanoid, however, but a robot dog. Designed as a toy pet and launched in 1999, Sony's AIBO quickly became popular worldwide. The AIBO (Japanese for "companion") could walk, could see using cameras, and had special software that allowed it to develop from puppy to adult, learning to play and understand up to 100 voice commands. Furthermore, special programmable software allowed owners to change their AIBO's personality and behavior. Teams of AIBOs have even played at the annual RoboCup, a soccer tournament where all the competitors must be autonomous robots.

然而，第一个获得商业成功的娱乐机器人并不是人形机器人，而是机器狗。 索尼的AIBO是作为玩具宠物设计的，于1999年推出，很快在全球流行起来。 AIBO（日语“同伴”的意思）可以走路，可以通过摄像头看到东西，并且有特殊的软件可以让它从小狗成长为成年人，学习玩耍并理解多达100种语音命令。 此外，特殊的可编程软件允许主人改变他们的AIBO的个性和行为。 aibo团队甚至参加了一年一度的机器人世界杯（RoboCup），这是一项足球锦标赛，所有参赛者都必须是自主机器人。