【精英翻譯】的部落格

When Less Is More　　少即是多　微型機器人拯救世界

精英翻譯社轉自: https://paper.udn.com/udnpaper/POH0061/337058/web/

You may not be familiar with the US agency DARPA (Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency), but you are no doubt familiar with some of the agency’s accomplishments. Since DARPA is under the Department of Defense, you may think their cutting-edge technological success must have something to do with war. You would be only partially correct. Take the internet for example. Yes, that was one of DARPA’s projects. How about humanoid robots? Though they were at first a science-fiction creation, DARPA has brought them to life. Now the agency has set its sights on the miniaturization of robots. The Robot Olympics, featuring one- to two-centimeter-sized robots, is set to kick off in March 2019. The new DARPA program called SHRIMP (Short-Range Independent Microbiotic Platforms) shows that even the military has a sense of humor.

你或許對美國機構 DARPA（國防高等研究計劃署）不甚熟悉，但你肯定對這個機構的某些成就耳熟能詳。由於 DARPA 隸屬於國防部，你可能會認為他們在尖端科技上的成功一定和戰爭有關。你只答對了一部分。就舉網際網路為例吧。沒錯，它是 DARPA 的其中一個計畫。那人型機器人呢？雖然它們一開始只是科幻小說裡的產物，DARPA 已使它們成為現實。如今，該組織著眼於將機器人微型化。奧林匹克機器人大賽預計於 2019 年三月揭幕，主打只有一至兩公分大的機器人。DARPA 這項新的計畫名為 SHRIMP（短程獨立微型機器人平臺），證明了即使是軍方也有幽默感（編按：該計畫的縮寫 SHRIMP 一字在英文中為「蝦子」之意。）。

Smaller can sometimes be much better. The advantages of small-scale machines are obvious: they are cheaper, more easily hidden or disguised, and programmable to perform many tasks. Powered by tiny batteries and computer microchips, they can find and relay back to their handlers important information. In peacetime, they may be used in search-and-rescue operationsafter natural disasters or for inspecting dangerous environments. The Robot Olympics will test private companies’ inventions to see which mini-robot can jump the farthest, lift the most weight, and maneuver the best. Winning entriesmay receive government contracts to further develop and apply these tiny miracle workers to medicine, surveillance, sensory improvement, and more.

有時候，較小的事物可能更好。小型機器的好處顯而易見：它們更加便宜、更加容易躲藏或偽裝，而且可進行編程以執行多種任務。它們以微型電池和電腦晶片驅動，能夠尋找並將重要訊息傳給它們的操控者。在和平時期，它們可以被用於天災之後的搜救任務或檢查危險的環境。奧林匹克機器人大賽將會對私人企業的發明進行測試，以查看哪一個微型機器人能夠跳得最遠、舉得最重，以及有最佳的靈活性。獲勝的參賽作品可望與政府簽約來進一步發展並應用這些微型奇蹟機器人在改善醫學、監視系統、感應及更多的領域上。