英国皇家科学院圣诞讲座：让火花飞（2014）

我们刚好绕着教室
So, we just have some white line on a tape
用胶带粘出条白线
around the theatre.
我们写的程序很简单明了
Now, the program we've written is a nice, simple one.
如果我在这条线上启动它
So, if I set this running on the line...
我们能看到它开始动了
..We can see it start to move.
这个程序非常简单
So, the program is written... it's very simple.
机器人前部有一个红外灯和传感器
At the front of that robot is an infrared light and a sensor.
灯闪烁时 反射回来的光
When the light flashes, the amount of light reflected back
由传感器测定强度
is measured by that sensor.
当传感器在白线上时 反射光的强度会很高
So, if the sensor is over the white line, there is a high value.
电脑会让电动机推动机器人向前移♥动♥
And the computer tells the motor to move the robot forward.
如果在黑色地面上
If it's over the black,
反射光的强度就很低了
the amount of light reflected is too low,
电脑就控制电动机
so the computer tells the motors
使机器人左右移♥动♥
to move the robot left or right,
直到再次移♥动♥到白线上
and find that white line again.
每一个这样的过程都是一个反馈环路
And each of these is a feedback loop.
这里有一个运动
We have an action -
也就是机器人移♥动♥
the robot moves,
有传感器进行测量
there is a measurement with the sensor -
机器人据此反应
the robot reacts,
改变当前的行动
and it changes what it's doing.
可以看到 它刚刚经过一个小拐角
You can even see, it has just gone round a little corner there.
我想我们可以让它继续行进
So, I think we might just let it keep going.
你们觉得呢
What do you think?
看看它能走多远
Let's see how far it goes.
好的 我们在它前面装了一台摄像机
OK, well, we've got a camera mounted to the front of it,
稍后我们再来看它 追踪它的进程
so we'll just follow its progress and pick up with it later on.
对于更高级的机器人
Now, on more advanced robots,
像是那个能演奏特雷门琴的
like the one capable of playing a theremin,
就不能这样编程了
can't really be programmed in this way.
我们的小"巡线机器人"
Our little line-following robot
知道它可能会遇到的问题
knows what it's likely to encounter
因此我们可以告诉它如何应对
so we can tell it exactly how to react.
但是 如果把一个机器人置于
But, what happens if you place a robot
变幻莫测的外星世界
in an unpredictable alien world,
没有白线作参照
without a big white line to follow,
通讯手段也基本无法使用
in a place where communication is almost impossible,
机器人必须自己应对挑战时 会发生什么呢
and robots have to deal with challenges themselves?
比如说 在火星表面
So on the surface of Mars, for example.
让我们热烈欢迎
So please give a very warm welcome to
阿比·赫蒂和布鲁诺
Abbie Hutty and Bruno.
你好 阿比 非常感谢你的到来
Hi, Abbie, thank you very much for coming here.
阿比 你应该已经听说了我们的挑战
So, Abbie, you've heard about our challenge
要造一个演奏特雷门琴的机器人
to make an advanced robot play a theremin,
你所在的团队正在构建
and you're part of a team that's building
一个复杂得多的机器人
a much much more complicated robot.
我们这里看到的是什么
So what do we have here?
这是布鲁诺
This is Bruno.
是将于2018年发射的
This is one of our prototype rovers
"火星漫游者"探测车的原型机之一
for the 2018 Mars Rover,
这是欧洲宇航局的
so that's the European Space Agency's
第一个火星探测任务
first rover mission to Mars.
布鲁诺是一台原型机 也就是一台工作模型
So, Bruno is a prototype, which means he's a working model,
它帮助我们研究
and he helps us to develop things like
比如在火星上如何行进
how we're going to drive around on Mars,
以及如何实现真正意义上的自动导航
and also how we're going to actually autonomously navigate -
也就是当我们在火星上时
how we're going to work out where we want to travel
-知道应该去哪里 -真是棒极了
- when we're on Mars. - Fantastic!
我知道今晚在这里是由保罗
Now, I know tonight that Paul is actually controlling him for us
来为我们操控这台探测车
in the lecture theatre,
但是我猜在火星上是没法这样操控的吧
but I am guessing that's not what's going to happen when he's on Mars?
这个阶梯教室光线很暗
Yeah, so in the lecture theatre, it's pretty dark in here,
探测车被设计成在火星上有光照时
and the rover is designed to be able to see
能够看到并获取合适种类的参照物
and get the right kind of contrasts on Mars during the daytime,
因此它在黑暗中无法工作
so he can't really work out things in the dark,
事实上我们只能用无线网络操控它
so we're actually having to control him by Wi-Fi,
这很赞 我们可以远程操控它
which is great, we're just remote-controlling him,
但在火星上并不可行 因为火星实在太远了
but we can't do that when we are on Mars because Mars is so far away
信♥号♥♥需要二十二分钟才能传到那里
that it would take up to 22 minutes for the signal to get there,
仅仅为了给它们发出指令
just to tell them what to do.
因此如果在火星上行进
So, if you're driving around on Mars
然后按停止键
and you hit the stop button,
-反应时间的确会有点长 -没错
- that's a bit too long really. - Absolutely!
我们得将探测车设计得足够聪明
So, we have to make our rover intelligent enough
让它可以自主决定哪些行动是安全的
to make its own decisions about what it can and can't do safely,
并且自行控制方向前行
and drive around all by itself.
那么你给它坐标
So you're almost like giving it coordinates,
就像是在车上装导航一样对吗
a bit like what you'd give a car GPS?
对 有点像
Yes, it's a bit like that.
我们可以给它定一个目的地
We can give it a destination to go to -
它能持续行驶两天
it can be up to two days' drive,
观察面前的一切
and it will look at what is in front of it.
它可以绘制高程图
It can bring up an elevation map,
也就是它面前地形的
which is basically a picture
三维图像
of what is in front of it in three dimensions.
然后它可以进行计算
Then it can do calculations to work out
得出哪里的地面太高无法翻越
what is too big an obstacle to climb over,
哪里可以安全通行
and what is safe for it to trundle over,
然后自己挑选路径去往目的地
and then just pick its own route to that destination,
并给我们发信♥号♥♥
phone us up...
我想这里有了
I think we have that here.
对 这就是高程图
Yes, this is an elevation map.
上面显示我们面前有块大石头
It shows us there is a big rock in front of us here,
太大了过不去
which would be too big to climb over,
但所有的蓝色♥区♥域都可以安全通行
but all of the blue area is nice and safe -
没有太大的障碍物 可以直接开过去
nothing is too big, so we can drive straight over that.
好的
Right, OK.
我还注意到
The other thing I'm noticing here is that
这些轮子上没有覆盖普通橡胶
these wheels don't have the normal rubber on them,
像轮胎那种
like you would on tyres.
都是全金属的 所以噪音很大 为什么呢
They are all metal so they are very noisy. Why is that?
这项探测任务的首要目标就是
OK, so the primary objective of the rover mission
在火星上寻找生命
is to look at life on Mars,
不管是过去的还是现存的生物
either in the past or in the present, living life,
而橡胶从树上来 是一种天然材料
and rubber comes from trees, it's a natural substance,
所以如果我们使用橡胶轮胎
so if we were to take rubber tyres with us,
将会污染我们正在探测的样本
that could contaminate the samples that we are looking at.
我们可能会在橡胶里发现地球上的生物
We could find Earth life in the rubber
却误以为那是火星上的生物
and think that it was life on Mars.
所以要确保送去的所有设备
So we've got to make sure that nothing we take with us
都不会污染火星
is going to contaminate Mars.
我们研发了这些弹性履带
We have developed these flexible wheels
在翻越岩石或是沙地时
so you still get the same traction and grip
可以提供与橡胶一样的
going over rocks and through sand
摩擦力和抓地力
as you would do with rubber,
但里面不含任何有机物
but without anything organic inside it.
太棒了 这听上去是个很厉害的项目呢
Wow, OK. That sounds like a tremendous project!
谢谢
Thank you.
你们研发的这些技术都将会被
All of this technology that you're developing here
应用于ExoMars探测车上对吗
will be on the ExoMars rover, is that right?
对的 我们正在研发各种零部件
Absolutely. We're developing everything in bits and pieces -
制♥作♥许多不同的原型用来进行不同测试
lots of different prototypes that test different things,
最终它们将被组装成探测车
and it will all come together in our final rover
并于2018年发射
that launches in 2018.
太厉害了 谢谢你带来这个大家伙
That's fantastic. Thank you so much for bringing this along,
希望你们的大项目进展顺利
and the very best of luck with this fantastic project!
-谢谢 -谢谢
- Thank you. - Thank you.
简直难以置信 真是难以置信
That was incredible, absolutely incredible.
如果要在管弦乐团里演奏特雷门琴
To play our theremin in our orchestra,