Improving Industrial efficiency through Robotics
Robots, becoming increasingly prevalent in factories and industrial plants throughout the developed world, are programmed and engineered to perform industrial tasks without human intervention.
Most of today's robots are employed in the automotive industry, where they are programmed to take over such jobs as welding and spray painting automobile and truck bodies. They also load and unload hot, heavy metal forms used in machines casting automobile and truck frames.
Robots, already taking over human tasks in the automotive field, are beginning to be seen, although to a lesser degree, in other industries as well. There they build electric motors, small appliances, pocket calculators, and even watches. The robots used in nuclear power plants handle the radioactive materials, preventing human personnel from being exposed to radiation. These are the robots responsible for the reduction in job-related injuries in this new industry.
What makes a robot a robot and not just another kind of automatic machine? Robots differ from automatic machines in that after completion of one specific task, they can be reprogrammed by a computer to do another one. As an example, a robot doing spot welding one month can be reprogrammed and switched to spray painting the next. Automatic machine, on the other hand, are not capable of many different uses; they are built to perform only one task.
The next generation of robots will be able to see objects, will have a sense of touch, and will make critical decisions. Engineers skilled in microelectronics and computer technology are developing artificial vision for robots. With the ability to "see", robots can identify and inspect one specific class of objects out of a stack of different kinds of materials. One robot vision system used electronic digital cameras containing many rows of light-sensitive materials. When light from an object such as a machine part strikes the camera, the sensitive materials measure the intensity of light and convert the light rays into a range of numbers. The numbers are part of a grayscale system in which brightness is measured in a range of values. One scale ranges from 0 to 15, and another from 0 to 255. The 0 is represented by black. The highest number is white. The numbers is between represent different shades of gray. The computer then makes the calculations and converts the numbers into a picture that shows an image of the object in question. It is not yet known whether robots will one day have vision as good as human vision. Technicians believe they will, but only after years of development.
Engineers working on other advances are designing and experimenting with new types of metal hands and fingers, giving robots a sense of touch. Other engineers are writing new programs allowing robots to make decisions such as whether to discard defective parts in finished products. To do this, the robot will also have to be capable of identifying those defective parts.
These future robots, assembled with a sense of touch and the ability to see and make decisions, will have plenty of work to do. They can be used to explore for minerals on the ocean floor or in deep areas of mines too dangerous for humans to enter. They will work as gas station attendants, firemen, housekeepers, and security personnel. Anyone wanting to understand the industry of the future will have to know about robotics.
利用机器人技术提高工业效率
机器人在所有发达国家的工厂日益普及，它们被编程、设计，在无人情况下执行工业任务。现今大多数机器人用于汽车工业，人们对其编程，从事如汽车卡车车身焊接、喷漆之类的工作。它们也装卸汽车和卡车框架的机器中所有的炽热、笨重的金属铸模。
机器人已经在汽车行业接任了人类工作，在其行业也开始看到它们的身影，虽然使用程度低一些。在那里它们制造电动马达、小型设备、袖珍计算器，甚至手表。用于核电站的机器人处理辐射材料，使职员不暴露于辐射。这些机器人可以减少这一新型工业中与工作有关的伤害。
什么使机器变成机器人，而不是其他的自动化机器呢？机器人与自动化机器的区别在于完成一项特定工作后，它们可以被电脑重新编程去执行一项任务。比如说，一个机器人做了一个月的点焊，可以重新编程，下个月转向喷漆。相反，自动化机器却没有许多不同用途，它们只是为了招待一项任务而被建造。
下一代机器人将能看见物体，具有触觉，能作出关键性的决定。精通于微电子和电脑技术的工程师正在为机器人开发人造视力，有了"看"的能力，机器人就能从一推不同的材料中鉴别检查出具体的一类物体。机器人礼堂系统采用包含多行感官材料的电子数码相机。当一个物体上的光，如机器零件，照射到相机上时，敏感材料就可测量出光的强度，把光线转换为一组数字。这些数字是灰度系统的一部分，其亮度由一系列数值测量。一个刻度范围是0到15，另一个是0到225。0用黑色表示，最高值用白色，其间的数值用不同的灰色阴影来表示。然后计算机进行计算，并将数字转换为表明该无题形象的图像。现在还不知道有一天机器人是否具有人类一样的好视力。技术人员想信它们会的，只是需要多年的开发。
在其他方面取得进展的工程技术人员正在设计和试验新型金属手臂和手指，使机器人具有触觉。其他工程人员正在编写新的程序使机器人做出如是否抛弃成品中有缺陷的零件的决定。要做到这点，机器人还必须具有鉴别有缺陷零件的能力。
集触觉、看和做决定的能力于一体的这些未来机器人将会做大量的工作。它们可以用于海底探矿或探测对人类太危险的深层区域的矿物。它们可以做加油站服务人员、消防人员、房屋管理员和安全人员的工作。任何想了解未来工业的人必须懂机器人。
课文讲解：
一、单词讲解：
1． Prevalent:经常出现的，常见的，流行的：Colds are prevalent in winter.
2． Program:
1) 节目单、日程、计划、计算机的程序设计：
What’s the program for tomorrow?
2) 计划安排、程序编制：
The computer is programmed to accept data in any or all of these media. 电脑程序接收所有媒体的资料
3． Engineer
1) 工程师：
He is a chief engineer in the factory.
2) 负责修建、策划：
The mountain road is very well engineered.
4． Take over 接替职务、掌管：
He is taking over my job while I am on holiday.
5． Be responsible for 对。。。负责、是。。。原因、应归功于：
Are you responsible for breaking the window?
6． Identify 认出（身份、物件等）、证明、说明（其身份）：
She identified the suspect by the scar on his face.
7． Convert
1) 把。。。改变为、变换成、使转而信仰：
He converted his francs into dollars. Many Africans were converted to Christianity.
2) 转变为、兑换为、转而信仰:
John has converted to Buddhism.
8． Range
1) 范围、生长地带:
The shop keeps a wide range of goods.
2) 把。。。摆好、和。。。站在一起：
He ranged the boys in order of size..
3) 在。。。范围内、从。。。到。。。不等：
Her children’s ages range from three to eighteen.
9． Discard抛弃、扔掉：
Let’s discard some of these old newspaper.
10.assemble集合、集中、装配：
The workers who assemble cars work very quickly.
二、课文解释：
1． Robots, becoming increasingly prevalent in factories and industrial plants throughout the developed world, are programmed and engineered to perform industrial tasks without human intervention. 机器人在所有发达国家的工厂日益普及，他们被编程、设计，在无人情况下执行工业任务。
1） 本句是一个主语为被动态的句子，现在分词becoming increasingly prevalent in factories and industrial plants throughout the developed world,做伴随状语，动词不定式to perform industrial tasks做目的状语。
2） 注意developed country 和developing country的区别。 这里主要使时间上的区别，现在分词表示动作正在进行，过去分词则表示动作的完成。
2． Robots, already taking over human tasks in the automotive field, are beginning to be seen, although to a lesser degree, in other industries as well.机器人已经在汽车行业接任了人类工作，在其他行业也开始看到他们的身影，虽然使用程度低一些。
本句是一个简单句，现在分词already taking over human tasks in the automotive field,做状语，although to a lesser degree在句子重做插入语，没有语法功能。As well是也的意思，口语中比较常见。
3． The robots used in nuclear power plants handle the radioactive materials, preventing human personnel from being exposed to radiation.用于核电站的机器人处理辐射材料，使职员不暴露于辐射。
1） 本句重，过去分词used in nuclear power plants handle the radioactive materials,做定语，修饰the robots.现在分词preventing human personnel from being exposed to radiation做状语。
2） prevent…from意为：阻止。。。做。。。。例如： The heavy rain prevented him from attending the meeting.
4． Robots differ from automatic machines in that after completion of one specific task, they can be reprogrammed by a computer to do another one.机器人与自动化机器的区别在于完成一项特定工作后，它们可以被电脑重新编程，去执行另一项任务。
连词in that意为“在于”,引导原因状语从句。例如:Theory is valuable in that it can provide a direction for practice.理论之所以有价值，就在于它能给实践指出方向。
5． Engineers skilled in microelectronics and computer technology are developing artificial vision for robots.精通微电子及计算机技术的工程师们正在为机器人开发人工视觉功能。
1） skilled in 是形容词短语做定语，修饰engineers,表示“精通、善于”例如： She is skill in maths
2） artificial表示“人工的、人造的、人为的、缺乏真情的”。例如： Many people like artificial silk 很多人喜欢人造丝。 She welcomed me with an artificial smile.她带着虚伪的微笑欢迎我。
6． It is not yet known whether robots will one day have vision as good as human vision现在还不知道有一天机器人是否具有人类一样的好视力。
本句重it做形式主语，代替主语从句whether robots will one day have vision as good as human vision，主要是为了句子结构平衡。 |
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