You’d be forgiven for thinking that it would never fly, but Japanese researchers say they have developed a “hummingbird robot” that can flutter around freely in mid-air with rapid wing movements.
The robot, similar in size to a real hummingbird, is equipped with a micro motor and four wings that can flap 30 times per second, said Hiroshi Ryu, a researcher at Chiba University east of Tokyo.
It is controlled with an infrared sensor and can turn up, down, right or left.
The robot, which weighs 2.6g, can fly in a figure of eight more stably than a helicopter with rotor blades, said Ryu, 46, who specialises in developing robots based on living creatures.
“The next step is to make it hover to stay at one point in mid-air,” Ryu said, adding that he also plans to equip it with a micro camera by March 2011.
The robot, whose development cost has topped 200 million yen (US$2.1 million), may be used to help rescue people trapped in destroyed buildings, search for criminals or even operate as a probe vehicle on Mars, he said.
“First, we need to learn about effective mechanisms from natural life forms, but we want to develop something to go beyond nature eventually,” Ryu said.(AFP)
如果你一點也不看好這項研究,沒有人會跟你計較;不過日本研究學者表示,他們已研發出一種可以快速振動翅膀、在半空中飛來飛去的「蜂鳥機器人」。
東京東部千葉大學的研究學者劉浩說,這種機器人配備一個微小馬達和四片每秒能振動三十次的翅膀,體型和真正的蜂鳥相當。
它藉由一個紅外線感應器接收指令,能向上、下、左、右方移動。
專門研發生物機器人的劉浩(四十六歲)說,這個重二點六公克的機器人能飛「8」字型,穩定度比螺旋槳直昇機更好。
劉說:「下一步是要讓它能停留在空中一個定點盤旋。」他還說他計畫在二O一一年三月前,為其配備一個微型攝影機。
他說,這個機器人的研發成本高達兩億日圓(兩百一十萬美元),能用來協助援救倒塌建築中的受困者、尋找罪犯,甚至做為火星探測車。
劉說:「首先,我們得認識自然界生物體形的有效機制,但我們最終的希望,是研發出優於自然生物的機器人。」
(法新社╱翻譯:袁星塵)
The strongest earthquake to hit Taiwan in 25 years killed at least 16 people and damaged dozens of buildings, but the destruction was largely contained thanks to decades of preparedness work. Taiwan sits on the “Ring of Fire,” an arc of intense seismic activity along the Pacific Rim, and — much like neighboring Japan — has a long history of catastrophic quakes. How does April 3 compare with other recent quakes? The April 3 earthquake, which measured 7.4 on the moment magnitude scale, was felt across Taiwan. It was the most severe since a 7.6 magnitude quake in 1999 killed
A: Artificial intelligence technology has been causing controversy lately: a student was caught cheating with AI to win the grand prize in an art contest. B: That’s so absurd. Does this mean that AI paints better than humans? A: Maybe. Luckily, the student was later disqualified. B: And more absurdly, it’s becoming more and more popular to use AI technology to “resurrect” people. A: Yeah, some netizens even posted videos featuring the late singer CoCo Lee, who was “resurrected” by them with AI software. A: 人工智慧的爭議不斷,有學生違規使用AI參加美術展,甚至贏得首獎。 B: 真誇張,這是不是代表AI比人類還強大? A: 或許吧,幸好得獎資格被取消。 B: 還有更誇張的︰讓死者重現的「AI復活」技術越來越熱門。 A: 對啊,還有網友製作已故歌后李玟「復活」的影片呢! (By Eddy Chang, Taipei Times/台北時報張聖恩)
Around the time of the Dragon Boat Festival in June, the streets of Taiwan are filled with the delightful aroma of zongzi, a traditional snack made of sticky rice wrapped in leaves. The leaves are folded into a cone and then filled with sticky rice and other ingredients such as braised pork belly, peanuts and salted duck egg yolks. The filled leaves are then tightly tied with kitchen twine and ready for cooking. 每到六月端午時節,街頭巷尾就會飄出粽子的香氣。粽子是將糯米包進粽葉的傳統美食,先將粽葉折成圓錐狀塞入糯米,以及紅燒肉、花生、鹹鴨蛋黃等配料,用棉線綁緊後即可烹煮。 Dragon Boat Festival (n. phr.) 端午節 aroma
Everyone has seen a piece of fruit turn brown after being cut. Have you ever wondered why that happens? It is a common phenomenon that occurs due to a chemical reaction called enzymatic browning. The appearance, flavor and nutritional value of the fruit are all affected by this reaction. Some fruits, such as apples, pears, bananas, avocados and peaches, are more prone to enzymatic browning than others. These fruits contain high levels of an enzyme called polyphenol oxidase, or PPO for short. __1__ This causes a chain of chemical reactions that ultimately transforms the phenolic compounds into