With a whir and a flash of lights, a robot whizzes to the restaurant table and takes a customer's order, while a second races to another table to deliver plates of steaming food.
This isn't a scene from a science fiction book. Rather, it's the daily routine at a new diner in a suburban Hong Kong shopping center.
Robot Kitchen opened in July to cash in on the city's love of gadgets, claiming to be the world's first eatery staffed by machines.
PHOTO: AFP
“We thought robots would be a good gimmick,” said Peter Chow, who built the robots working at the diner. At the moment the diner has just two robots — Robo Waiter 1 and 2 — neither of which looks like the human-like robots in the movies.
Robo Waiter 1 is a crudely designed box on wheels covered in shiny paper and with a light bulb to represent a head.
The computer inside can recognize voice patterns, take meal orders and send them to the cooks in the kitchen. A video camera detects objects in its way and guides the robot around them.
Robo Waiter 2 is much the same, but has a tray for carrying food.
Due to the robots' limited abilities, the restaurant has had to hire extra staff to help them out and do the actual cooking.
“They definitely aren't labor-saving devices,” said Chow.
Adding to the ambience, meals are given themed names in the menu — a ham and pineapple pizza, for instance, is called “Robot Energetic Pizza” — and the floor is strewn with toy robots that dance and sing or attack customers as they enter.
“It's like being in Star Wars,” said 10-year-old Joey Loh.(AFP)
一台機器人身上閃著光，呼地奔向餐桌幫客人點菜，此時另一台機器人衝向另一桌客人，端上熱騰騰的食物。
這可不是科幻小說的場景，而是香港郊區購物中心內，一家新餐館每天上演的戲碼。
七月開張的「機器人餐廳」，號稱是世界上第一家有機器人員工的飯館，讓香港機械迷的荷包失血。
打造這款機器人的店內員工周彼得（音譯）表示︰「我們認為機器人應該是不錯的裝置。」目前餐館只有兩台機器人︰機器人服務生一號和二號，相貌都不若電影中酷似人類的機器人。
機器人一號是個裝有車輪的陽春盒子，其上覆蓋閃亮紙片，還有電燈泡當作頭。
內部電腦能辨認聲音模式、點餐，並傳送菜單給廚房的廚師，還有攝影機能偵測行前方的物體，引導機器人繞道而行。
機器人二號除了裝有食物托盤外，其餘大同小異。
因為機器人的能力有限，餐廳得多雇用人力來幫助機器人，並且實際掌廚。
周彼得說︰「他們絕對不是節省勞力的裝置。」
為了增加氣氛，菜單上的餐點也有和機械主題相關的菜名，例如，火腿鳳梨比薩稱為「機器人活力比薩」，而遍佈地板上的機器人玩具會唱唱跳跳吸引進門顧客的注意。
十歲大的羅喬依（音譯）說︰「這就像是星際大戰的場景一樣。」
（法新社╱翻譯︰鄭湘儀）
In today’s digital age, every click and swipe generates data, and the need for reliable and efficient data management has become critical. This is where data centers come into play. Data centers include servers, storage drives, networking equipment, and other hardware to manage, process, and store vast amounts of digital information. __1__ For that reason, some companies are pursuing an unusual idea: placing data centers under the surface of the ocean. What makes underwater data centers cheaper than traditional land-based ones? For one thing, the cool temperature of the ocean means that companies can cut down on the high cost of
A: Apart from BTS’ J-Hope and EXO’s Xiumin, Hong Kong singer Eason Chan is holding six concerts in Kaohsiung. B: And versatile British musician Jacob Collier is visiting Taiwan for the first time, performing in New Taipei City tonight. A: US singer Lauv and rock band LANY will also stage individual shows in Kaohsiung next week. B: Plus, Singaporean singer JJ Lin will hold two concerts at the Taipei Dome in early June. A: Which show are you going to? A: 除了BTS的J-Hope和EXO的Xiumin，香港歌王陳奕迅正在高雄熱唱6場。 B: 而多才多藝的英國歌手雅各柯里爾首度訪台，今晚即將在新北開唱！ A: 美國歌手洛夫、搖滾樂團藍尼下週也分別在高雄演出。 B: 此外新加坡歌王林俊傑則將於6月初，首次挑戰台北大巨蛋嗨唱兩場。 A: 你想去聽誰的演唱會？ （By Eddy Chang, Taipei Times／台北時報張迪）
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1. 我不夠快。 ˇ I wasn’t fast enough. χ I wasn’t enough fast. 註：enough用作副詞時，一般放在它修飾的形容詞或其他副詞後面。例如： The tea is hot enough.（茶是夠熱。） He did not work hard enough.（他不夠用功。） 但enough用作形容詞時，前置或後置都可以。例如： There is enough food (/food enough) for us. 2. 今晚七時我們將開董事會。 ˇ We are having a board meeting at seven o’clock this evening. ˇ We are having a board meeting this evening, at seven o’clock. χ We are having a board meeting this evening at seven o’clock. 註：如果有多個時間副詞，一般單位大的放在單位小的後面。例如： I was born in May 1939. The meeting was held at five o’clock yesterday afternoon. 但如果大的單位是說話者強調的重點，則可以放在前面，但後面要有逗號，表示停頓。例如： He arrived yesterday afternoon, at about five o’clock. 3. 我生於麻州波士頓。 ˇ I was born in Boston, Massachusetts. χ I was born in Massachusetts, Boston. 註：一般而言，地點副詞的位置，範圍大的放在範圍小的後面。例如： Before
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