VOA慢速英語: 智能手機將來能發(fā)送味道、嗅覺或觸摸感嗎？

Can Smartphones Send Tastes, Smells, Touch Someday?
將來某一天，智能手機可以發(fā)送味覺、嗅覺和觸覺嗎？

Scientists in Britain say they are close to creating additions for our smartphones that will make it possible to send taste, smell and even a basic touch.

We can express thoughts and feelings and send sounds and pictures on our smartphones today. We also communicate using programs like Skype and Face Time. We can't send tastes, smells or touch, of course. But scientists in Britain are trying to develop a way for smartphones to do just that.
如今我們可以用智能手機發(fā)送聲音和圖片來表達我們的想法和感覺。我們使用Skype和Face Time來進行交流。當然，我們沒辦法傳達味覺、嗅覺或者觸覺。但是英國的科學家正嘗試研發(fā)一款能夠這樣做的智能手機。
Adrian David Cheok is a professor at City University in London. He wants people to experience communication using all of their senses.
阿德里安·大衛(wèi)·切克是倫敦城市大學的教授。他希望人們能夠使用各種感官來進行交流。
"In the real world, we can open up the glass, open the window. We can touch, we can taste, we can smell in the real world."
“在真實世界，我們打開杯子、窗戶。我們能夠觸摸東西、品嘗食物、聞氣味。”
To give users a sense of taste, researchers designed two electrodes that are placed on the tongue. A chemical process creates different tastes through molecules on the surface of the tongue. This chemical process sends electrical signals that convince the brain that a person is tasting something. They have already created sour, salty, sweet and bitter tastes.
為了讓用戶能夠有種味覺，研究者設(shè)計了兩個能夠放在舌頭上的電極片。一種化學過程能夠通過舌頭表面分子產(chǎn)生不同的味覺?；瘜W過程將發(fā)送電極信號，這樣大腦就能讓人感知到味覺。他們已經(jīng)創(chuàng)造出來酸、咸、甜和苦的味道。
"You put these two silver electrodes in your mouth, you put your tongue in between and then it stimulates electrically your tongue and you get a virtual taste perception in your brain."
“你把這兩塊銀質(zhì)電極放在嘴中，將舌頭夾在電極中間，然后電會刺激舌頭，在大腦中就會產(chǎn)生以后總虛擬的味覺。”
A device called "Scentee" permits users to have the sense of smell. Scentee plugs into a smartphone and can spray tiny clouds of fragrances, including flowers, fruits and coffee. Professor Cheok says the person speaking can activate the device.
一款叫做“Scentee”的設(shè)備能夠讓使用者感知到嗅覺。Scentee放入智能手機中，能夠噴灑出一種薄薄的香霧，包括花香、水果香和咖啡香。切克教授說人們講話就能夠激活這款設(shè)備。
"Basically what happens, we have an app, it connects to the Internet and then this will release a scent from your mobile phone."
“基本上原理就是這樣：一款應(yīng)用程序能夠連接互聯(lián)網(wǎng)，然后通過手機釋放出一種味道。”
Scentee holds a container with about 100 different smells. The container must be replaced when all the scents run out.
Scentee里包含有大約100種不同的氣味容器，這個當所有的香味散發(fā)玩之后，必須換掉這個容器。
The sense of touch comes from a ring-like device. It is connected wirelessly to the smartphone. The device sends a soft, electrical squeeze when a person on the other end of a telephone conversation does the same. Professor Cheok says this permits a kind of wireless touch communication.
觸摸感來自于戒指一樣的設(shè)備，與手機可以實現(xiàn)無線連接。當電話另一頭的通話者的動作一致時，這個裝置會發(fā)送輕柔的電擠壓。切克教授表示，這使得無線觸覺溝通成為可能。
"I can be in London and my friend can be in Tokyo, and I can squeeze my finger and then they'll get a squeeze on their finger through the Internet. It's a way of touch communication with small mobile devices."
“我待在倫敦，而我的朋友可以在日本，我擠手指，然后通過互聯(lián)網(wǎng)，我也能夠觸摸到他們擠壓手指。這是一種使用移動設(shè)備實現(xiàn)觸摸交流的一種方式。”
Professor Cheok says he hopes devices like these will someday be added to houses. He says they may change the future of long-distance communication.
切克教授稱他希望像這樣的設(shè)備未來某一天能夠裝在家里，這也許會改變未來遠距離的溝通交流。
I'm Jonathan Evans.
我是喬納森·伊凡斯。
VOA Correspondent George Putic reported this story from Washington. Jonathan Evans wrote it in VOA Learning English. He also read and produced the program. Christopher Cruise edited the story.
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Words in This Story
activate – v. to cause a device to start working
electrode – n. one of the two points through which electricity flows into or out of a battery or other device
fragrance – n. a pleasant and usually sweet smell
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