人老了，可以加條尾巴

研究人員制造了機(jī)器尾巴來幫助老年人保持平衡

Millions of years after the ancestors of humans evolved to lose their tails, a research team at Japan’s Keio University has built a robotic one that they say could help unsteady elderly people keep their balance.

在人類祖先進(jìn)化到失去尾巴的數(shù)百萬年后，日本慶應(yīng)大學(xué)的一個(gè)研究小組制造了一種機(jī)器人，他們說，這種機(jī)器人可以幫助老年人保持平衡。

Dubbed Arque, the gray, 1-meter device mimics tails such as those of cheetahs and other animals used to keep their balance while running and climbing, according to the Keio team.

據(jù)慶應(yīng)義和團(tuán)的研究小組介紹，這款名為Arque的1米長的灰色裝置，模仿了獵豹和其他動(dòng)物用來在奔跑和攀爬時(shí)保持平衡的尾巴。

“The tail keeps balance like a pendulum,” said Junichi Nabeshima, a graduate student and researcher at the university’s Embodied Media Project, displaying the robotic tail attached to his waist with a harness.

“尾巴像鐘擺一樣保持平衡，”朱尼奇·納貝西馬說，他是該大學(xué)“具體媒體項(xiàng)目”的研究生和研究人員，展示了綁在腰間的機(jī)器尾巴。

“When a human tilts their body one way, the tail moves in the opposite direction.”

當(dāng)人的身體向一個(gè)方向傾斜時(shí)，尾巴就會(huì)向相反的方向移動(dòng)。

As Japan grays, it is leading the industrial world in seeking ways to keep its aging population mobile and productive.

隨著日本人口老齡化，它正在引領(lǐng)工業(yè)世界尋找保持老齡化人口流動(dòng)性和生產(chǎn)力的方法。

While other nations have turned to immigrant workers to replenish a shrinking workforce, less welcoming Japan has focused more on a technological solution.

當(dāng)其他國家轉(zhuǎn)向移民工人來補(bǔ)充不斷萎縮的勞動(dòng)力時(shí)，不那么受歡迎的日本則更多地關(guān)注技術(shù)解決方案。

The robotic tail, which uses four artificial muscles and compressed air to move in eight directions, will remain in the lab for now, as researchers look for ways to make it more flexible, Nabeshima said.

Nabeshima說，由于研究人員正在尋找使其更加靈活的方法，這條使用四塊人造肌肉和壓縮空氣向八個(gè)方向運(yùn)動(dòng)的機(jī)器尾巴，目前還只是停留在試驗(yàn)階段。

Apart from helping the elderly get around, the team is looking at industrial applications for the artificial appendage, such as a balance aid for warehouse workers carrying heavy loads.

除了幫助老年人四處走動(dòng)，該團(tuán)隊(duì)還在研究這種人工附件的工業(yè)應(yīng)用，比如幫助倉庫工人搬運(yùn)重物的平衡裝置。

“I think it would be nice to incorporate this further developed prosthetic tail into daily life, when one seeks a little more help balancing,” Nabeshima said.

Nabeshima說:“如果能把這條經(jīng)過進(jìn)一步發(fā)展的假尾巴融入日常生活中，幫助人們更好地保持平衡，那就太好了。”