Robotic Plants Grow with Their Environment植物機(jī)器人與環(huán)境共生

In environments that are difficult to reach because of the hazards or hardships for humans， a device behaving like a native plant could be the answer. This approach was taken by Suyi Li， associate professor in mechanical engin-eering at Virginia Tech， and Clemson professor and collaborator Ian Walker.

在人類因危險(xiǎn)或阻礙而難以涉足的環(huán)境中，一種模仿當(dāng)?shù)刂参镄袨榈脑O(shè)備或許就是解決辦法。弗吉尼亞理工大學(xué)機(jī)械工程副教授李甦怡與克萊姆森大學(xué)教授伊恩·沃克采用這一理念展開了合作。

“When I started to venture into robotics a few years ago， I was surprised to see that almost all robots are inspired by humans and animals to some degree，” Li said. “However， I believe the vast plant kingdom can offer us many unique lessons on approaching the design， actuation， and operation of robots. This is how Ian and I started working on this topic together. ”

“幾年前我開始勇闖機(jī)器人領(lǐng)域。令我感到驚訝的是，幾乎所有機(jī)器人的設(shè)計(jì)都或多或少受到了人類和動(dòng)物的啟發(fā)?！崩罡苯淌谡劦?，“但我相信廣袤的植物王國(guó)能夠?yàn)槲覀儙碓S多獨(dú)特的啟示，有助于我們改進(jìn)機(jī)器人的構(gòu)造設(shè)計(jì)、驅(qū)動(dòng)方式和運(yùn)作方法。這也是我和伊恩開始在這一領(lǐng)域合作的契機(jī)。”

Li has established a research group that deploys the principles of origami to create novel forms of soft robotics with unique structures. Walker， a professor of electrical and computer engineering at Clemson， brings a rich background in biologically inspired robotics spanning two decades. Their proposal aims to create a broad foundation for new designs， creating robotics with technology capable of surviving in wild conditions over the long haul.

李副教授組建了一支研究團(tuán)隊(duì)，利用折紙的原理開發(fā)具有獨(dú)特結(jié)構(gòu)的新型軟體機(jī)器人。沃克是克萊姆森大學(xué)電子與計(jì)算機(jī)工程教授，他憑借自己20年研究仿生機(jī)器人的豐富經(jīng)驗(yàn)，為項(xiàng)目提供有力支持。兩人的研究目標(biāo)是為新設(shè)計(jì)奠定廣泛的基礎(chǔ)，研發(fā)出能夠在惡劣自然環(huán)境中長(zhǎng)期運(yùn)作的機(jī)器人。

Robots in the wild

走進(jìn)野外的機(jī)器人

Bringing together cutting-edge electronics with the unpredictability of nature is typically a clash of worlds. Technology can be a strength when electricity is available， and the environment is predictable or controlled. Those measures break down when batteries die and parts break.

將尖端電子技術(shù)與不可預(yù)測(cè)的大自然結(jié)合，通常等同于兩個(gè)世界相互沖撞。當(dāng)有電力供應(yīng)且環(huán)境可預(yù)測(cè)或可控時(shí)，科技可以大展身手。然而，一旦電量耗盡或部件損壞，各種技術(shù)手段就會(huì)隨之崩潰。

This has not prevented technology from making its way into the outdoors， but challenges have followed. Other researchers deployed sensors for wildfire detection in remote locations of California and Oregon， but have faced issues such as navigating rocky areas at high altitudes and the particulars of protected lands.

科技進(jìn)入野外的腳步并未因此受阻，但隨之而來的挑戰(zhàn)也層出不窮。其他研究人員曾在加利福尼亞州和俄勒岡州的偏遠(yuǎn)地區(qū)部署野火探測(cè)器，但他們遇到了諸多問題，比如在高海拔巖石地帶操作不便，還需要應(yīng)對(duì)保護(hù)區(qū)的特殊條件。

Devices that need to be always on and programmed to detect such things as airborne particles or rare breeds of birds generally face two big obstacles： time and environment. These are the main challenges Li’s team is tackling. The aim isn’t to fight against the flow of nature， but to channel the very approach used by nature to produce more adaptive robotics.

有的設(shè)備需要始終處于開機(jī)狀態(tài)并執(zhí)行預(yù)設(shè)程序來探測(cè)空氣懸浮粒子或稀有鳥類之類的東西，這類設(shè)備通常面臨兩大障礙：時(shí)間與環(huán)境。二者也正是李副教授團(tuán)隊(duì)著力攻克的核心問題。他們的目的并非與大自然的風(fēng)云變幻抗衡，而是借鑒自然本身的機(jī)制開發(fā)出更具適應(yīng)性的機(jī)器人。

“As humans， we naturally tend to think of change on the time scale of our attention span， like seconds and minutes，” Walker said. “However， long-term and continuous deployments outdoors pose alternative and unique challenges. Over weeks and months， outdoor natural environments are highly dynamic places. Vegetation grows up and debris comes down in storms. Robotic operation in these conditions needs to become more like the ambient environment in novel ways to maintain monitoring.”

“作為人類，我們自然習(xí)慣參照注意力持續(xù)的時(shí)間來理解變化，比如以秒或分鐘為單位。”沃克教授指出，“然而，長(zhǎng)期持續(xù)的野外部署帶來了另類的獨(dú)特挑戰(zhàn)。在幾周或者幾個(gè)月的時(shí)間里，野外自然環(huán)境變化劇烈——植被不斷生長(zhǎng)，風(fēng)暴刮來沙土雜物。在這樣的條件下，機(jī)器人必須以創(chuàng)新的運(yùn)作方法模擬周圍環(huán)境，才能持續(xù)進(jìn)行監(jiān)測(cè)?！?/p>

Robots that grow and adapt

能夠“生長(zhǎng)”并適應(yīng)環(huán)境的機(jī)器人

Li and Walker will not be creating robot plants or making sensors that grow from seeds. Instead， their work will take advantage of the insights provided by nature that have proven to be durable over the long term. Those nat-ural mechanisms will be converted into mechanics that adapt and respond to their environments.

李副教授和沃克教授并非要打造“機(jī)器人植物”或開發(fā)從種子中生長(zhǎng)出來的傳感器，他們要汲取大自然久經(jīng)考驗(yàn)且驗(yàn)證有效的智慧，將這些自然機(jī)制轉(zhuǎn)化為能夠適應(yīng)和應(yīng)對(duì)周圍環(huán)境的機(jī)械結(jié)構(gòu)。

Which characteristics of plants are on their radar？ They have targeted the ability to move with the sun， shown in the behavior of sunflowers. Also of interest are floral organs that open and close， like a Venus flytrap. They also have taken notes from plants that attach to an object adaptively， like the winding of vines around a tree. All of these actions are the result of a plant adapting to its surroundings， and each has a set of mechanisms that make the action possible. Some of the actions are faster， like the flytrap. Some are slower， like the steady coil of vines.

他們關(guān)注植物的哪些特性呢？他們瞄準(zhǔn)向日葵追隨太陽(yáng)轉(zhuǎn)動(dòng)的能力，對(duì)像捕蠅草那樣能開合的花器官感興趣，還留意了能夠靈活依附物體的植物，比如纏繞樹干的藤蔓。這些行為均源于植物對(duì)周圍環(huán)境的適應(yīng)，每種行為都有一套相應(yīng)的發(fā)生機(jī)制。有的行為動(dòng)作迅速，比如捕蠅草的開合。還有的則較為緩慢，比如藤蔓平穩(wěn)的纏繞行為。

To put these characteristics together into robotics， Li and Walker have combined their efforts to mimic those plant behaviors and package them as a set of innovative robotics.

為了將這些特性融入機(jī)器人，李副教授和沃克教授攜手合作，模仿植物行為整合出了一套全新的機(jī)器人系統(tǒng)。

Li’s team will use its expertise in engineering through origami to create accordion-like robotic trunks that can unfold and self-lock， pairing it with Walker’s knowledge of bio-inspired electronics to create a container that is durable and capable of responding to the dynamics of an outdoor environment. This trunk would have the ability to adapt within congested spaces that may form as the foliage grows and becomes thick. Adapting in this way has the potential to overcome obstacles that might normally shut down a robot’s operation.

李副教授的團(tuán)隊(duì)將憑借自身折紙工程學(xué)的專長(zhǎng)，設(shè)計(jì)出可展開可自鎖的手風(fēng)琴形機(jī)器人軀干，再結(jié)合沃克教授在仿生電子技術(shù)領(lǐng)域的經(jīng)驗(yàn)，研發(fā)出一種能夠適應(yīng)野外環(huán)境變化的耐用容器。手風(fēng)琴形軀干能夠適應(yīng)因葉子日益茂密而受擠壓的空間，有望克服通常會(huì)導(dǎo)致機(jī)器人停機(jī)的阻礙。

To sense the movement of the envir-onment， Li and Walker foresee using the model of tree leaves and needles to guide their design. These extensions will be outfitted with devices that guide the operation and “growing” action， feeding information about real-time changes into the electronics contained in the trunk to tell the robot how to adapt. These might include elements such as light sensors， taking a cue from sunflowers. Bio-inspired needles could also interact with their environment to push aside foliage that interferes with environmental monitoring.

為了感知環(huán)境的變化，李副教授和沃克教授計(jì)劃以常見闊葉和針葉為模型來設(shè)計(jì)。這些延展部件將配備指導(dǎo)運(yùn)作并模擬“生長(zhǎng)”行為的裝置，用于將環(huán)境變化的實(shí)時(shí)數(shù)據(jù)傳給軀干內(nèi)部的電子設(shè)備，從而幫助機(jī)器人做出相應(yīng)調(diào)整。這些裝置可能包括受向日葵啟發(fā)的光敏傳感器。仿生針葉還能與周圍環(huán)境互動(dòng)，撥開阻礙環(huán)境監(jiān)測(cè)的葉子。

“Nature provides a huge variety of existence proofs for how robotics structures might be designed and operate，” Walker said. “In particular， characteristics of plant behavior give insight into how systems can successfully adapt and thrive in the natural environment.”

“大自然提供了大量現(xiàn)成的例證，提示機(jī)器人結(jié)構(gòu)可以如何設(shè)計(jì)與運(yùn)作?！蔽挚私淌谡f道，“尤其是植物行為的特性，能讓我們深入了解系統(tǒng)如何在自然環(huán)境中成功適應(yīng)并從容應(yīng)對(duì)?！?/p>

Supplying power to electronics is critical as robots can’t function on dead batteries， but maintaining an electric source is difficult in places that are hard for humans to reach. Because of that necessity， energy harvesting that mimics real plants can keep powering a robot and prevent it from missing crucial data where changing batteries isn’t an option. Li and Walker’s team is doing preliminary work into the methods needed to power their robotics， building on its early work that also includes energy efficiency. By using novel harvesting approaches with a light diet of energy consumption， researchers can tackle the challenge of keeping a robot running over long periods of time， which is important when deploying sensors in areas that are unpredictable， inhospitable， or remote.

為電子設(shè)備持續(xù)供電至關(guān)重要，因?yàn)橐坏╇娏亢谋M，機(jī)器人將無(wú)法運(yùn)作。然而，在人類難以涉足的區(qū)域維持電力供應(yīng)實(shí)屬不易。因此，模擬真實(shí)植物的能量采集方式可以為機(jī)器人提供不間斷的電力，避免因無(wú)法更換電池而丟失關(guān)鍵數(shù)據(jù)。李副教授和沃克教授的團(tuán)隊(duì)在早期研究中也關(guān)注過能效問題，他們正在以此為基礎(chǔ)對(duì)機(jī)器人所需的供電方法展開初步探索。通過創(chuàng)新的能量收集方式和低能耗的設(shè)計(jì)，研究人員可以攻克如何讓機(jī)器人長(zhǎng)期運(yùn)行的難題，這對(duì)在不可預(yù)測(cè)、環(huán)境惡劣或偏遠(yuǎn)的地區(qū)部署傳感器尤為重要。

The approach for each plant-inspired robot will also be tuned to the length of time over which it will operate. Li and Walker’s approach for a robot that measures long-term pollution levels over months or years， for instance， will be different than that of a robot tasked with rare animal sightings over days or weeks.

研究人員會(huì)根據(jù)運(yùn)行時(shí)長(zhǎng)，調(diào)整每種受植物啟發(fā)的機(jī)器人的供電方法。例如，李副教授和沃克教授為長(zhǎng)期監(jiān)測(cè)污染水平的機(jī)器人設(shè)計(jì)的方案，不同于觀察稀有動(dòng)物的機(jī)器人，前者可能需要運(yùn)行數(shù)月或數(shù)年，而后者則可能只需要運(yùn)行數(shù)天或數(shù)周。

Eventually， the group hopes to build a new breed of robots that can adapt to and protect our environment over months and years， monitoring slow-changing processes like temperature and humidity as well as rapidly occurring events like wildfire outbreaks.

最終，研究團(tuán)隊(duì)希望打造一種新型機(jī)器人，能夠在數(shù)月乃至數(shù)年內(nèi)持續(xù)適應(yīng)并守護(hù)環(huán)境，既可以監(jiān)測(cè)溫度或濕度等的緩慢變化過程，也能應(yīng)對(duì)如野火暴發(fā)等迅速發(fā)生的事件。

“When monitoring city environments， having static devices is not a problem because the environment is controlled，” Li said. “But in areas like coral reefs or forests with dynamic and volatile surroundings， having a robotic plant that can grow and adapt to its environment instead of needing to be replaced and moved by humans will revolutionize how we are able to study and monitor remote regions.”

“在監(jiān)測(cè)城市環(huán)境時(shí)，固定設(shè)備不是問題，因?yàn)榄h(huán)境可控?！崩罡苯淌诮忉尩溃暗谏汉鹘富蛏值葎?dòng)態(tài)、多變的環(huán)境中，不需要人類去更換或移動(dòng)而是可以自己伸縮生長(zhǎng)來適應(yīng)環(huán)境變化的機(jī)器人，將革新我們研究和監(jiān)測(cè)偏遠(yuǎn)地區(qū)的方式。”

（譯者為“《英語(yǔ)世界》杯”翻譯大賽獲獎(jiǎng)?wù)撸?/p>