[00:00.10]From VOA Learning English,
[00:02.50]this is the Technology Report.
[00:06.53]Researches at Johns Hopkins University's
[00:09.76]Applied Physics Laboratory [APL] in Laurel, Maryland
[00:13.59]have designed a new humanoid or human-like robot.
[00:17.87]Its name is Robo Sally.
[00:20.61]The machine can be controlled from a distance
[00:23.75]and can be used to do work
[00:25.94]that is dangerous for human beings.
[00:29.18]Robo Sally has two long arms with human-like hands.
[00:34.16]She can use her fingers to pick up small objects,
[00:38.93]examine them in detail
[00:41.52]and do most things that human hands can do.
[00:45.70]Each finger contains a tiny motor, capable of
[00:51.68]squeezing 20 pounds of pinch force
[00:55.23]enough to defuse a bomb under the direction of an operator.
[01:01.11]She sits on a metal base with wheels
[01:04.24]that let her move around,
[01:06.49]turn in tight spaces and climb over small objects.
[01:12.27]Mike McLoughlin is the main investigator
[01:16.40]for the Applied Physics Laboratory's Prosthetics Program.
[01:21.28]"The purpose of that program is to develop prosthetic arms
[01:25.02]that have all the capability of your natural arms,
[01:27.55]and you do all the complex motions
[01:30.09]that we can do with the natural arm - with the robot.
[01:33.32]So we had this idea if we did this for prosthetics for humans,
[01:37.41]we could also put these on robotic platforms
[01:40.05]and enable the robots to go out into dangerous situations."
[01:44.63]It was a difficult job.
[01:47.27]Mr McLoughlin says the device had to have many small motors
[01:53.60]to have the ability to do what a human hand does.
[01:58.38]It also need to have human-like strength.
[02:03.01]The thumb was especially difficult
[02:06.14]because it permits the hand to hold objects.
[02:10.67]And everything had to fit into a space
[02:14.80]about the size of a human hand.
[02:18.49]The next problem, he says,
[02:21.23]was to figure out how to control the artificial hand.
[02:26.75]"So we had to figure out how to make the connection
[02:29.55]between the brain and this arm.
[02:31.54]We've done that for spinal injury patients,
[02:35.26]where we can actually interface with the brain
[02:37.92]and use the patient's thoughts to control the arm."
[02:40.51]For search-and-rescue duties,
[02:43.09]Robo Sally will be operated by a human being
[02:47.53]using a wireless machine that is far from the robot.
[02:53.25]The operator will also wear special gloves and glasses.
[02:58.79]The glasses were permitted the operator
[03:01.67]to see the robot's hands, even though they are far away.
[03:07.25]Mr McLoughlin says this kind of robots could be used
[03:12.72]in what he calls "dull, dirty or dangerous" situations
[03:18.21]where fine human finger movements are required.
[03:22.29]"Opening a door, or turning the valve of, you know,
[03:25.82]a factory or a power plant like Fukushima,
[03:28.38]that was all designed for humans.
[03:29.99]You need to be able to go in
[03:32.48]and have the human-like capabilities
[03:34.57]in order to be able to work in that environment."
[03:37.85]Mr McLoughlin says the technology
[03:40.30]is not ready for everyday application,
[03:43.98]but he predicts that within five years
[03:47.57]we will see some wonderful improvements.
[03:51.70]And that's the Technology Report from VOA Learning English.