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  3. Taking a page from science fiction, engineers at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s Ames Research Center at Mof

Taking a page from science fiction, engineers at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s Ames Research Center at Mof

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问题     Taking a page from science fiction, engineers at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s Ames Research Center at Moffett Field, in California, are developing small robot "buddies" that could tag along with astronauts and act as personal assistants.
    Developers envision little round robots about the size of grapefruit that are propelled by tiny fans through the weightlessness of a space station or shuttle. Hovering over the astronauts’ shoulders and responding to voice commands, the devices, equipped with cameras, speaker, microphones and a variety of sensors, could serve as additional sets of eyes, ears and noses for the crew in space and the support staff on the ground, engineers say.
    As an astronaut works on an experiment with both hands in a glove box, for instance, the mechanical assistant could serve as a communications link with a researcher watching from Earth.
    The devices also could patrol the corridors of the space station, checking for gas leaks, smoke and unusual bacterial growth, or remind astronauts about the next tasks on their daily to do lists or of the need to send a birthday message to a loved one at home.
    Yuri Gawdiak, the principal engineer on the project, said the idea of the personal satellite assistant, or PSA, came to him after an experiment between the American space shuttle Atlantis and the Russian Mir space station in 1996.  That mission showed that laptop and palmtop computers could use radio signals to exchange information on a wireless network without interfering with other electronic systems aboard the spacecraft.
    Afterward, astronauts told engineers that they wanted wireless palmtops, or even smaller portable data assistants, that could record and monitor data like the fictional tricorder devices popularized by the television series "Star Trek," Mr. Gawdiak said. "I took it a step further when I noticed that crews on missions left equipment to float around when they got busy," he said. "I thought they would like a device that would always face them when floating, perhaps something stabilized by gyroscopes.
    He said the idea evolved further when he saw astronauts on a shuttle mission demonstrate toys in weightlessness during an educational program.  Small wind-up toys hopped and flew around the cabin with startling speed and ease, he said, spurring ideas of practical mobile devices.
    "Then I saw ’Star Wars’ and there was a scene in the movie when the characters used a remote robot object--a fast moving ball--to practise with their light sabers, "he said. "And that gave me more ideas. "
    The device, as now envisioned, is a ball about five inches ( 12.5 centimeters) in diameter that is studded with sensors for rangefinders, motion detectors and position trackers to keep it from running into things or getting lost. The battery-powered PSA could move in any direction using six tiny enclosed propeller fans and have a flat-screen video panel on one side to display data.
    "This is small enough to be unobtrusive, and big enough to hold the technology that will be available in the next couple of years to do the job," Mr. Gawdiak said.
    It would be impossible for each PSA to carry the computing power and instruments for all the things people suggest these helpers could do, which is where the wireless data network comes into play.
    The robots would operate from a base station that would contain powerful computers for analysing sensor data, running speech-recognition and voice-synthesizer software, relaying communications and tracking the devices.
    The station also would contain docking ports for recharging the PSA’s batteries and a variety of sensors that could be snapped onto the robots, depending on tasks assigned to them.
    Engineers at Ames completed a crucial test of the robots’ components this month by mounting them on a hover plate and guiding them around a test table on a cushion of air. And the team has received financing to develop a prototype.
    "We hope to launch a personal satellite assistant in about two years aboard a space shuttle and in about three years aboard the International Space Station, "Mr. Gawdiak said.
    The space station, a $ 60 billion project involving 17 countries, will eventually house up to seven astronaut-researchers. Developers would like to use at least three PSAs on the station to demonstrate the technology, allowing the devices to work in formation to zero in on environmental problems.
    Summary :
    Grapefruit-sized robots may serve as personal assistants for astronauts. This idea came to Yuri Gawdiak after an experiment between【61】astronauts. Scientists envision that the small robots shall perform tasks that range from patrolling to reminding astronauts to send a birthday message. The robots, or【62】is powered by battery and【63】by tiny fans. Equipped with【64】, it can move with ease and shall not run into things. Since these robots cannot carry all the necessary instruments, wireless data network will enable the robots to operate from a base station. Researchers hope that PSAs shall operate on the【65】in about 3 years’ time and help solve environmental problems.
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答案personal satellite assistants/PSA
解析 (第七段开头给出了这些辅助机器人的另一个名称，即personal satellite assistant，or PSA。)
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本试题收录于： A类竞赛（研究生）题库大学生英语竞赛（NECCS）分类
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