每日一翻：Cats Teach Robots To Land On Feet

Robots have evolved in leaps and bounds in recent years, but they still cannot safely leap or bound. They have to move carefully. If a robot were to fall from an elevated surface, for the most part it would crash down like a bag of rocks. Not ideal if that robot is on a rescue mission.

近年来，机器人在技术上获得了跳跃式的发展，但是它们自身却仍然不能够安全的跳跃。他们需要小心的移动。如果一个机器人从高处跳下来，在大多数情况下它会碎的像一袋石子。这样的机器人参加救援任务是不理想的。

So a team of Georgia Tech researchers wants to produce robots that are more agile, by making them literally cat-like. Specifically, the plan is to create a robot that can emulate a cat’s uncanny ability to calculate the best landing angle, adjust its body midflight and land on its feet.

所以佐治亚理工学院的一个研究小组希望能照猫画虎制造出一个身手敏捷的机器人。特别地，他们打算创造出一个机器人，它可以模拟猫的令人不可思议的计算能力，能够在空中和落地的时候调整它的身体从而获取最好的着陆角度。

So far the research team has been able to build a robot capable of computing landing angles during test falls. They hope to eventually give the robots joints that can twist or flip their bodies to stick the landing, regardless of the angle.

迄今为止，研究小组已经能够制造出在下落的时候可以计算着陆角度的机器人。他们希望最终给机器人配备可以弯曲或翻转身体的关节从而使他它可以在不管什么角度下都能够稳定的落地,。

To do that, they’ll need better motors and servos. The ones available today are not fast enough to sufficiently adjust a robot’s body in real time.

要想做到这一点，他们将需要更好的马达和伺服系统。现在能够做出来的还不足以让机器人可以实时的调整它的身体。Baby steps. David Belle didn’t develop the cityscape acrobatic activity known as Parkour overnight. And the typical house cat has had tens of thousands of years to perfect the soft landing.

 冰冻三尺非一日之寒。大卫·贝勒不是在做被称为一夜跑酷的城市杂技活动。并且典型的家猫也是经历了成千上万年的进化才能得以实现完美的软着陆。

—Larry Greenemeier