Robotic“tail”to help elderly people stay upright

山东聊城市水城中学 杨 蕊

体裁 篇幅 建议用时说明文330 6分钟

A research team in Japan has worked to develop an artificial, robotic tail that could eventually help elderly people keep their balance,as well as remain upright.

Students and researchers at Keio University have built a device called Arque.About 1 meter in length,it closely follows the movements of an animal's tail,according to a Reuters report.

Junichi Nabeshima is a researcher and graduate student at the school's Embodied Media Project.“The tail keeps balance like a pendulum（钟摆）,”Nabeshima said.“When a human tilts （倾斜）his or her body one way,the tail moves in the opposite direction.”

Japan is one of the leaders in the industrial world when it comes to lifespan.As its population grows older,scientists and researchers seek new ways to keep them alive—and upright.New technology developed by its bright,young minds seems to be the answer.

Here's how it works.The tail uses compressed（压缩）air to move four artificial muscles in eight different directions.The tail is still at the prototype （原型）stage,and researchers are trying to find other ways and methods to make the tail more flexible.

In addition to the benefits that an artificial tail could provide to the elderly—or younger people who may have some mobility issues or problems with their balance—the researchers are also studying ways their device can help the working population.For example,they're looking at ways it can help stabilize warehouse and factory workers who often do heavy lifting and carrying.

A robotic tail would be far from the first mechanical devices developed for the human body.Scientists have created robotic arms and hands that use muscle memory to pick up objects.Mechanical legs have been developed to help people recover after losing a leg. These have become even more complicated over the last 30 years as US service members come back from war zones，suffering the loss of either one or two legs.

阅读检测

1.Why is Junichi Nabeshima mentioned in the text?

A.To comment on the device.

B.To show how the device works.

C.To stress the importance of the device.

D.To introduce the inventor of the device.

2.What is the purpose of the fourth paragraph?

A.To show the significance of the device.

B.To add some background information.

C.To explain Japan's population conditions.

D.To describe some challenges Japan faces.

3.What can we know about the robotic tail?

A.It's merely intended for those old people.

B.It's something heavy to balance its users.

C.It has been used widely by people in life.

D.It works by making use of compressed air.

4.What is the limitation with the device according to its creators?

A.It can't stabilize those overweight people.

B.It sometimes gives its users discomfort.

C.Its muscles can't move flexibly enough.

D.It isn't strong enough to bear heavy things.

语言学习

难句分析

In addition to the benefits that an artificial tail could provide to the elderly—or younger people who may have some mobility issues or problems with their balance—the researchers are also studying ways their device can help the working population.人造尾巴除了能给老年人或有移动困难或平衡困难的年轻人带来好处之外，研究人员还在研究人造尾巴如何帮助工作人群。

该句为主从复合句,句中that 引导定语从句修饰the benefits，who 引导定语从句修饰younger people，ways 后的定语从句省略了引导词that 或in which。

背景知识

助老机器人

行动不便的老年人主要是在行走时需要借助人力或者器械，而助老机器人可以像贴身保镖一样扶着老人行走。有的设地款机器人是穿戴式的，老人可以把机器人“穿”在腿上，机器人启动后即可带动老人的腿部进行运动。

唯一的缺陷是助老机器人需要根据人类的指令完成各种不同的任务，可能需要穿梭于家庭、公共场所等地方，这就要求机器人保持足够的灵活性。在执行任务的过程中，机器人需要正确判断障碍物，迅速避障，而现阶段这方面的技术还有待完善。

另一方面，助老机器人时时刻刻都要和人进行接触，它的安全性就显得非常重要。比如机器人在给老人端茶的时候，机器人就要正确判断它和老人之间的距离，否则距离过近，杯子撞在老人身上就麻烦了。