Sarah Bergbreiter: Why I make robots the size of a grain of rice

翻译人员: Yumeng Guo 校对人员: Peipei Xiang

My students and I work on very tiny robots.

我和我的学生研究非常小的机器人。

Now, you can think of these as robotic versions

你可以把它想象成

某种我们很熟悉的东西：蚂蚁， 它的机器人版本。

of something that you're all very familiar with: an ant.

We all know that ants and other insects at this size scale

我们都知道，蚂蚁和其他类似大小的昆虫

can do some pretty incredible things.

能做一些非常不可思议的事情。

We've all seen a group of ants, or some version of that,

比如，一群蚂蚁，或一群其他昆虫，

carting off your potato chip at a picnic, for example.

会在你聚餐时扛起薯片扬长而去， 我们对此都不会陌生。

But what are the real challenges of engineering these ants?

但是，开发这种蚂蚁大小的机器人 真正的困难是什么呢？

Well, first of all, how do we get the capabilities of an ant

首先，如何让这么小的机器人

in a robot at the same size scale?

具有蚂蚁般的功能呢？

Well, first we need to figure out how to make them move

首先，我们需要研究如何

让这么小的机器人动起来。

when they're so small.

We need mechanisms like legs and efficient motors

我们需要腿一般的结构， 配以高效的马达，

in order to support that locomotion,

让机器人动起来，

and we need the sensors, power and control

而且，我们需要感应器、动力源和控制系统，

in order to pull everything together in a semi-intelligent ant robot.

这一切都要在蚂蚁大小的 半智能机器人内部整合起来。

And finally, to make these things really functional,

最后，让这一切真正发挥作用，

we want a lot of them working together in order to do bigger things.

我们希望大量的机器人协作， 来完成一些更重要的任务。

So I'll start with mobility.

我们先来谈移动吧。

Insects move around amazingly well.

昆虫的移动能力惊人得高。

This video is from UC Berkeley.

这段视频来自加州大学伯克利分校，

It shows a cockroach moving over incredibly rough terrain

视频中，一个蟑螂在障碍中穿梭，

without tipping over,

丝毫不受阻碍，

and it's able to do this because its legs are a combination of rigid materials,

这么强的移动能力得益于它们的腿部结构，

其腿部既有我们通常用来 制造机器人的坚硬的材料，

which is what we traditionally use to make robots,

and soft materials.

也有柔软的材料。

Jumping is another really interesting way to get around when you're very small.

对于昆虫这么小的躯体， 跳跃是另一个有趣的移动方式。

So these insects store energy in a spring and release that really quickly

比如，这些昆虫存储在 弹簧般的腿中的能量在跳跃的瞬间

会被急速释放出来， 使它们得以从水中跳出来。

to get the high power they need to jump out of water, for example.

So one of the big contributions from my lab

我们实验室的一大贡献是结合

has been to combine rigid and soft materials

硬质材料和软质材料，

in very, very small mechanisms.

制成非常小的结构部件。

So this jumping mechanism is about four millimeters on a side,

这个跳跃部件每边只有大约4毫米，

so really tiny.

确实很小。

The hard material here is silicon, and the soft material is silicone rubber.

我们选用的硬质材料是硅， 软质材料是硅橡胶。

And the basic idea is that we're going to compress this,

基本的设计思路是先将其压缩，

store energy in the springs, and then release it to jump.

将能量存储于弹簧中， 释放出来实现跳跃功能。

So there's no motors on board this right now, no power.

至此，机器人身上还没有马达 也没有动力源。

This is actuated with a method that we call in my lab

我们实验室称此 驱动机器人移动的方法为

"graduate student with tweezers." (Laughter)

「手持镊子的研究生」。 （笑声）

So what you'll see in the next video

下一段视频中，你们将看到

is this guy doing amazingly well for its jumps.

这个同学是多么擅长操控其跳跃。

So this is Aaron, the graduate student in question, with the tweezers,

这是Aaron，刚才提到的那位研究生同学， 他手持镊子，

and what you see is this four-millimeter-sized mechanism

你们看到的是一个4毫米大小的机器人

jumping almost 40 centimeters high.

跳到40厘米那么高，

That's almost 100 times its own length.

这个高度几乎是其自身高度的100倍，

And it survives, bounces on the table,

掉下来，继续在桌子上跳跃，

it's incredibly robust, and of course survives quite well until we lose it

异常「强健」，跳个不停， 直到消失在我们视野之外，

because it's very tiny.

因为它太小了。

Ultimately, though, we want to add motors to this too,

然而，最后我们还是想给它加上马达，

and we have students in the lab working on millimeter-sized motors

我们实验室研究微型马达同学

to eventually integrate onto small, autonomous robots.

最终把毫米级别的马达 嵌入这个微小的机器人中。

But in order to look at mobility and locomotion at this size scale to start,

但为了观察这个尺寸下的移动和运动能力，

we're cheating and using magnets.

我们“作弊”使用了磁铁。

So this shows what would eventually be part of a micro-robot leg,

这段视频展示的就是 最终要成为机器人的腿的部件，

and you can see the silicone rubber joints

你们可以看到，硅橡胶的接合点那儿

and there's an embedded magnet that's being moved around

嵌入了一块磁铁，外部的磁场驱动

by an external magnetic field.

这个部件移动。

So this leads to the robot that I showed you earlier.

顺着这个思路和方法， 我们就制成了之前为你们展示的机器人。

The really interesting thing that this robot can help us figure out

这个小机器人让我们明白的最有趣的事情是

is how insects move at this scale.

这么大小的昆虫的移动方式。

We have a really good model for how everything

小至蟑螂，大至大象， 我们都有非常好的模型来解释其移动方式。

from a cockroach up to an elephant moves.

We all move in this kind of bouncy way when we run.

我们都是以这种弹跃的方式来跑动。

But when I'm really small, the forces between my feet and the ground

但当我非常小时， 我的脚和地面之间的力对我移动的影响

are going to affect my locomotion a lot more than my mass,

要远大于我的重量对我移动的影响，

which is what causes that bouncy motion.

而这正是弹跃式移动的原因。

So this guy doesn't work quite yet,

毫米级别的机器人的移动能力还不完善，

but we do have slightly larger versions that do run around.

但我们也有稍微大一点的 能够四处跑动的机器人，

So this is about a centimeter cubed, a centimeter on a side, so very tiny,

这个东西的体积大约是1立方厘米， 每边长度1厘米，依然很小，

and we've gotten this to run about 10 body lengths per second,

我们能让它每秒钟移动10倍其自身长度，

so 10 centimeters per second.

也就是每秒钟10厘米，

It's pretty quick for a little, small guy,

这对于这么小的家伙来说是很快了，

and that's really only limited by our test setup.

而这还受我们的实验设施所限，

But this gives you some idea of how it works right now.

但你现在大概了解它的机制了。

We can also make 3D-printed versions of this that can climb over obstacles,

我们也可以利用3D打印技术 打印出这种能躲避障碍的机器人，

a lot like the cockroach that you saw earlier.

很像你们之前看到的蟑螂。

But ultimately we want to add everything onboard the robot.

我们的最终目标是把一切都嵌入机器人内，

We want sensing, power, control, actuation all together,

我们想把感应器、动力源、 控制系统和触发机构融合在一起，

and not everything needs to be bio-inspired.

另外，并不是所有部件都需要是仿生的。

So this robot's about the size of a Tic Tac.

这个机器人的体积如一颗 嘀嗒糖（很小的薄荷糖），

And in this case, instead of magnets or muscles to move this around,

我们没有用磁铁或肌肉来实现其运动，

we use rockets.

而是利用动力引擎。

So this is a micro-fabricated energetic material,

这是一个微型动力驱动装置，

and we can create tiny pixels of this,

我们能为其制作出小的像素点，

and we can put one of these pixels on the belly of this robot,

并安置在机器人的腹部。

and this robot, then, is going to jump when it senses an increase in light.

感知到光线强度增加后， 这个机器人会跳跃。

So the next video is one of my favorites.

下一段视频是我的最爱。

So you have this 300-milligram robot

300毫克的机器人

jumping about eight centimeters in the air.

跳到8厘米那么高，

It's only four by four by seven millimeters in size.

其三边的尺寸分别 只有4毫米、4毫米、7毫米。

And you'll see a big flash at the beginning

在最开始触发其运动时， 你会看到一束光闪过，

when the energetic is set off,

and the robot tumbling through the air.

这个机器人在空中腾越。

So there was that big flash,

这就是那束强光，

and you can see the robot jumping up through the air.

你能看到那个小机器人在空中跳跃。

So there's no tethers on this, no wires connecting to this.

机器人身上并没栓什么， 也没有电线连着它。

Everything is onboard, and it jumped in response

一个同学只是打开了机器人旁边的台灯， 它就会随之跳动。

to the student just flicking on a desk lamp next to it.

So I think you can imagine all the cool things that we could do

我想，你能想象到这么大小的 能跑能爬能跳能滚的

with robots that can run and crawl and jump and roll at this size scale.

机器人所能做的很酷的事情吧。

Imagine the rubble that you get after a natural disaster like an earthquake.

想象一下地震等自然灾害过后，断壁残垣，

Imagine these small robots running through that rubble

这些小机器人穿梭在废墟中

to look for survivors.

寻找生还者的画面。

Or imagine a lot of small robots running around a bridge

或者想象一下， 一群小机器人在桥梁上奔跑，

in order to inspect it and make sure it's safe

检查桥梁的稳定性，确保其安全，

so you don't get collapses like this,

不会发生类似

which happened outside of Minneapolis in 2007.

2007年明尼阿波里斯市外的断桥惨剧。

Or just imagine what you could do

或者，想象一下当小机器人能在你的血液中游动， 你能用它来做什么吧，

if you had robots that could swim through your blood.

Right? "Fantastic Voyage," Isaac Asimov.

「神奇旅程」，艾萨克•阿西莫夫说。

Or they could operate without having to cut you open in the first place.

也许医生不需要开刀就能给您做手术。

Or we could radically change the way we build things

另外，如果我们能让机器人实现白蚁的能力，

if we have our tiny robots work the same way that termites do,

我们可以从根本上改变筑房的方式。

and they build these incredible eight-meter-high mounds,

图片中的八米高度土堆就是白蚁筑成的， 真不可思议，

effectively well ventilated apartment buildings for other termites

对于非洲和澳大利亚的白蚁来说，

in Africa and Australia.

这是透气性极好的住所。

So I think I've given you some of the possibilities

我想，我已经给你们列举了

of what we can do with these small robots.

很多小机器人的应用前景，

And we've made some advances so far, but there's still a long way to go,

目前我们已经取得了一些进展， 但仍然有很长的路要走，

and hopefully some of you can contribute to that destination.

希望你们可以为实现这个目标而做出贡献。

Thanks very much.

非常感谢。

(Applause)

（掌声）