Tiny robots with giant potential | Paul McEuen and Marc Miskin

Translator: Joseph Geni Reviewer: Camille Martínez

譯者: Lilian Chiu 審譯者: 易帆 余

Mark Miskin: This is a rotifer.

馬克米斯金：這是輪蟲。

It's a microorganism about a hair's width in size.

牠是種微生物，大小 約是一根頭髮的寬度。

They live everywhere on earth -- saltwater, freshwater, everywhere --

牠們在地球上無所不在—— 海水、淡水，無所不在——

and this one is out looking for food.

這一隻要出來覓食。

I remember the first time I saw this thing,

記得我初次看到這東西時， 我大概才八歲，我驚呆了。

I was like eight years old and it completely blew me away.

I mean, here is this incredible little creature,

這麼小的一隻生物，

it's hunting, swimming,

牠會打獵、游泳、忙著過生活，

going about its life,

but its whole universe fits within a drop of pond water.

但牠的整個宇宙 不過是池中的一滴水。

Paul McEuen: So this little rotifer shows us something really amazing.

保羅麥克尤恩：這隻小輪蟲 讓我們有了不可思議的見識。

It says that you can build a machine

牠的存在，表示我們可以打造出

that is functional, complex, smart,

實用、複雜、聰明的機器，

but all in a tiny little package,

但體積只有一點點，

one so small that it's impossible to see it.

小到不可能看見的程度。

Now, the engineer in me is just blown away by this thing,

牠讓我體內的那個 工程師魂燃燒了起來，

that anyone could make such a creature.

任何人都能創造這種生物。

But right behind that wonder, I have to admit, is a bit of envy.

但，我必須要承認， 在那驚歎的背後也藏著點羨慕。

I mean, nature can do it. Why can't we?

大自然能做到，我們為什麼不能？

Why can't we build tiny robots?

我們為什麼不能 打造出微小的機器人？

Well, I'm not the only one to have this idea.

並不只有我一個人這麼想。

In fact, in the last, oh, few years,

事實上，在這幾年間，

researchers around the world have taken up the task

全世界各地的研究者開始著手

of trying to build robots

試圖打造小到

that are so small that they can't be seen.

肉眼看不見的機器人。

And what we're going to tell you about today

今天我們要跟大家分享

is an effort at Cornell University

康乃爾大學以及現在賓州大學 所做的相關努力。

and now at the University of Pennsylvania

to try to build tiny robots.

試圖打造出微小的機器人。

OK, so that's the goal.

好，所以，那是目標。

But how do we do it?

但我們要怎麼做？

How do we go about building tiny robots?

我們要怎麼建造出微小的機器人？

Well, Pablo Picasso, of all people, gives us our first clue.

嗯，這麼多人當中，給我們 第一條線索的人是畢卡索。

Picasso said --

畢卡索說——

["Good artists copy, great artists steal."]

〔「好的藝術家抄襲， 偉大的藝術家用偷的。」〕

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

"Good artists copy. Great artists steal."

「好的藝術家抄襲， 偉大的藝術家用偷的。」

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

OK. But steal from what?

好。但從哪裡偷？

Well, believe it or not,

嗯，信不信由你，

most of the technology you need to build a tiny robot already exists.

打造微小機器人所需要的 大部分技術都已經存在。

The semiconductor industry has been getting better and better

半導體產業越來越擅長

at making tinier and tinier devices,

做出越來越小的裝置，

so at this point they could put something like a million transistors

現在他們已經可以把 大約一百萬個電晶體放入到

into the size of a package that is occupied by, say,

一隻單細胞草履蟲大小的空間中。

a single-celled paramecium.

And it's not just electronics.

且不只是電子元件。

They can also build little sensors,

他們也可以打造小型 感測器、發光二極管，

LEDs,

whole communication packages that are too small to be seen.

一大堆小到無法看見的封裝。

So that's what we're going to do.

那就是我們打算要做的。 我們要偷用那技術。

We're going to steal that technology.

Here's a robot.

這是一個機器人。

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

Robot's got two parts, as it turns out.

結果發現，機器人有兩個部分。

It's got a head, and it's got legs.

它有頭，它有腳。

[Steal these: Brains]

〔偷這些：大腦〕

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

We're going to call this a legless robot,

我們把它稱為無腳機器人，

which may sound exotic,

聽起來可能很奇特，

but they're pretty cool all by themselves.

但它們自己本身還蠻酷的。

In fact, most of you have a legless robot with you right now.

事實上，大部分人現在 身上就有無腳機器人。

Your smartphone is the world's most successful legless robot.

你們的智慧手機是世界上 最成功的無腳機器人。

In just 15 years, it has taken over the entire planet.

只花了十五年就接管了地球。

And why not?

為什麼不？

It's such a beautiful little machine.

智慧手機是如此美麗的小機器。

It's incredibly intelligent,

它非常有智慧，

it's got great communication skills,

它有很棒的溝通技巧，

and it's all in a package that you can hold in your hand.

它的尺寸是你可以 用手拿著的大小。

So we would like to be able to build something like this,

我們想要打造像這樣的東西，

only down at the cellular scale,

但要縮小到細胞的尺寸，

the size of a paramecium.

縮到草履蟲一樣的大小。

And here it is.

在這裡。

This is our cell-sized smartphone.

這是我們的細胞尺寸智慧手機。

It even kind of looks like a smartphone,

它連外型都很像智慧手機，

only it's about 10,000 times smaller.

只是小了大約一萬倍。

We call it an OWIC.

我們把它稱為 OWIC。

[Optical Wireless Integrated Circuits]

〔光學無線積體電路〕

OK, we're not advertisers, all right?

我們不擅長廣告，好嗎？

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

But it's pretty cool all by itself.

但它本身真的挺酷的。

In fact, this OWIC has a number of parts.

事實上，這 OWIC 有好幾個部分。

So up near the top,

接近頂端的地方，

there are these cool little solar cells that you shine light on the device

有很酷的小型太陽能板， 當你用光照亮這個裝置，

and it wakes up a little circuit that's there in the middle.

它會喚醒在中間的小型電路。

那電路可以驅動小小的 LED 燈，

And that circuit can drive a little tiny LED

that can blink at you and allows the OWIC to communicate with you.

它會對你閃爍， 讓 OWIC 與你溝通。

So unlike your cell phone,

不像你的手機，

the OWIC communicates with light,

OWIC 是用光來溝通的，

sort of like a tiny firefly.

有點像小型螢火蟲。

Now, one thing that's pretty cool about these OWICs

這些 OWIC 有一點很酷，

is we don't make them one at a time,

那就是，我們不是一次製造一個，

soldering all the pieces together.

把所有的元件悍接起來。

We make them in massive parallel.

我們是大量平行製造。

For example, about a million of these OWICs

比如，一個四英吋的晶圓可以

can fit on a single four-inch wafer.

放得下約一百萬個這種 OWIC。

And just like your phone has different apps,

就像你的手機有不同的應用程式，

you can have different kinds of OWICs.

我們也有不同的 OWIC。

There can be ones that, say, measure voltage,

比如，有的可以用來 測量電壓或溫度，

some that measure temperature,

or just have a little light that can blink at you to tell you that it's there.

或者只是一個小光點閃爍， 讓你知道它在那裡。

So that's pretty cool, these tiny little devices.

這些小型裝置真的挺酷的。

And I'd like to tell you about them in a little more detail.

我想要再和大家分享一些細節。

But first, I have to tell you about something else.

但首先，我得要先叉開一下話題。

I'm going to tell you a few things about pennies that you might not know.

我要跟各位說幾件 關於一分硬幣的軼事。

So this one is a little bit older penny.

這個一分硬幣比較古老一點。

It's got a picture of the Lincoln Memorial on the back.

背面是林肯紀念堂的圖案。

But the first thing you might not know,

但，各位可能不知道的第一件事，

that if you zoom in, you'll find in the center of this thing

就是如果把它放大， 在這個圖案的中間，

you can actually see Abraham Lincoln,

可以真的看到亞伯拉罕林肯，

just like in the real Lincoln Memorial not so far from here.

就像真的林肯紀念堂一樣， 它離這裡不遠。

What I'm sure you don't know,

我很確定各位不會知道，

that if you zoom in even further --

如果再進一步放大——

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

you'll see that there's actually an OWIC on Abe Lincoln's chest.

各位可以看見在林肯的 胸口有一個 OWIC。

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

But the cool thing is,

但，很酷的是，

you could stare at this all day long and you would never see it.

就算你盯著它看一整天， 你也始終看不到它。

It's invisible to the naked eye.

它是肉眼看不見的。

These OWICs are so small,

這些 OWIC 很小，

and we make them in such parallel fashion,

我們用這種平行製造的方式，

that each OWIC costs actually less than a penny.

讓每個 OWIC 成本不到一分錢。

In fact, the most expensive thing in this demo is that little sticker

事實上，在這場展示中 最昂貴的東西，

是寫著「OWIC」的那張小貼紙。

that says "OWIC."

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

That cost about eight cents.

它的成本大約八分錢。

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

Now, we're very excited about these things for all sorts of reasons.

我們非常興奮的原因很多。

For example, we can use them as little tiny secure smart tags,

比如，我們可以拿它們來做 小型的安全智慧標籤，

more identifying than a fingerprint.

識別度比指紋更好。

We're actually putting them inside of other medical instruments

我們真的有把它們放在 其它的醫療器材上面，

to give other information,

用來提供其它資訊，

and even starting to think about putting them in the brain

甚至想過有一天

要把它們放到大腦中聆聽神經元。

to listen to neurons one at a time.

In fact, there's only one thing wrong with these OWICs:

事實上，這些 OWIC 只有一個問題：

it's not a robot.

它不是機器人。

It's just a head.

它只是一顆頭。

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

And I think we'll all agree

我想，大家都同意，

that half a robot really isn't a robot at all.

半個機器人不算是機器人。

Without the legs, we've got basically nothing.

基本上，沒有腳就什麼都不是。

MM: OK, so you need the legs, too, if you want to build a robot.

馬：好，所以，若要打造 機器人，就需要腳。

Now, here it turns out you can't just steal

結果發現，這部分無法

some preexisting technology.

直接去偷既有的技術。

If you want legs for your tiny robot, you need actuators, parts that move.

如果想要讓小機器人有腳， 就需要促動器，會動的部件。

They have to satisfy a lot of different requirements.

它們必須要滿足許多條件。

They need to be low voltage.

比如，它們必須要是低電壓的。

They need to be low power, too.

也必須使用低電力。

But most importantly, they have to be small.

但，最重要的是，必須要夠小。

If you want to build a cell-sized robot, you need cell-sized legs.

若想要打造細胞大小的機器人， 就需要細胞大小的腳。

Now, nobody knows how to build that.

沒有人知道如何打造那種腳。

There was no preexisting technology that meets all of those demands.

沒有任何既有技術 能滿足上述條件。

To make our legs for our tiny robots,

若要幫我們的小機器人打造腳，

we had to make something new.

我們就需要新技術。

So here's what we built.

這是我們打造出來的。

This is one of our actuators, and I'm applying a voltage to it.

這是我們的促動器， 我在供給電壓給它。

When I do, you can see the actuator respond by curling up.

各位可以看到，有電壓時， 促動器的反應就是捲起來。

Now, this might not look like much,

這看起來可能沒什麼，但，

but if we were to put a red blood cell up on the screen, it'd be about that big,

如果把紅血球細胞放到螢幕上， 它的大小大約是這樣，

所以這些是非常小的捲曲。

so these are unbelievably tiny curls.

They're unbelievably small,

它們小到不可思議，

and yet this device can just bend and unbend, no problem, nothing breaks.

但，這個裝置可以彎曲、打直， 完全沒問題，不會斷掉。

So how do we do it?

我們怎麼做到的？

Well, the actuator is made from a layer of platinum

促動器是用只有十多個原子 厚度的一層鉑製造而成。

just a dozen atoms or so thick.

Now it turns out, if you take platinum and put it in water

我們發現，如果把鉑放到水中，

供應電壓，

and apply a voltage to it,

atoms from the water will attach or remove themselves

水中的原子就會吸附到 鉑的表面上或是脫離，

from the surface of the platinum,

依電壓高低而異。

depending on how much voltage you use.

就會產生一股力，

This creates a force,

and you can use that force for voltage-controlled actuation.

可以用來做一些 由電壓控制的活動。

The key here was to make everything ultrathin.

這裡的關鍵在於：一切都要超薄。

Then your actuator is flexible enough

接著，促動器要有足夠彈性，

to bend to these small sizes without breaking,

能做這麼微小的彎曲還不會斷裂。

and it can use the forces that come about

它可以使用附著或移除

from just attaching or removing a single layer of atoms.

一層原子所產生出來的力。

同樣的，這些促動器 也不用一次製造一個。

Now, we don't have to build these one at a time, either.

In fact, just like the OWICs,

事實上，跟 OWIC 一樣， 可以大量平行製造。

we can build them massively in parallel as well.

So here's a couple thousand or so actuators,

這裡是幾千個促動器，

and all I'm doing is applying a voltage,

我只要供應電壓，

and they all wave,

它們就會波動，

looking like nothing more than the legs of a future robot army.

看起來就像是未來 機器人大軍的腳。

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

So now we've got the brains and we've got the brawn.

現在，有大腦也有肢體了。

We've got the smarts and the actuators.

有智慧也有促動器。

The OWICs are the brains.

OWIC 是大腦。

They give us sensors, they give us power supplies,

它們能提供我們的 包括感測器、電源供應器，

and they give us a two-way communication system via light.

還能透過光來跟我們做雙向溝通。

The platinum layers are the muscle.

鉑層等於是肌肉。

They're what's going to move the robot around.

靠它們可以讓機器人四處移動。

Now we can take those two pieces, put them together

我們可以把這兩部分拼起來，

and start to build our tiny, tiny robots.

開始打造小小機器人了。

The first thing we wanted to build was something really simple.

我們想先從簡單的開始打造起。

這個機器人能透過 使用者控制四處行走。

This robot walks around under user control.

In the middle are some solar cells and some wiring attached to it.

中間是太陽能電池 和連接在上面的電線。

That's the OWIC.

那是 OWIC。

They're connected to a set of legs which have a platinum layer

它們和一組腳相連結， 腳上有一層鉑，

and these rigid panels that we put on top

上面這些堅固的板子

that tell the legs how to fold up, which shape they should take.

會告訴腳要如何翻折， 要形成什麼樣的形狀。

The idea is that by shooting a laser at the different solar cells,

想法是，用雷射射在 不同的太陽能板上，

就可以選擇要移動哪隻腳， 讓機器人能四處行走。

you can choose which leg you want to move

and make the robot walk around.

Now, of course, we don't build those one at a time, either.

當然，我們也不是一次製造一個。 同樣可以大量平行製造。

We build them massively in parallel as well.

We can build something like one million robots on a single four-inch wafer.

我們可以在一個四英吋的 晶圓上放一百萬個機器人。

比如，左邊的這張圖是晶片，

So, for example, this image on the left, this is a chip,

and this chip has something like 10,000 robots on it.

這個晶片上就有 大約一萬個機器人。

Now, in our world, the macro world,

在我們的巨觀世界，

這東西看起來會像是個 新型的微處理器之類的。

this thing looks like it might be a new microprocessor or something.

But if you take that chip and you put it under a microscope,

但，如果你把這個晶片 放到顯微鏡下，

what you're going to see are thousands and thousands of tiny robots.

你會看見數以千計的微小機器人。

Now, these robots are still stuck down.

這些機器人還黏在上面。

They're still attached to the surface that we built them on.

仍然維持我們剛打造好時的狀態，

若要讓它們能四處行走， 必須要釋放它們。

In order for them to walk around, we have to release them.

我們想要現場展示怎麼做， 怎麼釋放機器人大軍，

We wanted to show you how we do that live, how we release the robot army,

但這個過程會用到 高度危險的化學物質，

but the process involves highly dangerous chemicals,

like, really nasty stuff,

真的很難搞的東西，

and we're like a mile from the White House right now?

且我們現在離白宮只有一英里吧？

Yeah. They wouldn't let us do it.

是的。他們不會讓我們現場示範。

So --

所以——

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

so we're going to show you a movie instead. (Laughs)

所以我們只能改成 播放一段影片。（笑）

What you're looking at here are the final stages of robot deployment.

各位看到的是機器人 部署的最後一個階段。

We're using chemicals

我們要用化學物質將機器人 底下的基質腐蝕掉。

to etch the substrate out from underneath the robots.

When it dissolves, the robots are free to fold up into their final shapes.

基質融解後，機器人就可以自由地 翻摺成最終的形狀。

Now, you can see here, the yield's about 90 percent,

各位可以看見，良率大約是 90%，

所以我們打造的一萬個機器人，

so almost every one of those 10,000 robots we build,

that's a robot that we can deploy and control later.

幾乎全可被部署和控制。

And we can take those robots and we can put them places as well.

我們可以把那些機器人 放到不同的地方。

So if you look at the movie on the left, that's some robots in water.

在左邊影片中的 那些機器人是在水中。

我要拿一支移液管過去，

I'm going to come along with a pipette,

我可以把它們都吸上來。

and I can vacuum them all up.

Now when you inject the robots back out of that pipette,

把機器人從移液管再注入 其它地方時，它們都很好。

they're just fine.

事實上，這些機器人小到

In fact, these robots are so small,

they're small enough to pass through the thinnest hypodermic needle

可以通過你所能買到 最細的皮下注射針。

you can buy.

Yeah, so if you wanted to,

是的，如果你想要，

you could inject yourself full of robots.

你可以在你自己全身注滿機器人。

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

I think they're into it.

我想他們有興趣。

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

On the right is a robot that we put in some pond water.

右邊畫面中的機器人是在池水中。

I want you to wait for just one second.

請大家等一下子。

Ooop!

喔！

You see that? That was no shark. That was a paramecium.

你們看到了嗎？那不是 鯊魚，那是草履蟲。

So that's the world that these things live in.

那就是它們生活的世界。

OK, so this is all well and good,

好，所以這些都很好， 但此時你可能會納悶：

but you might be wondering at this point,

"Well, do they walk?"

「它們會走路嗎？」

Right? That's what they're supposed to do. They better. So let's find out.

對吧？它們應該要會走路。 它們最好要會。咱們來瞧瞧。

So here's the robot and here are its solar cells in the middle.

這是一個機器人， 它的太陽能板在中間。

Those are those little rectangles.

就是那些長方形。

請大家看投影片最上方的 那個太陽能板。

I want you to look at the solar cell closest to the top of the slide.

See that little white dot? That's a laser spot.

有看到白點嗎？ 是雷射打上去的點。

Now watch what happens when we start switching that laser

我們開始把雷射移到 不同的太陽能板上，

between different solar cells on the robot.

注意看會發生什麼事。

Off it goes!

它走了！

(Applause)

（掌聲）

Yeah!

好啊！

(Applause)

（掌聲）

Off goes the robot marching around the microworld.

機器人開始在微觀世界中行進了。

Now, one of the things that's cool about this movie is:

關於這支影片，很酷的一點就是

在影片中是我在駕駛機器人。

I'm actually piloting the robot in this movie.

In fact, for six months, my job was to shoot lasers at tiny cell-sized robots

事實上，六個月來，我的工作就是

把雷射打在細胞大小的機器人上，

to pilot them around the microworld.

駕駛它們在微觀世界中跑來跑去。

This was actually my job.

那就是我的工作。

As far as I could tell, that is the coolest job in the world.

就我所知，這是 世界上最酷的工作。

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

It was just the feeling of total excitement,

那種感覺就是純粹的興奮，

like you're doing the impossible.

好像你在做不可能的事。

It's a feeling of wonder like that first time I looked through a microscope

這種驚奇感，就彷彿我小時候

透過顯微鏡初次看到輪蟲一樣。

as a kid staring at that rotifer.

Now, I'm a dad, I have a son of my own, and he's about three years old.

現在我當爸爸了， 有自己的兒子，他現在三歲。

But one day, he's going to look through a microscope like that one.

但，有一天，他也會去 看像那樣的顯微鏡。

And I often wonder:

我總是納悶：

What is he going to see?

他會看到什麼？

Instead of just watching the microworld,

現在，人類不只能觀看微觀世界，

we as humans can now build technology to shape it,

還可以打造新技術 來形塑微觀世界、

to interact with it, to engineer it.

與它互動、設計建造它。

In 30 years, when my son is my age, what will we do with that ability?

三十年後，我兒子到我這個年齡，

我們會怎麼運用那能力？

Will microrobots live in our bloodstream,

會不會微型機器人就像細菌一樣

as common as bacteria?

生存在我們的血液中？

Will they live on our crops and get rid of pests?

它們會不會住在農作物中 負責除去害蟲？

Will they tell us when we have infections, or will they fight cancer cell by cell?

它們會不會告訴我們 身體受到感染，

或是一個細胞 一個細胞單位的抗癌？

PM: And one cool part is,

保：很酷的一點是，

you're going to be able to participate in this revolution.

各位將能夠參與這場革命。

再過十年左右，

Ten years or so from now,

when you buy your new iPhone 15x Moto or whatever it's called --

當你買了新的 iPhone 15x Moto 或不論它叫什麼名字——

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

it may come with a little jar with a few thousand tiny robots in it

可能會附上一個小罐子， 裡面有幾千個小機器人，

that you can control by an app on your cell phone.

你可以用手機上的 應用程式來控制它們。

So if you want to ride a paramecium, go for it.

如果你想要騎草履蟲，就去騎吧。

If you want to -- I don't know -- DJ the world's smallest robot dance party,

如果你想要——我不知道—— 在世界上最小的舞會中當 DJ，

make it happen.

就去實現它吧。

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

And I, for one, am very excited about that day coming.

我個人非常興奮，期待那天到來。

MM: Thank you.

馬：謝謝。

(Applause)

（掌聲）