A robot that eats pollution | Jonathan Rossiter

譯者: Regina Chu 審譯者: Melody Tang

Hi, I'm an engineer

嗨，我是工程師，

and I make robots.

我製造機器人。

Now, of course you all know what a robot is, right?

當然你們都知道機器人，對吧？

If you don't, you'd probably go to Google,

如果你不知道， 你大概會用谷歌 (Google)，

and you'd ask Google what a robot is.

查一下什麼是機器人。

So let's do that.

我們也來試一下。

We'll go to Google and this is what we get.

我們用谷歌得到這些。

Now, you can see here there are lots of different types of robots,

你可以看到這裡 有很多種不同的機器人，

but they're predominantly humanoid in structure.

但是它們很明顯在結構上都很像人。

And they look pretty conventional

而且它們有傳統的外型，

because they've got plastic, they've got metal,

因為它們有塑膠、金屬，

they've got motors and gears and so on.

還有馬達、傳動裝置等等。

Some of them look quite friendly,

有些看起來很友善，

and you could go up and you could hug them.

你可以過去抱一下。

Some of them not so friendly,

有一些就不那麼友善，

they look like they're straight out of "Terminator,"

它們看起來好像從 《魔鬼終結者》裡直接走出來，

事實上它們的確很可能是從 《魔鬼終結者》裡出來的。

in fact they may well be straight out of "Terminator."

You can do lots of really cool things with these robots --

你可以用這些機器人 做很多很酷的事，

you can do really exciting stuff.

很令人興奮的事。

But I'd like to look at different kinds of robots --

但是我想研究不同種類的機器人。

I want to make different kinds of robots.

我想製造不同種的機器人。

And I take inspiration from the things that don't look like us,

我的靈感來自跟我們不太像的東西，

but look like these.

反而像這樣的東西。

So these are natural biological organisms

這些都是天然的生物體，

and they do some really cool things that we can't,

它們會做很酷的事，我們做不到的，

and current robots can't either.

而且目前的機器人也做不到。

They do all sorts of great things like moving around on the floor;

它們會做各種很厲害的事， 像在地板上移動；

它們會去花園，吃我們的作物；

they go into our gardens and they eat our crops;

they climb trees;

它們會爬樹；

they go in water, they come out of water;

它們會入水出水；

they trap insects and digest them.

它們捕捉並消化昆蟲。

So they do really interesting things.

它們會做很有意思的事情。

They live, they breathe, they die,

它們生存、呼吸、死亡，

they eat things from the environment.

它們會吃環境裡的東西。

Our current robots don't really do that.

我們現有的機器人不會做這件事。

Now, wouldn't it be great

那麼，這不是很棒嗎？

if you could use some of those characteristics in future robots

如果你可以在未來的機器人上 應用這些特點，

so that you could solve some really interesting problems?

不就可以解決某些非常 有意思的難題？

I'm going to look at a couple of problems now in the environment

我要讓大家看目前 在環境中的幾個難題。

where we can use the skills and the technologies

我們可以運用

從這些動植物得到的技巧及科技，

derived from these animals

and from the plants,

and we can use them to solve those problems.

我們可以用來解決這些問題。

Let's have a look at two environmental problems.

我們來看兩個環境問題。

They're both of our making --

兩者都是人搞出來的──

this is man interacting with the environment

這是人跟環境互動

and doing some rather unpleasant things.

所做出的一些很討厭的事。

The first one is to do with the pressure of population.

第一個問題跟人口壓力有關。

Such is the pressure of population around the world

全世界的人口壓力

that agriculture and farming is required to produce more and more crops.

讓農業必須生產更多的作物。

Now, to do that,

那麼，要做到這點，

farmers put more and more chemicals onto the land.

農夫得施更多化學製品到田裡。

They put on fertilizers, nitrates, pesticides --

他們得施肥料、硝酸鹽、殺蟲劑──

all sorts of things that encourage the growth of the crops,

各式各樣的東西促進作物成長，

but there are some negative impacts.

但是這有負面影響。

One of the negative impacts is if you put lots of fertilizer on the land,

其中一個負面影響就是， 如果你在田裡施很多肥料，

not all of it goes into the crops.

不是所有的肥料都會被作物吸收。

Lots of it stays in the soil,

很多會留在土裡，

and then when it rains,

然後下雨時，

these chemicals go into the water table.

這些化學品就會流進地下水裡。

And in the water table,

順著地下水，

then they go into streams, into lakes, into rivers

它們會流進小溪、湖泊、河流，

and into the sea.

然後進入海洋。

Now, if you put all of these chemicals, these nitrates,

如果你把這些化學品，這些硝酸鹽，

into those kinds of environments,

放進像這樣的環境中，

there are organisms in those environments that will be affected by that --

生活在這些環境內的生物 就會受到影響──

algae, for example.

譬如藻類。

Algae loves nitrates, it loves fertilizer,

藻類很愛硝酸鹽，它喜歡肥料，

so it will take in all these chemicals,

所以它會吸收這些化學製品，

and if the conditions are right, it will mass produce.

在適宜的條件下，它會大量繁殖。

It will produce masses and masses of new algae.

它會繁殖出一大團又一大團的新藻類，

That's called a bloom.

稱為藻華。

The trouble is that when algae reproduces like this,

麻煩的是當藻類像這樣繁殖，

it starves the water of oxygen.

它會耗盡水中的氧。

As soon as you do that,

一旦如此，

the other organisms in the water can't survive.

其它水中生物就無法生存。

So, what do we do?

那，我們要怎麼辦？

We try to produce a robot that will eat the algae,

我們試著做出一種 會吃水藻的機器人，

consume it and make it safe.

吃光水藻又很安全。

So that's the first problem.

所以這是第一個問題。

The second problem is also of our making,

第二個問題也是我們的傑作，

and it's to do with oil pollution.

它跟油的汙染有關。

Now, oil comes out of the engines that we use,

油從我們使用的引擎、

the boats that we use.

船隻中釋放出來。

Sometimes tankers flush their oil tanks into the sea,

有時候油輪會把油排放到海洋，

so oil is released into the sea that way.

所以油就這樣流到海裡。

Wouldn't it be nice if we could treat that in some way

這樣不是很好？ 如果我們可以想辦法用機器人

using robots that could eat the pollution the oil fields have produced?

吃掉油田產生的汙染物？

So that's what we do.

所以那就是我們做的。

We make robots that will eat pollution.

我們製造能吃汙染物的機器人。

To actually make the robot,

要實際製造出機器人，

we take inspiration from two organisms.

我們從兩種生物取得靈感。

On the right there you see the basking shark.

你看到右邊的那張是姥鯊。

The basking shark is a massive shark.

姥鯊是一種大型鯊魚。

It's noncarnivorous, so you can swim with it,

牠並非肉食性， 所以你可以跟牠一起游泳，

as you can see.

就像你在這裡看到的。

And the basking shark opens its mouth,

姥鯊張開嘴巴，

and it swims through the water, collecting plankton.

游過水裡，收集浮游生物。

As it does that, it digests the food,

這麼做的同時，牠消化食物，

and then it uses that energy in its body to keep moving.

然後利用在體內 產生的能量繼續活動。

So, could we make a robot like that --

所以，我們能不能做 像那樣的機器人──

like the basking shark that chugs through the water

像姥鯊一樣可以在水中徐徐前進，

and eats up pollution?

然後吃掉汙染物？

Well, let's see if we can do that.

嗯，我們來看看能不能做到。

But also, we take the inspiration from other organisms.

我們也從其它生物獲取靈感。

I've got a picture here of a water boatman,

我這裡有一張水椿的照片，

and the water boatman is really cute.

水椿真的很可愛。

When it's swimming in the water,

當它游水時，

it uses its paddle-like legs to push itself forward.

就用船槳般的腿將自己推向前。

So we take those two organisms

所以我們取兩者所長

and we combine them together to make a new kind of robot.

結合在一起，做成一種新型機器人。

In fact, because we're using the water boatman as inspiration,

事實上，因為我們從水椿得到靈感，

and our robot sits on top of the water,

而且我們的機器人坐在水上，

and it rows,

它會划行，

we call it the "Row-bot."

我們就叫它「划水機器人」。

So a Row-bot is a robot that rows.

所以划水機器人是會划水的機器人。

OK. So what does it look like?

好，那它長什麼樣子？

Here's some pictures of the Row-bot,

這裡有一些划水機器人的照片，

你們看，

and you'll see,

它一點都不像我們 一開始看到的機器人。

it doesn't look anything like the robots we saw right at the beginning.

所以谷歌錯了， 機器人不像那樣，

Google is wrong; robots don't look like that,

they look like this.

它們像這樣。

我這裡有一隻划水機器人。

So I've got the Row-bot here.

I'll just hold it up for you.

我拿起來給你們看。

讓你們了解一下它的大小，

It gives you a sense of the scale,

and it doesn't look anything like the others.

而且它跟其它的都不像。

OK, so it's made out of plastic,

好，它是塑膠做的，

and we'll have a look now at the components

現在我們來看一下

that make up the Row-bot --

划水機器人的組件──

what makes it really special.

使它特別的地方。

The Row-bot is made up of three parts,

划水機器人由三個部分組成，

and those three parts are really like the parts of any organism.

這三個部分真的很像任何生物的部分。

It's got a brain,

它有個頭腦，

it's got a body

它有身體，

and it's got a stomach.

而且它有胃。

It needs the stomach to create the energy.

它需要胃以產生能量。

Any Row-bot will have those three components,

任何划水機器人都有這三個組件，

and any organism will have those three components,

就像任何生物都有這三個部分一樣。

so let's go through them one at a time.

我們就一個個來看。

It has a body,

它有身體，

and its body is made out of plastic,

它的身體由塑膠製成，

and it sits on top of the water.

而且它可以坐在水面上。

And it's got flippers on the side here --

它的蹼在旁邊這裡──

paddles that help it move,

幫助它移動，

just like the water boatman.

就像水椿一樣。

It's got a plastic body,

它有個塑膠的身體，

but it's got a soft rubber mouth here,

而這裡有一張軟橡膠做的嘴，

and a mouth here -- it's got two mouths.

這裡還有另一張嘴── 它有兩張嘴。

Why does it have two mouths?

會什麼要兩張嘴？

One is to let the food go in

一張讓食物進來，

and the other is to let the food go out.

另一張讓食物出去。

So you can see really it's got a mouth and a derriere,

所以你們可以看到它有嘴有臀，

or a --

或是說 ──

(Laughter)

東西排出去的地方，

something where the stuff comes out,

which is just like a real organism.

就像真的生物一樣。

So it's starting to look like that basking shark.

所以它開始看起來像那個姥鯊了。

So that's the body.

這是身體。

The second component might be the stomach.

第二個部分可能是胃。

We need to get the energy into the robot and we need to treat the pollution,

我們必須讓要處理污染的 機器人得到能量，

so the pollution goes in,

所以汙染從這裡進，

and it will do something.

它會搞一下。

It's got a cell in the middle here called a microbial fuel cell.

中間這裡有個電池， 稱作微生物燃料電池。

I'll put this down, and I'll lift up the fuel cell.

我把這個放下來， 把這個燃料電池拿起來。

Here. So instead of having batteries,

這裡沒有電池，

instead of having a conventional power system,

也不用是傳統的電力系統，

it's got one of these.

它有一個這個。

This is its stomach.

這是它的胃。

And it really is a stomach

它真的是一個胃，

because you can put energy in this side in the form of pollution,

因為你可以把能量放在這邊， 以汙染物的形式，

and it creates electricity.

它產生電力。

So what is it?

所以這是什麼？

這稱為微生物燃料電池。

It's called a microbial fuel cell.

It's a little bit like a chemical fuel cell,

這跟化學燃料電池有點像。

你大概在學校看過，

which you might have come across in school,

或者在新聞裡看過。

or you might've seen in the news.

Chemical fuel cells take hydrogen and oxygen,

化學燃料電池利用氫及氧，

and they can combine them together and you get electricity.

把兩者結合你就得到電力。

That's well-established technology; it was in the Apollo space missions.

這是成熟的技術； 在阿波羅太空計畫裡就有了。

That's from 40, 50 years ago.

那是四、五十年前。

This is slightly newer.

這個比較新。

This is a microbial fuel cell.

這是微生物燃料電池。

It's the same principle:

運用同樣的原理：

it's got oxygen on one side,

氧氣在一邊，

but instead of having hydrogen on the other,

但是另一邊不是氫氣，

it's got some soup,

而是一種混和液，

and inside that soup there are living microbes.

在這種混和液中有活的微生物。

Now, if you take some organic material --

如果你拿一些有機材料──

could be some waste products, some food,

可以是某種廢料，食物，

maybe a bit of your sandwich --

或許拿一點你的三明治 ──

you put it in there, the microbes will eat that food,

你把它放在這裡面， 微生物會吃這個食物，

and they will turn it into electricity.

然後把食物轉化成電力。

Not only that, but if you select the right kind of microbes,

不僅如此，如果你選對微生物的種類，

you can use the microbial fuel cell to treat some of the pollution.

你還可以用微生物燃料電池 處理一些污染。

If you choose the right microbes,

如果你選對微生物，

the microbes will eat the algae.

微生物會吃藻類。

If you use other kinds of microbes,

如果你用其它種微生物，

they will eat petroleum spirits and crude oil.

它們能吃石油醚及原油。

So you can see how this stomach could be used

所以你們可以看到怎麼使用這個胃，

to not only treat the pollution

不只處理污染，

but also to generate electricity from the pollution.

還能從污染產生電力。

So the robot will move through the environment,

所以這個機器人會在環境中移動，

taking food into its stomach,

把食物吃進胃裡，

digest the food, create electricity,

消化吃進的食物，產生電力，

use that electricity to move through the environment

再用產生的電在環境中移動，

and keep doing this.

如此週而復始。

OK, so let's see what happens when we run the Row-bot --

好，那我們來看看 划水機器人工作的樣子 ──

when it does some rowing.

當它划的時候。

Here we've got a couple of videos,

這裡我們有幾段影片，

the first thing you'll see -- hopefully you can see here

你們看到的第一件事， 希望大家都看得到，

是張開嘴巴。

is the mouth open.

The front mouth and the bottom mouth open,

前嘴和後嘴都張開，

and it will stay opened enough,

它會一直張大嘴，

then the robot will start to row forward.

然後機器人會開始向前划。

It moves through the water

它在水中移動，

so that food goes in as the waste products go out.

所以食物進去，廢物出來。

Once it's moved enough,

當它移動夠了，

it stops and then it closes the mouth --

就會停止，然後閉上嘴巴──

slowly closes the mouths --

慢慢閉上嘴──

and then it will sit there,

然後坐在那裡，

and it will digest the food.

開始消化食物。

Of course these microbial fuel cells,

當然這些微生物燃料電池

they contain microbes.

裡面有微生物。

What you really want is lots of energy

你真的想要的是很多能量

coming out of those microbes as quickly as possible.

從這些微生物得到，愈快愈好。

But we can't force the microbes

但是我們不能強迫微生物，

and they generate a small amount of electricity per second.

而且它們每秒產生很少量的電力。

They generate milliwatts, or microwatts.

它們生產毫瓦或微瓦電力。

Let's put that into context.

我們多解釋一下。

Your mobile phone for example,

譬如說你的手機，

one of these modern ones,

像這種現代一點的，

if you use it, it takes about one watt.

如果你使用它，它需要一瓦。

So that's a thousand or a million times as much energy that that uses

所以手機使用的能量

是微生物燃料電池的 一千或一百萬倍。

compared to the microbial fuel cell.

How can we cope with that?

我們怎麼應付這個情況？

Well, when the Row-bot has done its digestion,

嗯，划水機器人消化完食物後，

when it's taken the food in,

當它吃了食物，

it will sit there and it will wait until it has consumed all that food.

它會坐在那裡， 直到食物都消化完為止。

That could take some hours, it could take some days.

那要花好幾個小時，甚至好幾天。

A typical cycle for the Row-bot looks like this:

划水機器人典型的 工作循環週期像這樣：

you open your mouth,

你打開嘴巴，

you move,

你移動，

you close your mouth

你閉上嘴巴，

and you sit there for a while waiting.

然後坐在那裡等。

Once you digest your food,

一旦你消化完食物，

then you can go about doing the same thing again.

就可以起來再繼續做相同的事。

But you know what, that looks like a real organism, doesn't it?

但是你知道嗎，這看起來 很像真的生物，不是嗎？

它跟我們做的事很像。

It looks like the kind of thing we do.

星期六晚上，我們出門，張嘴，

Saturday night, we go out, open our mouths,

fill our stomachs,

把胃填滿，

sit in front of the telly and digest.

坐在電視機前面消化。

When we've had enough, we do the same thing again.

我們覺得夠了，又開始做同樣的事。

OK, if we're lucky with this cycle,

好，如果這次循環很幸運，

at the end of the cycle we'll have enough energy left over

在循環結束後 我們會有足夠的剩餘能量，

for us to be able to do something else.

讓我們能做別的事。

We could send a message, for example.

例如，我們可送個簡訊。

We could send a message saying,

我們可送個簡訊說：

"This is how much pollution I've eaten recently,"

「這是我最近吃掉的污染量；」

or, "This is the kind of stuff that I've encountered,"

或是，「這是我最近碰到的東西；」

or, "This is where I am."

或是，「我現在在什麼地方。」

That ability to send a message saying, "This is where I am,"

能傳送簡訊說「我現在在什麼地方」，

is really, really important.

是非常非常重要的事。

If you think about the oil slicks that we saw before,

如果你們想一下 我們以前看到的水面油汙畫面，

or those massive algal blooms,

或非常大片的藻華，

what you really want to do is put your Row-bot out there,

你真正想做的是 把你的划水機器人送到那裡，

and it eats up all of those pollutions,

把汙染物吃光光，

and then you have to go collect them.

然後你得去把它們收回來。

Why?

為什麼？

因為眼下這些划水機器人，

Because these Row-bots at the moment,

和我這裡的這隻划水機器人，

this Row-bot I've got here,

裡面有馬達、有線路，

it contains motors, it contains wires,

it contains components which themselves are not biodegradable.

裡面有生物不能分解的原件。

Current Row-bots contain things like toxic batteries.

當下的划水機器人裡面包含 有毒的電池等東西。

You can't leave those in the environment,

你不能把這些留在環境中，

so you need to track them,

所以你必須追蹤它們在哪裡，

and then when they've finished their job of work,

在它們完成工作之後，

你必須收回它們。

you need to collect them.

這會限制你能使用的 划水機器人數量。

That limits the number of Row-bots you can use.

If, on the other hand,

另一方面，

如果你的機器人有一點像生物體，

you have robot a little bit like a biological organism,

when it comes to the end of its life,

在生命結束時，

it dies and it degrades to nothing.

它會死亡且分解無形。

So wouldn't it be nice if these robots,

那不是很好嗎？如果這些機器人

instead of being like this, made out of plastic,

不像現在由塑膠製成，

were made out of other materials,

而是用其它的材料，

當你把它們丟在外面，

which when you throw them out there,

they biodegrade to nothing?

它們就在那裡分解於無形。

That changes the way in which we use robots.

這會改變我們使用機器人的方法。

Instead of putting 10 or 100 out into the environment,

與其放 10 或 100 個 機器人到環境中，

having to track them,

要追蹤它們，

and then when they die,

而且它們死掉以後，

collect them,

還要收回來，

you could put a thousand,

你可以放一千個，

a million, a billion robots into the environment.

一百萬個，十億個這種 機器人到環境中。

Just spread them around.

把它們散到四處。

You know that at the end of their lives, they're going to degrade to nothing.

你知道在它們壽終時 將會分解至無形。

You don't need to worry about them.

你不需要擔心它們。

那樣會改變你對機器人的想法，

So that changes the way in which you think about robots

and the way you deploy them.

以及你派遣它們的方式。

Then the question is: Can you do this?

隨之而來的問題是： 你真的可以做得到嗎？

Well, yes, we have shown that you can do this.

是的，我們已經讓你看到的確可以。

你可以製造可生物分解的機器人。

You can make robots which are biodegradable.

真正有意思的是， 你可以用生活常見的材料

What's really interesting is you can use household materials

to make these biodegradable robots.

來製造這種可生物分解的機器人。

I'll show you some; you might be surprised.

我給大家看幾個； 你們可能會很驚訝。

You can make a robot out of jelly.

你可以用果凍做機器人。

Instead of having a motor, which we have at the moment,

代替目前機器人用的馬達，

you can make things called artificial muscles.

你可以用人工肌肉。

Artificial muscles are smart materials,

人工肌肉是一種智慧型材料，

you apply electricity to them,

你把它們接上電，

and they contract, or they bend or they twist.

它們會收縮、彎曲或扭轉。

They look like real muscles.

它們看起來就像真的肌肉。

So instead of having a motor, you have these artificial muscles.

所以與其使用馬達， 還不如用人工肌肉。

And you can make artificial muscles out of jelly.

你可以用果凍做人工肌肉。

If you take some jelly and some salts,

如果你可以拿果凍加點鹽，

and do a bit of jiggery-pokery,

然後東搞搞西弄弄，

you can make an artificial muscle.

就可以做出人工肌肉。

We've also shown you can make the microbial fuel cell's stomach

我們已經讓大家看到可以用紙

out of paper.

做微生物燃料電池的胃。

So you could make the whole robot out of biodegradable materials.

因此你可以用生物分解材料 做整個機器人。

You throw them out there, and they degrade to nothing.

你把它們丟出去， 它們將會自己分解。

Well, this is really, really exciting.

這真的超興奮。

It's going to totally change the way in which we think about robots,

這會完全改變我們對機器人的想法，

but also it allows you to be really creative

也讓你變得非常有創意，

in the way in which you think about what you can do with these robots.

想出很多機器人的用途。

我舉一個例子。

I'll give you an example.

如果你能用果凍做機器人──

If you can use jelly to make a robot --

now, we eat jelly, right?

我們都吃果凍對吧？

So, why not make something like this?

那，為什麼不用這個 做像這樣的東西？

A robot gummy bear.

熊軟糖機器人。

Here, I've got some I prepared earlier.

這裡，我準備了幾個。

There we go. I've got a packet --

在這裡，我有個袋子──

and I've got a lemon-flavored one.

我拿了一個檸檬口味的。

I'll take this gummy bear -- he's not robotic, OK?

我拿這個熊軟糖── 這不是機器人，好嗎？

We have to pretend.

我們要假裝一下。

And what you do with one of these is you put it in your mouth --

你要拿它做什麼？ 放到你的嘴巴裡──

the lemon's quite nice.

檸檬口味不錯。

Try not to chew it too much, it's a robot, it may not like it.

不要嚼太大力，這是機器人， 它可能不喜歡那樣。

And then you swallow it.

然後吞下去。

And then it goes into your stomach.

然後它就跑到你的胃裡。

And when it's inside your stomach, it moves, it thinks, it twists, it bends,

它在你的胃裡移動、 思考、扭動、彎曲，

it does something.

做一些事。

It could go further down into your intestines,

然後它繼續跑到你的腸道，

find out whether you've got some ulcer or cancer,

看看你有沒有潰瘍或癌症，

或許順便打個針，諸如此類。

maybe do an injection, something like that.

You know that once it's done its job of work,

你知道一旦它做完工作後，

it could be consumed by your stomach,

就會被你的胃消化，

or if you don't want that,

如果你不要那樣，

it could go straight through you,

它還可以直接通過你，

into the toilet,

掉進馬桶，

and be degraded safely in the environment.

在環境中安全分解。

So this changes the way, again, in which we think about robots.

所以再說一次， 這會改變我們對機器人的想法。

So, we started off looking at robots that would eat pollution,

我們從可以吃汙染的機器人開始看，

and then we're looking at robots which we can eat.

然後我們看到可以吃掉機器人。

I hope this gives you some idea

我希望這能給大家一點靈感，

of the kinds of things we can do with future robots.

看看我們能如何使用 未來的機器人。

Thank you very much for your attention.

謝謝大家！

(Applause)

（掌聲）