Technology - Part 2 [ESL]

Technology - Part 2

Robotic "Guide Dogs"

(Hint: They aren't really dogs!)

A student at Loughborough University has designed a “robotic guide dog” that will help support visually impaired (視障) people who are unable to house a real animal.

The product, designed by Anthony Camu, replicates (重複) the functions of a guide dog as well as programming (的程式) quick and safe routes to destinations (目的地) using real-time (即時處理的) data.

Multiple Choice

Who designed this "robotic guide dog?"

• Anthony Stark

• Stephen Hawking

• Anthony Camu

• Thomas Edison

Multiple Choice

Why did Anthony Camu make this device?

• For people who can't have a real animal at home.

• For people who don't want an animal at home

• For money and fame

Theia, named after the titan (提坦) goddess of sight, is a portable (手提的) and concealable (可隱藏的) handheld device that guides users through outdoor environments and large indoor spaces with very little input.

Using a special gyroscope (陀螺儀), Theia moves users’ hands and physically “leads” them – much like holding the brace of a guide dog.

The device is designed to process (處理 (資料)) real-time online data, such as traffic density (交通密度) and weather, to guide users accurately and safely to their destinations.

It will have a fail-safe (失效安全) procedure for high-risk (高風險的) scenarios, such as crossing busy roads – pushing the user back into a “manual mode (不是自動的)”, similar to using a cane.

Multiple Choice

Theia is named after _________

• the titan goddess of sight

• the goddess of war

• the goddess of love

Multiple Choice

How does this device lead a blind person?

• It talks to them.

• It shocks them if they go the wrong way.

• It uses a special gyroscope.

Multiple Select

Choose two kinds of real-time data that Theia uses:

• The Stock Market

• Traffic density

• Weather

• Humidity

Boston Dynamics' Robots

Atlas™

Atlas is a 6-foot (183 cm) bipedal humanoid robot developed by Boston Dynamics with funding and oversight from the DARPA (國防高等研究計劃署).

The robot was initially designed for a variety of search and rescue (搜索与救援) tasks.

Spot

Spot is an mobile robot that navigates terrain (地帶) and helps with things like safety inspections (檢查).

Stretch

Stretch is a mobile robot designed to help move things around in warehouses (倉庫). It can help unload trucks and build pallets (棧板) as well.

Multiple Choice

Which one helps move boxes in a warehouse?

Multiple Choice

Which one helps with safety inspections?

Multiple Choice

Which one helps with search and rescue?

Open Ended

Tell me something you would use a robot for:

Sweat-Powered Smart Watches

There is technology coming that could be used to make watches and smart clothing that use our sweat to power them!

​

But how?​

​smart = （機器、武器等）智慧的

A New Super Capacitor

Engineers at the University of Glasgow have developed a new type of flexible (靈活的) supercapacitor (双电层电容器), which stores energy, replacing the electrolytes (电解质) found in conventional batteries (傳統電池) with sweat (汗液).

Multiple Choice

What does this new supercapacitor use instead of electrolytes?

• Sweat

• Spit

• Blood

• Water

It can be fully charged (充滿電的) with as little as 20 microliters (微升) of fluid (流体) and is robust (strong) enough to survive 4,000 cycles of the types of flexes and bends it might encounter in use.

Multiple Choice

This new supercapacitor can be fully charged (充滿電的) with as little as 20 microliters (微升) of ______.

• Gas

• Fluid

• Solid matter

• Plasma

The device works by coating polyester (聚酯) cellulose (纤维素) cloth in a thin layer of a polymer (聚合物), which acts as the supercapacitor’s electrode (电极). 

As the cloth absorbs its wearer’s sweat, the positive and negative ions (离子) in the sweat interact with the polymer’s surface, creating an electrochemical reaction (電化學反應) which generates energy.

Multiple Choice

As the cloth absorbs sweat, there is an electrochemical reaction (電化學反應) which makes _______.

• Sweat

• Gas

• Matter

• Energy

Open Ended

Tell me something you could use this new supercapacitor for:

Stunt Robots in Movies?