Robotic Dolphins 机器海豚

Entrepreneurs in New Zealand are working with American creators of some of Hollywoods most famous creatures to develop animatronic dolphins that look almost identical to their living counterparts.

新西兰的企业家们正在与一些著名的美国好莱坞生物创作者合作，开发看起来和活海豚几乎一样的仿生机器海豚。

A robotic dolphin that can nod an answer to a child might sound unappealing or disconcerting. But as marine parks around the world face increasing pressure to abandon exhibitions featuring real whales and dolphins， the creatures provide an appealing alternative， their creators say.

一只会用点头来回应小朋友的机器海豚，可能听起来没什么吸引力或者还让人有些不安。 但是，随着世界各地的海洋公园面临越来越大的压力，要求放弃以活鲸鱼和海豚为特色的展览，这种“生物”提供了一个吸引人的选择，它们的创造者说。

But with a price tag of about NZ$40m （0.17 billion RMB） per dolphin， the biggest obstacle for the creators of the animatronic creatures is proving to potential clients that the robotic sea creatures will work out to be cheaper in the long run than the real thing.

但是，机器海豚每只要价4000万新西兰元（约合人民币1.7亿元）。对于它的开发者来说，横在面前的最大障碍是向潜在客户证明，从长远来看，机器仿生海洋生物会比活的海洋生物更便宜。

Li Wang， a business developer for Edge Innovation， the New Zealand-based company making the case for the robots， said they do cost four times more than normal dolphins but would last longer.

总部位于新西兰的边缘创新公司力主机器海豚更好。王立（音译），是这家公司的商务拓展人员，他表示机器海豚的成本确实是普通海豚的四倍，但它们的使用寿命更长。

Melanie Langlotz， one of the entrepreneurs behind the project said， the prototype for the dolphin is indiscernible from the real thing. A test audience had been unable to guess the dolphin was not real， she added.

梅兰妮·兰洛茨是机器海豚项目背后的企业家之一，她说，仿生海豚与原型难辨真伪，测试观众无法判定海豚不是真的。

Animal rights advocates also welcomed the change. They hoped robotic dolphins would replace real ones in marine parks worldwide.

动物权利保护者也对这一创新表示支持。他们希望機器海豚能够取代世界各地海洋公园中的活海豚。

In nature， dolphins swim up to 40 miles a day and live in tight-knit family groups， but in captivity animals were confined to concrete pools filled with chemically treated water and forced to interact with strangers.

在自然环境中，海豚一天最多能游上40英里（约64.4千米），并且生活在关系紧密的家庭群体中。但当它们被圈养起来时，海豚被限制在装满化学处理水的混凝土水池中，并被迫与陌生人互动。

Now， cutting-edge technology might allow us to experience nature without harming it.

现在，前沿的科技或许能让我们在不伤害自然的情况下体验自然。

Word Study

animatronic /'?n?m?'tr?n?k/ adj. 电子动物的;仿生的

abandon /?'b?nd?n/ v. 放弃;中止;抛弃，舍弃

They abandoned the match because of rain.

obstacle /'?bst?kl/ n. 障碍;阻碍;绊脚石

confine /k?n'fa?n/ v. 限制;限定;监禁