由肌肉组织驱动的两足机器人问世

蓝利霞

“Research on biohybrid robots， which are a mixtureof biology and mechanics， is recently attracting attentionas a new field of robotics featuring biological function，”says corresponding author Shoji Takeuchi of the Universityof Tokyo， Japan. Muscle tissues have driven biohybridrobots to crawl and swim straight forward and maketurns.

To build a flexible robot with fine and delicatemovements， the researchers designed a biohybrid robotthat imitates human walk and operates in water. The robothas a foam buoy（ 泡沫浮标） top and weighted legsto help it stand straight underwater.

The basic structure of the robot is mainly madefrom silicone（ 硅酮） rubber that can bend and stretch toadjust to muscle movements. Researchers then attachedstrips of lab-grown skeletal muscle tissues to the siliconerubber and each leg. When the researchers movedthe muscle tissue with electricity， the muscle tightened，hoisting the leg up. The heel of the leg then landed forwardwhen the electricity disappeared.

By changing the electric stimulation between theleft and right leg every 5 seconds， the biohybrid robotsuccessfully “walked” at the speed of 5.4 mm/min （0.002mph）. To turn， researchers repeatedly moved the rightleg every 5 seconds while the left leg served as a support.The robot made a 90-degree left turn in 62 seconds.The findings showed that the muscle-driven bipedal robotcan walk， stop， and make fine-tuned turning motions.

Currently， researcher are manually moving a pair ofelectrodes（ 電焊条） to apply an electric field individuallyto the legs， which takes time. In the future， by integratingthe electrodes into the robot， they expect to increase thespeed more efficiently. The team also plans to give jointsand thicker muscle tissues to the bipedal robot to enablemore complex and powerful movements. But before upgradingthe robot with more biological components， theteam will have to integrate a nutrient supply system tosustain the living tissues and device structures that allowthe robot to operate in the air.

（材料出自Science Daily 网站，有删改）

1. What makes biohybrid robots swim？

A. Biology.B. Mechanics.

C. Foam buoy. D. Muscle tissues.

2. What does the underlined word “hoisting” mean in Paragraph 3？

A. Warming. B. Trapping.

C. Lifting. D. Giving.

3. What can be inferred from Paragraph 4？

A. The biohybrid robot can be put into use.

B. The biohybrid robot can make a turn slowly.

C. The biohybrid robot can walk， swim and jump.

D. The biohybrid robot can just move the right leg.

4. What is the authors attitude to the bipedal robot with complex movements？

A. Mild. B. Objective.

C. Indifferent. D. Dismissive.

參考答案

1. D。解析：细节理解题。根据材料第一段的最后一句“Muscle tissues have driven biohybrid robots tocrawl and swim straight forward and make turns.”，我们可知，肌肉组织使得机器人会游泳。故选D。

2. C。解析：词义猜测题。根据材料第三段倒数第二句中的动词“moved”“tightened”和最后一句中的“landed forward”，我们可知，机器人处于走路状态时，它的肌肉会收紧，促使腿抬起（hoist），然后着地。故选C。

3. B。解析：推理判断题。根据材料第四段的倒数第二句“The robot made a 90-degree left turn in 62seconds.”，我们可知，机器人在62 秒内完成了左转90 度的动作，这说明其转得比较慢。故选B。

4. B。解析：意图态度题。根据材料最后一段的最后一句“But before upgrading the robot with morebiological components， the team will have to integrate anutrient supply system to sustain the living tissues anddevice structures that allow the robot to operate in theair”，我们可知，在为机器人升级更多的生物组件之前，研究团队必须整合出一个营养供应系统，以维持活组织和设备结构，使机器人能够在空气中运转。故选B。