万花筒 2009-08-13&08-014 拉面机器人

Japan's obsession¹ with the machines has gone one step further with this creation - a ramen noodle robot chef. At the Fuamen Ramen Noodle shop in the central Japanese city of Nagoya, two robotic arms are busy serving their hungry customers, doling² out nearly 80 bowls of noodles on a busy day. Kenji Nagoya, the owner of the noodle shop and a robot manufacturer, says nobody gets it as accurate as the robots.

 

"The benefits of using robots as Ramen chefs include the accuracy of timing³ in boiling noodles, precise movements in adding toppings and consistency⁴ in the taste."

 

Nagoya's robot factory opened the noodle shop less than a month ago to showcase its latest robotic technology. The noodle shop which sells a regular noodle bowl with a pork broth-based soup for seven dollars is yet to make profit, partly due to the large investment in the research and development of the robotic arms. But the restaurant is definitely getting a lot of attention and building its reputation. Customers say the noodles taste as good as those made by humans.

 

"I don't feel any difference in taste between this ramen and those cooked by human chef."

 

Humans are not completely out of the equation and do have to step in occasionally to prepare the soup stock, take orders and receive money. But the robot arms will take care of the rest. The machines are pre-programmed to boil noodles, pour the soup into bowls and sprinkle toppings. Customers get to watch the whole process of the automated⁵ ramen making which takes one minute and forty seconds per bowl. During downtime the robots entertain customers by demonstrating various tricks.

 

Puja Bharwani, Reuters.
 

1 obsession   

n.困扰，无法摆脱的思想(或情感)

参考例句：

• I was suffering from obsession that my career would be ended.那时的我陷入了我的事业有可能就此终止的困扰当中。
• She would try to forget her obsession with Christopher.她会努力忘记对克里斯托弗的迷恋。

2 doling   

救济物( dole的现在分词 )； 失业救济金

参考例句：

• "What are you doling?'she once demanded over the intercom. 有一次他母亲通过对讲机问他：“你在干什么？ 来自英汉非文学 - 科学史
• Many scrollbars are quite parsimonious in doling out information to users. 很多滚动条都很吝啬，给用户传递的信息太少。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓

3 timing   

n.时间安排，时间选择

参考例句：

• The timing of the meeting is not convenient.会议的时间安排不合适。
• The timing of our statement is very opportune.我们发表声明选择的时机很恰当。

4 consistency   

n.一贯性，前后一致，稳定性；(液体的)浓度

参考例句：

• Your behaviour lacks consistency.你的行为缺乏一贯性。
• We appreciate the consistency and stability in China and in Chinese politics.我们赞赏中国及其政策的连续性和稳定性。

5 automated   

a.自动化的

参考例句：

• The entire manufacturing process has been automated. 整个生产过程已自动化。
• Automated Highway System (AHS) is recently regarded as one subsystem of Intelligent Transport System (ITS). 近年来自动公路系统(Automated Highway System,AHS)，作为智能运输系统的子系统之一越来越受到重视。