振动手套助盲者“看”世界

 　　Vibrating gloves will soon replace the white cane¹ to help blind people ‘see’ their surroundings.

　　不久的将来，振动手套将取代盲杖帮助盲人“看见”周围的环境。

　　This is the prediction of a British team who has developed a prototype glove, dubbed² SenSei, that provides vibration³ cues to a wearer.

　　英国一个团队做出了上述预测。该团队已经发明了振动手套的样板，取名为“SenSei ”，能通过振动给使用者提示。

　　The glove features a battery-operated ultrasonic⁴ senor on the back of the glove, which emits different levels of sound similar to a car’s parking sensor⁵.

　　这种手套的背部安装有电池驱动的超声传感器，会发出不同等级的声音来提示使用者，类似汽车的泊车传感器。

　　Ultrasound waves are sent out, hit the obstacle, and when they return to the glove, they vibrate the fingers.

　　传感器会发出超声波，遇到障碍物后再反射回手套，然后让手指振动。

　　振动手套助盲者看世界

　　Different patterns and intensities⁶ let the user know how their distance between objects.

　　使用者可通过振动的不同模式及强度，来判断与障碍物之间的距离。

　　The glove was designed by two students at Nottingham University who wanted to develop a gadget⁷ that could be used without much training.

　　这种振动手套由两位诺丁汉大学（Nottingham University）的学生设计，他们想做一个可以轻松上手使用的小装置。

　　‘At present, the attachment⁸ is quite large, but we are working on a new system containing a microprocessor⁹ that is smaller and not as heavy,’ Raivat Luthura, one of the designers told Julia Pierce at The Engineer.

　　目前，附加装置还太大，但我们正在开发一个带有微处理器的系统，比现在的更小且更轻。”振动手套的发明者之一，瑞瓦特?路瑟拉（Raivat Luthura）在工程师杂志（The Engineer）的采访中，对记者茱莉亚?皮尔斯（Julia Pierce）说道。

　　The design recently won ?1,000 ($1,540) and first prize in the Entrepreneurship and Business Competition run by Nottingham University Business School.

　　这一设计近日获得诺丁汉大学商学院“企业家精神及商业竞争”一等奖，奖金1000英镑。

　　‘This will also make it more aesthetically¹⁰ pleasing. We’re going to use the money from the competition for further development of the device,’ Mr Luthura added.

　　“这种手套也将会变得更美观。我们打算利用这笔奖金对手套进行提升与完善。”路瑟拉补充道。

　　It follows the launch of a similar device last year which helps people who are blind and visually impaired¹¹ to learn Braille.

　　在振动手套之前，2014年曾出现一项类似产品，能帮助盲人或视觉受损的人学习盲文。

　　Vibrating motors at the knuckle¹² of each finger in the gloves buzz to tell a wearer to press a corresponding key, and the system tells them which letter they are typing.

　　安装在手套里各个指关节的震动马达会发出嗡嗡声，提示使用者按下相应的键，系统同时发出相应字母的读音。

　　And the gloves even teach the wearer when they are not paying attention.

　　当使用者注意力不集中时，手套也能进行教学。

　　‘The process is based on passive haptic learning (PHL),’ said Thad Starner, a Georgia Tech professor who is also the technical lead on Google’s Project Glass.

　　“这种程序基于消极触觉学习（passive haptic learning ）。”乔治亚州的一位技术教授，萨德?斯塔勒（Thad Starner）说道。斯塔勒也是谷歌眼镜的技术领导。

　　‘We’ve learned that people can acquire motor skills through vibrations¹³ without devoting active attention to their hands.

　　“我们已经意识到，人们不用刻意集中精力在手上，仅通过振动便可获得运动技能。”

　　There has also been an increase in so-called ‘smart canes’ that use sonar to let blind people know, through vibrations, if there are objects ahead.

　　同样地，“智能拐杖”也层出不穷，这种拐杖利用声纳装置发出振动提示盲人前方的障碍。

　　Like the vibrating gloves, these SmartCane mimic¹⁴ the capabilities¹⁵ of bats, using sonar to detect objects in the surrounding environment.

　　与振动手套相似，智能拐杖模仿蝙蝠，通过声纳来探测周围环境的物品。

　　Ultrasound waves are sent out and, when they return to the cane, they vibrate on the relevant side of to warn of an obstacle ahead.

　　拐杖发射出的超声波，遇到障碍物后反射回拐杖，然后拐杖相应的一侧便进行振动，以警告使用者前方有障碍。

　　According to the World Health Organisation¹⁶, 285 million people are estimated to be visually impaired worldwide.

　　据世界卫生组织（World Health Organization）的调查，世界范围内估计有两亿八千五百万人口视觉受损。

　　Almost 90 per cent of these live in developing countries, with India home to the most, at 12 million.

　　其中，近90%居住在发展中国家，而印度视觉受损人口最多，约有一千两百万。

　　Vocabulary

　　prototype：样板

　　cue：提示

　　ultrasonic：超声波

　　microprocessor：微处理器

　　Braille：布莱叶盲文

　　knuckle：指关节

　　sonar：声纳装置

1 cane   

n.手杖，细长的茎，藤条；v.以杖击，以藤编制的

参考例句：

• This sugar cane is quite a sweet and juicy.这甘蔗既甜又多汁。
• English schoolmasters used to cane the boys as a punishment.英国小学老师过去常用教鞭打男学生作为惩罚。

2 dubbed   

v.给…起绰号( dub的过去式和过去分词 )；把…称为；配音；复制

参考例句：

• Mathematics was once dubbed the handmaiden of the sciences. 数学曾一度被视为各门科学的基础。
• Is the movie dubbed or does it have subtitles? 这部电影是配音的还是打字幕的？ 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 vibration   

n.颤动，振动；摆动

参考例句：

• There is so much vibration on a ship that one cannot write.船上的震动大得使人无法书写。
• The vibration of the window woke me up.窗子的震动把我惊醒了。

4 ultrasonic   

adj.超声的；n.超声波

参考例句：

• It was very necessary for people to take type-B ultrasonic inspection regularly.定期进行B超检查是十分必要的。
• Sounds are classified into two kinds: sonic and ultrasonic.声波分为两类，即普通声波与超声波。

5 sensor   

n.传感器，探测设备，感觉器（官）

参考例句：

• The temperature sensor is enclosed in a protective well.温度传感器密封在保护套管中。
• He plugged the sensor into a outlet.他把传感器插进电源插座。

6 intensities   

n.强烈( intensity的名词复数 )；（感情的）强烈程度；强度；烈度

参考例句：

• At very high intensities, nuclear radiations cause itching and tingling of the skin. 当核辐射强度很高时，它能使皮肤感到发痒和刺痛。 来自辞典例句
• They ask again and again in a variety of ways and intensities. 他们会以不同的方式和强度来不停地问，直到他得到自己想要的答案为止。 来自互联网

7 gadget   

n.小巧的机械，精巧的装置，小玩意儿

参考例句：

• This gadget isn't much good.这小机械没什么用处。
• She has invented a nifty little gadget for undoing stubborn nuts and bolts.她发明了一种灵巧的小工具用来松开紧固的螺母和螺栓。

8 attachment   

n.附属物，附件；依恋；依附

参考例句：

• She has a great attachment to her sister.她十分依恋她的姐姐。
• She's on attachment to the Ministry of Defense.她现在隶属于国防部。

9 microprocessor   

n.微信息处理机

参考例句：

• I've got a typerwriter with a microprocessor.我有一台装有微处理机的打字机。
• I decided to write a program for a microprocessor.我决定为微处理机编制一套程序。

10 aesthetically   

adv.美地，艺术地

参考例句：

• Segmental construction contributes toward aesthetically pleasing structures in many different sites. 对于许多不同的现场条件，分段施工都能提供美观，颇有魄力的桥型结构。
• All isolation techniques may be aesthetically unacceptable or even dirty. 所有的隔离方法都有可能在美观方面使人难以接受，或甚至是肮脏的。

11 impaired   

adj.受损的；出毛病的；有（身体或智力）缺陷的v.损害，削弱( impair的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Much reading has impaired his vision. 大量读书损害了他的视力。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• His hearing is somewhat impaired. 他的听觉已受到一定程度的损害。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

12 knuckle   

n.指节；vi.开始努力工作；屈服，认输

参考例句：

• They refused to knuckle under to any pressure.他们拒不屈从任何压力。
• You'll really have to knuckle down if you want to pass the examination.如果想通过考试，你确实应专心学习。

13 vibrations   

n.摆动( vibration的名词复数 )；震动；感受；（偏离平衡位置的）一次性往复振动

参考例句：

• We could feel the vibrations from the trucks passing outside. 我们可以感到外面卡车经过时的颤动。
• I am drawn to that girl; I get good vibrations from her. 我被那女孩吸引住了，她使我产生良好的感觉。 来自《简明英汉词典》

14 mimic   

v.模仿，戏弄；n.模仿他人言行的人

参考例句：

• A parrot can mimic a person's voice.鹦鹉能学人的声音。
• He used to mimic speech peculiarities of another.他过去总是模仿别人讲话的特点。

15 capabilities   

n.能力( capability的名词复数 )；可能；容量；[复数]潜在能力

参考例句：

• He was somewhat pompous and had a high opinion of his own capabilities. 他有点自大，自视甚高。 来自辞典例句
• Some programmers use tabs to break complex product capabilities into smaller chunks. 一些程序员认为，标签可以将复杂的功能分为每个窗格一组简单的功能。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓

16 organisation   

n.组织，安排，团体，有机休

参考例句：

• The method of his organisation work is worth commending.他的组织工作的方法值得称道。
• His application for membership of the organisation was rejected.他想要加入该组织的申请遭到了拒绝。