摩天大楼的智能擦窗工

2021-01-29浙江杭州市富阳区新登中学胡君祥

疯狂英语·新悦读 2020年12期

浙江杭州市富阳区新登中学胡君祥

摩摩天天大大楼楼的的洗洗窗窗工工被被称称为为是世世界上界上最最难的难的工工作作之一之一。在。在美美国国，这，这个个职职业位的的工工资资可可以以达达到到每每小小时2时72美7元美元以以上，上通，常通工常人需们要需工要人悬们挂悬在挂离在地离面地数面百数米百的英高尺空的进高行空作。业一。名一中名学中生学破生解使了这这项一工难作不题再，他是发个明难了题清，他理发摩明天了大可楼以的清窗洁户摩的天机大器楼人的。窗户的机器人。

题材科技题材科技文章词数难度建议用时说明文文章词数难度建议用时说明文体裁体裁458 ★★★ 8 分钟458 ★★★ 8 分钟

难词探意

1. skyscraper /΄skaɪskreɪpə(r)/ n. 摩天大楼

2. tackle /΄tækl/ v. 处理

3. buffer /΄bʌfə(r)/ n. 缓冲器

4. squeegee /΄skwiːdʒiː/ n. 橡皮刮水刷

5. propeller /prə΄pelə(r)/ n. 螺旋桨

6. commercialize /kə΄mзːʃəlaɪz/ v. 商业化

“Washing windows on a skyscraper is a dirty job. Hanging off the side of a building can also be incredibly dangerous,” notes Oliver Nicholls, 19. So this 12th-grader from Sydney, Australia, invented a robot to tackle the job.

Some recent incidents inspired his project. In one, a couple of high-rise window washers were standing on a platform that collapsed. No one died, but the pair were seriously injured. Oliver also witnessed someone fall and break his leg while cleaning a glass awning over the entrance to a building.

The new robot is about the size of a medium-sized picnic cooler and weighs 12 to 15 kilograms(26 to 33 pounds). It's designed to hang off the side of a building from ropes or cables, just as current window-washing platforms do. A hose carries water to the robot. A cable delivers it electric power.

The robot cleans windows much as a human would. But the device is controlled by a computer program. First, the robot sprays a small amount of water onto a window. Then, it moves up and down and across the window. Buffers covered with tiny fibers rub against the glass, scrubbing away any dirt. As the robot moves, it uses a windshield-wiper-style squeegee to remove any water left behind.

The computer controls the robot's up-and-down movements by adjusting the ropes or cables from which the device hangs. When the robot needs to move from one window to another, a set of propellers kicks into gear. They push the robot a short distance away from the building, while the cables slide along a railing to carry the robot over to the next window. Then, as a different set of propellers holds the robot tight against the window, the cleaning cycle repeats.

Oliver tested his robot by cleaning sample windows he'd built in his backyard. “The robot's propellers can hold the robot against a building even in winds as high as 45 kilometers(28 miles) per hour,” the teen reports. He performed those tests using his family's leaf blower.

Oliver showed the robot here, this week, at the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair(ISEF). The science fair competition was created by Society for Science & the Public, or SSP, and is sponsored this year by Intel. The 2018 event brought together almost 1,800 finalists from 81 countries.

Besides limiting the chance of injury, this window-washing robot could save building owners a bit of money. If commercialized, Oliver estimates it would cost about $11,000 to buy. “That's about the same cost as hiring a crew to clean a 7-story building,” he notes. So Oliver suspects his robot might be able to pay for itself after cleaning just one such building.