会“鹰爪功”的机器人

刘同功

经过多年的研究，斯坦福大学的一个工程师团队成功制造了一个带有小型爪子的机器人，该机器人不仅可以模仿鸟类飞行，还能像鸟一样栖息在树枝上。

1The SNAG stands for stereotyped nature⁃inspired aerial grasper and it's a 3D⁃printed bird robot with claws. It can fly， stay on various surfaces， catch and carry objects， just like the mighty falcon （隼） that was used as the source of inspiration in its development.

2Each leg of the SNAG has two motors， one for helping it move back and forth， and the other one for grasping. Twenty printing attempts were necessary for the robot to finally reach its current structure， but it was worth it. Now， according to researchers， the flying machine has an impressively strong and high⁃speed clutch， being able to land and wrap its claws around a branch in about 20 milliseconds. Then the SNAG's ankles lock， and there's an accelerometer （加速度计） on its right foot that reports that it's landed while triggering a balancing process to stabilize it.

3Scientists have already conducted several tests with the robot in rural areas and on different surfaces. In all the situations， the SNAG was able to catch objects thrown by hand， such as bean bags and a tennis ball， and more.

4As for the applications of the bird⁃like robot， the SNAG can get attached to drones and be used for search and rescue missions， wildfire monitoring， to offer just a few examples. Another great application is environmental research， with the SNAG also featuring a temperature and humidity sensor. By using a robot that can act like a bird， you can unlock new ways of studying the environment， as explained by William Roderick， a mechanical engineer and one of the researchers involved in the project. Now scientists are moving on to improving the robot's situational awareness and flight control.

5This isn't the first time nature inspires groundbreaking technologies. Recently， a piece about the F⁃SAM micro drone was also written， which was inspired by the flight of samara （翼果） seeds， also known as “twisters” which have a special way of spinning down to the ground.

Reading Check

Choose the best answers according to the text

Detail 1. What gave the researchers inspiration for the SNAG？

A. The plane.  B. The falcon.

C. The tiger.    D. The samara seeds.

Detail 2. What's the function of the accelerometer on the SNAG's right foot？

A. To balance the SNAG in flight.

B. To change the SNAG's flying speed.

C. To keep the SNAG's feet in balance.

D. To make the SNAG steady on a surface.

Gist 3. The fourth paragraph mainly tells us that the SNAG___________.

A. has huge potential for practical use

B. has a long way to go before being used

C. will be helpful in putting out forest fires

D. is sensitive to temperature and humidity

Inference 4. What may be one disadvantage of the SNAG right now？

A. It can't fly fast enough in the air.

B. It doesn't know its situation well.

C. It is easily broken by the branches.

D. It can't catch objects with smooth surfaces.

Language Study

Analyze the difficult sentence in the text

Then the SNAG's ankles lock， and there's an accelerometer on its right foot that reports that it's landed while triggering a balancing process to stabilize it. 然后SNAG的脚踝就会被锁定，它右脚上的加速度计会报告机器人已经着陆，并触发平衡程序来稳定它。

【点石成金】本句中，第一個that引导的是一个定语从句，先行词为an accelerometer;第二个that引导的是宾语从句，作动词reports的宾语;while引导时间状语从句。