如果你看過電影《異形：契約》，你可能對(duì)機(jī)器人沒什么好感。但是在這個(gè)疫情肆虐的時(shí)刻，機(jī)器人卻成為了人類的好幫手。從掃大街到給病人量體溫，越來越多的機(jī)器人加入了抗疫第一線的工作。

ROBOTS ARE OFTEN CAST in popular science fiction as the villains – soulless automatons that take over the world and enslave mankind. But with the onset of the global coronavirus pandemic, robots are increasingly being employed as helpers, taking on often dull, difficult and dangerous tasks and thus reducing humans' exposure to COVID-19.

在熱門科幻片中，機(jī)器人經(jīng)常以反派的角色出現(xiàn)——統(tǒng)治世界、奴役人類，沒有靈魂。然而，隨著新冠肺炎疫情襲擊全球，機(jī)器人越來越多地被當(dāng)做助手，承擔(dān)起通常單調(diào)、艱巨和危險(xiǎn)的任務(wù)，從而減少人類和新冠病毒的接觸。

Across the world, robotics companies are teaming with health care providers and government officials to develop technological solutions for dealing with the global health crisis. In China, robots with tank-like tread have rolled down streets spraying disinfectant. In at least one hospital in South Korea, robots are being used to check patients' temperatures and dispense hand sanitizer. In Tunisia, authorities have deployed robots to ensure people are obeying the lockdown.

在世界各地，機(jī)器人公司正與醫(yī)療衛(wèi)生機(jī)構(gòu)和政府官員合作研發(fā)技術(shù)產(chǎn)品來應(yīng)對(duì)這場(chǎng)全球健康危機(jī)。在中國，像坦克一般滾動(dòng)前行的機(jī)器人在街道上噴灑消毒水。在韓國的多家醫(yī)院，機(jī)器人被用于檢測(cè)病人的體溫和分發(fā)洗手液。在突尼斯，政府部署了機(jī)器人以確保人們遵守隔離規(guī)定。

In the United States, two of the principal ways in which robotic technology is being used to fight the pandemic are to disinfect hospital rooms and to act as a telemedicine portal, allowing doctors and health care workers to communicate via video conference directly with patients without unnecessarily exposing themselves to the highly contagious virus.

在美國，機(jī)器人技術(shù)被用來抗擊疫情的兩個(gè)主要方式是給醫(yī)院病房消毒和作為遠(yuǎn)程醫(yī)療平臺(tái)，讓醫(yī)生和醫(yī)護(hù)人員可以通過視頻會(huì)議直接和病人交流，又可以避免接觸到這種高傳染性的病毒。

In Boston, doctors, researchers and robotics engineers have teamed up to bring a friendly, dog-like robot named Spot into Brigham and Women's Hospital, allowing doctors to interact with COVID-19 patients via telemedicine.

在醫(yī)生、研究人員和機(jī)器人工程師的合作下，友好的機(jī)器狗“斑點(diǎn)”進(jìn)入了波士頓的布里格姆女子醫(yī)院，讓醫(yī)生可以通過遠(yuǎn)程醫(yī)療系統(tǒng)和新冠肺炎患者進(jìn)行互動(dòng)。

While other technology companies have built robots with built-in screens that serve as the doctor's stand-in in health care settings, what sets Spot apart is its four-legged design, which allows the robot to move about easily in different settings, such as the triage tent set up outside the hospital.

盡管其他科技公司已經(jīng)造出了有內(nèi)置屏幕的機(jī)器人，可以在醫(yī)療機(jī)構(gòu)中作為醫(yī)生的替身，但是“斑點(diǎn)”的與眾不同之處就在于它有四條腿，可以輕易地在不同的場(chǎng)地四處走動(dòng)，比如醫(yī)院外支起的分流帳篷。

In March, at the onset of the pandemic, a coalition from the hospital, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Spot's manufacturer, robotics firm Boston Dynamics, began developing and testing the robot's design to enable Spot to interact with patients, thus reducing the exposure of frontline health care workers to the virus. In the place of a head, Spot has an iPad affixed to a stand, allowing doctors to conduct telemedicine sessions with their patients.

今年三月疫情來襲時(shí)，該醫(yī)院的聯(lián)盟機(jī)構(gòu)麻省理工學(xué)院和“斑點(diǎn)”的制造商波士頓動(dòng)力機(jī)器人公司開始研發(fā)和測(cè)試這款機(jī)器人的新功能，讓“斑點(diǎn)”可以和病人互動(dòng)，從而減少一線醫(yī)護(hù)人員和病毒的接觸。“斑點(diǎn)”的“頭”是一個(gè)固定在臺(tái)子上的平板電腦，讓醫(yī)生可以對(duì)病人進(jìn)行遠(yuǎn)程醫(yī)療服務(wù)。

"Most people actually really like it," says Dr. Peter Chai, an emergency medicine physician and medical toxicologist who serves as the hospital's chief investigator on the robot project.

該醫(yī)院機(jī)器人項(xiàng)目的首席調(diào)查員、急診醫(yī)師、醫(yī)學(xué)毒理學(xué)家皮特·柴博士說：“大多數(shù)人還挺喜歡它的?！?/p>

Researchers are working to increase the robot's diagnostic abilities, enabling it to gauge the patient's temperature and measure his or her respiratory rate.

研究人員正致力于提高這款機(jī)器人的診斷能力，讓其可以給病人量體溫和呼吸頻率。

Chai predicts that hospitals will continue to find ways to use robots even after the coronavirus pandemic subsides, whether it be through delivering supplies to rooms or seeing patients with other contagious diseases.

柴博士預(yù)計(jì)，在疫情過去之后，醫(yī)院也會(huì)繼續(xù)探索使用機(jī)器人的方式，無論是讓機(jī)器人運(yùn)送物資到病房，還是為有其他傳染病的患者診治。

英文來源：US News

翻譯&編輯：丹妮