Robotic Dolphins 機器海豚

Entrepreneurs in New Zealand are working with American creators of some of Hollywoods most famous creatures to develop animatronic dolphins that look almost identical to their living counterparts.

新西蘭的企業家們正在與一些著名的美國好萊塢生物創作者合作，開發看起來和活海豚幾乎一樣的仿生機器海豚。

A robotic dolphin that can nod an answer to a child might sound unappealing or disconcerting. But as marine parks around the world face increasing pressure to abandon exhibitions featuring real whales and dolphins， the creatures provide an appealing alternative， their creators say.

一只會用點頭來回應小朋友的機器海豚，可能聽起來沒什么吸引力或者還讓人有些不安。 但是，隨著世界各地的海洋公園面臨越來越大的壓力，要求放棄以活鯨魚和海豚為特色的展覽，這種“生物”提供了一個吸引人的選擇，它們的創造者說。

But with a price tag of about NZ$40m （0.17 billion RMB） per dolphin， the biggest obstacle for the creators of the animatronic creatures is proving to potential clients that the robotic sea creatures will work out to be cheaper in the long run than the real thing.

但是，機器海豚每只要價4000萬新西蘭元（約合人民幣1.7億元）。對于它的開發者來說，橫在面前的最大障礙是向潛在客戶證明，從長遠來看，機器仿生海洋生物會比活的海洋生物更便宜。

Li Wang， a business developer for Edge Innovation， the New Zealand-based company making the case for the robots， said they do cost four times more than normal dolphins but would last longer.

總部位于新西蘭的邊緣創新公司力主機器海豚更好。王立（音譯），是這家公司的商務拓展人員，他表示機器海豚的成本確實是普通海豚的四倍，但它們的使用壽命更長。

Melanie Langlotz， one of the entrepreneurs behind the project said， the prototype for the dolphin is indiscernible from the real thing. A test audience had been unable to guess the dolphin was not real， she added.

梅蘭妮·蘭洛茨是機器海豚項目背后的企業家之一，她說，仿生海豚與原型難辨真偽，測試觀眾無法判定海豚不是真的。

Animal rights advocates also welcomed the change. They hoped robotic dolphins would replace real ones in marine parks worldwide.

動物權利保護者也對這一創新表示支持。他們希望機器海豚能夠取代世界各地海洋公園中的活海豚。

In nature， dolphins swim up to 40 miles a day and live in tight-knit family groups， but in captivity animals were confined to concrete pools filled with chemically treated water and forced to interact with strangers.

在自然環境中，海豚一天最多能游上40英里（約64.4千米），并且生活在關系緊密的家庭群體中。但當它們被圈養起來時，海豚被限制在裝滿化學處理水的混凝土水池中，并被迫與陌生人互動。

Now， cutting-edge technology might allow us to experience nature without harming it.

現在，前沿的科技或許能讓我們在不傷害自然的情況下體驗自然。

Word Study

animatronic /'?n?m?'tr?n?k/ adj. 電子動物的;仿生的

abandon /?'b?nd?n/ v. 放棄;中止;拋棄，舍棄

They abandoned the match because of rain.

obstacle /'?bst?kl/ n. 障礙;阻礙;絆腳石

confine /k?n'fa?n/ v. 限制;限定;監禁