會說話的泰迪熊 將成兒童患友好玩伴
Here’s Huggable—Teddy Ruxpin for the new millennium. It’s a talking blue teddy bot designed to care for and comfort hospitalized children.
這就是抱抱熊（Huggable）——新千年的泰迪熊華斯比。它是一個會說話的藍色機器人，爲了關心和安慰住院的孩子們而設計。
The New York Times reported today it’s currently being used in a study that gathers kids’ physiological responses to various stress-alleviating stimuli to determine whether Huggable offers ill children therapeutic benefits or not. Eventually, that data will be integrated in the robo-bear to make it automated and able to respond to kids’ various needs.
據《紐約時報》報道，在某研究中該泰迪熊被用於收集孩子們應對各種壓力緩解刺激的生理反應，以此來決定抱抱熊是否對病中兒童的治療有好處。最終，這些數據將被整合到機器熊裏，使它能夠自動回覆孩子們的各種需求。
Right now, the bear is more of a “high-tech puppet,” the Times writes. An adult down the hall controls the bear, serving as its voice, shooting the breeze with the young patient. The robot’s a collaboration between MIT’s Media Lab and Boston Children’s Hospital, which has invested half a million bucks to research social robots.
現在，這隻熊遠遠不止是一個“高科技玩偶”那麼簡單。一個成人可以在走廊操控這隻熊，通過它來發聲和小病人們閒聊。這個機器人是麻省理工大學媒體實驗室和波士頓兒童醫院合作研發，投資50萬美元的研究型社交機器人。
As with most robots, the ultimate goal is to get it to adapt to changing situations on its own, just as humans do. So maybe one day, if a child doesn’t respond to the bear’s jokes, it could shift strategies automatically. Switching to a calmer activity might help that particular child relax, for instance.
和絕大多數機器人一樣，抱抱熊的終極目標是讓他們能夠像人類一樣適應不斷變化的情況。如此一來，也許某天，如果一個孩子聽了熊的笑話沒有笑出來，它可以自動轉換策略。例如，切換成更爲平和的活動模式，也許能幫助這個小孩放鬆下來。
Will robots be caring for our future offspring? If the tech’s up to snuff, maybe. After playing with Huggable, the young patient in the Times video says the bear suffered from lagged responses and limited motion—a major problem when they tried to play peek-a-boo.
機器人會照顧我們的後代嗎？如果科技能達到一定水平的話，也許可以。在和抱抱熊玩耍過後，小病人們在《紐約時報》視頻裏說，這隻熊反應滯後而且動作幅度有限，若他們想要和抱抱熊玩捉迷藏，這就會成爲一個大問題。
