科技資訊:新一代機器人將更像人類(上）

Robots in factories don't resemble R2-D2, the charming electronic handyman in "Star Wars" films. They tend to be faceless machines doing heavy, repetitive chores. Often they are sealed in cages so they don't knock someone's head off when they swing a steel arm.

工廠裏的機器人長得並不像影片《星球大戰》(Star Wars)裏那個好玩的機器人阿圖(R2-D2)，而是一些沒有臉部的機器，從事一些重複性的重型工作。它們往往被封閉在鐵籠之內，以免鋼臂揮動時磕碰到旁邊的工人。

Now, cheaper and more advanced sensor technology promises to let robots work in closer proximity to people, without maiming or bumping into them.

如今，隨着傳感器技術的進步和成本降低，機器人將能在更貼近人類的區域工作，而不會傷及到人類同事。

Companies including Japan's Kawada Industries Inc. and Fanuc Corp. () and Switzerland-based ABB Ltd. (ABB, ) are developing dexterous robots to perform such delicate tasks as assembling smart phones-something now typically done by nimble-fingered women in China.

日本的川田工業株式會社(Kawada Industries Inc.)、發那科公司(Fanuc Corp.)和總部位於瑞士的ABB公司等企業都在研究動作靈巧的機器人，使其從事一些精細化的工作，如裝配智能手機等。目前，這種組裝工作一般都依靠中國女工的靈巧雙手來完成。

If these experimental robots pan out, they may cut the labor costs of consumer-electronic product companies, reducing the allure of low-wage countries.

如果這些目前還處於試驗階段的機器人能夠普及推廣，將有可能降低消費類電子企業的用工成本，從而放緩發達國家將生產線移往低成本國家的趨勢。

The aim isn't to shoo humans out of factories. It is to give people more efficient tools, says Nicolas de Keijser, ABB's global product manager for small robots."There are things that people do better than robots," such as improvising or quickly adapting to design changes, he says. "That will remain so."

ABB公司的小型機器人全球產品經理尼古拉斯•德凱瑟(Nicolas de Keijser)說，使用機器人的目的並不是要把工人趕出工廠，而是爲人類提供更有效率的工具。德凱瑟說，“有些事情由人來做要比機器做得更好”，比如即興調整或快速適應產品設計變化等，“而且今後也將會這樣。”

Today, robots are used mostly in making cars and semiconductors or other goods produced in high volumes and requiring force or precision beyond human levels. They are good in warehouses, too. In March, Inc. (AMZN) announced it is paying $775 million to buy Kiva Systems Inc., a maker of squat, cube-shaped robots that move products around shipping centers.

現在，機器人主要應用於汽車和半導體等產品的製造上。這類產品的產量很高，要求的加工力量或精細程度超出人類的水平。此外，機器人在倉儲管理中也很管用。2012年3月，亞馬遜公司( Inc.)宣佈斥資7.75億美元收購Kiva Systems Inc.公司，後者專門生產在運輸中心用於移動倉儲物品的矮胖結實的立方形機器人。

Kawada's new NextAge robot, whose sensor eyes give it a passing resemblance to the movie character Wall-E, is "capable of replacing or collaborating with humans." The robots cost about $90,000 for the basic model.

川田公司新推出的NextAge機器人有一雙傳感器眼睛，外型與電影《機器人總動員》中的清掃型機器人瓦力(Wall-E)很相似，它能“替代人類從事特定工作，或與人類協作完成一項工作。”這款機器人的基本款售價約爲九萬美元。

Japanese industrial conglomerate Hitachi Ltd. () introduced a NextAge robot last September to a factory outside of Tokyo that makes computer storage products. There, NextAge puts a cover over each hard-disk drive's fan and tightens screws. This simple task, once handled by a person, shaves off nearly a minute of production per disk drive-a big time saver over the span of thousands of devices-and lets the human workers assemble other types of parts.

2011年9月，日本大型產業集團日立公司(Hitachi Ltd.)在東京郊外一家生產計算機內存的工廠投入使用NextAge機器人，由機器人來給硬盤驅動器的風扇加上蓋子並擰緊螺絲。這項工作很簡單，以前由人工完成，由機器人接手後，每個硬盤的生產時間減少近一分鐘──考慮到硬盤數以千計的產量，這可以節約大量時間──解放出來的人力則用於組裝其他零部件。

Another Japanese company, Glory Ltd. (), started using NextAge in November 2010 to install a tiny part in its money-sorting equipment for retail stores. The company found that using the robot saves labor costs and brings the defect rate near zero, "which is not possible for human workers," a Glory spokesman said. Glory now has 10 NextAge robots in the factory north of Tokyo.

另一家日本企業光榮公司(Glory Ltd.)於2010年11月開始使用NextAge機器人，用於安裝其爲零售商店生產的貨幣處理設備上的一個小部件。該公司發現，使用機器人能節省大量人力成本，並使產品瑕疵率降至接近於零，該公司發言人說，“這是人工製造所無法企及的高度。”現在，光榮公司位於東京北部的工廠配備了10臺NextAge機器人。

ABB is also developing a humanoid-like robot that can squeeze into small work spaces and learn new tasks quickly. The "dual-arm concept robot" will be agile enough to assemble consumer-electronic products, among other things, ABB says.

ABB公司也在研發一種人型機器人，它能在狹小的場所工作，並迅速學會新的工作任務。公司表示，這款“雙臂概念型機器人”十分靈巧，能夠用於組裝消費類電子產品，還能從事其他一些工作。

In some cases, Mr. de Keijser says, these robots will be interchangeable with people, who could fill in on assembly work while the robots are being reprogrammed for a new product design, for instance. ABB hopes to introduce new robots and related equipment to assemble small parts within the next 12 to 36 months, he says.

德凱瑟說，在有些情況下，這類機器人將可與工人交替使用。比如說，在對機器人重新編程以適應新的產品設計時，可以由工人先頂一陣子。ABB公司希望在未來一到三年內推出能夠裝配小型零部件的新款機器人及相關設備。

Fanuc, meanwhile, says its new M-1iA robots are being used to assemble such things as electrical fuses and chainsaws.

發那科公司表示，其新款的M-1iA機器人能用於裝配電子熔線和鏈鋸等產品。

In theory, robots already can make just about everything. But they aren't very flexible. If a part isn't exactly where it is supposed to be, the robot can't adapt as a person would. Another problem is that programming them to do assembly work can take months. Because product life cycles are short in consumer electronics, manufacturers can't wait for reprogramming every time a design changes.

從理論上講，機器人已經幾乎可以從事任何工作，只是不太靈活而已。如果某個零部件沒有裝配好，機器人不會像工人那樣去主動調整。另一個問題是，給機器人編程以從事裝配工作需要花上好幾個月時間。由於消費類電子產品的生命週期很短，製造商不可能一有設計變化，就等機器人重新編程再投入生產。