Thousands of kids recently had a peek at the world of tomorrow. They experienced life-size2 virtual video games, talking robots, and high-tech vehicles. Those inventions were among the 150 creations from around the world on exhibit3 at this year's NextFest fair in New York City. The four-day festival was inspired by world's fairs of the past.
NextFest gave inventors a chance to unveil their latest creations. Many were right out of the laboratory, while others were still being developed. Exhibits included advances in exploration, entertainment, design, health, communication, security, and transportation. Here are some of the high-tech gadgets4 that captured our attention.
Greetings, Human!
Don't let this photo fool you! Actroid may look real, but she is actually a humanoid5, or humanlike, robot receptionist6. She was designed by a Japanese company to greet and entertain people. When Actroid speaks, she makes eye contact and uses appropriate hand gestures7. Other versions of this robot are programmed to reply to hundreds of questions in four languages: English, Japanese, Mandarin8 Chinese, and Korean.
Dive Like a Dolphin
What's it like to live like a sea creature? The Bionic Dolphin gives people the opportunity to find out. The vehicle can navigate9 across the water at speeds up to 80 miles per hour (mph) and then dive at least 10 feet. Its inventor, Thomas Rowe, designed the machine with wings to enable it to “fly” underwater as fast as 40 mph. “The majority of my research was on dolphins, but where I got the most help was penguins10 and diving birds11,” he told WR News.
The submersible vehicle was first designed for recreation12. However, it may be used in the future to save whales entangled13 in nets. A larger version of the vehicle has also been designed to rescue people lost at sea. “It swallows14 them,” says Rowe.
A Lifesaving Straw15
In poor countries, millions of people don't have access to clean, safe drinking water. About 6,000 of those people die each day from waterborne16 diseases. A Danish company has invented a special straw to make dangerous water safe for drinking. LifeStraw contains filters to block many types of disease-causing bacteria and parasites17. A parasite is an organism18 that grows or feeds on another organism. “We hope to save and enhance19 the lives of many people around the world, especially children,” LifeStraw representative Brian Hollingsworth told WR News.
Meet a Space-Bot20!
Robonaut21 may provide assistance in future space missions. The humanoid robot is being designed by NASA, the U.S space agency. The robot will “perform tasks that up until now only astronauts could do,”NASA engineer Roger Rovekamp told WR News. Robonaut may be used for “setting up a work site for an astronaut prior to a spacewalk22, repairing damage to the outside of a spaceship at a moment's notice23, or assisting in the assembly24 of a space structure.”
Robonaut can be autonomous or remotely controlled by a human operator from Earth or in space. The operator would wear a special headset25 that displays live videos from cameras on the robot's head. By wearing a glove with sensors26, that person can control the actions of Robonaut's fingers, which can hold tools as small as tweezers27.
最近，成千上万的孩子们有机会一睹明天的世界。他们体验了与真人一般大小的虚拟电脑游戏、会说话的机器人和高科技运载工具。这些都是今年在纽约举办的NextFest展览会上展出的150项来自世界各地的创造发明的一部分。这个为期四天的节日灵感源于历次类似的世博会。
NextFest给了发明家们一个展示他们最新成果的机会。许多发明是直接从实验室里拿出来的，另一些仍处于开发阶段。展品包括在探测、娱乐、设计、健康、通信、安全和交通等领域所取得的进步。以下就是其中一些引人注目的高科技发明。
会打招呼，像真人一样！
别让这张照片忽悠了你！Actroid也许看上去像真的一样，但她其实不过是具有人的外表的机器接待员。她是由一家日本公司设计，用来问候和娱乐客人的。当Actroid说话的时候，她能进行眼神交流和使用恰当的手势。这款机器人的其他版本经编程可以用四种语言回答数以百计的问题：英语、日语、汉语普通话和韩语。
像海豚一样潜水
如果像海洋生物一样生活会是什么样子？“仿生海豚”给人们提供了一个体验的机会。这个运载装置可以以高达80英里的时速在水上航行，然后潜水至少10英尺。这个机器的发明者托马斯·罗为它设计了两翼，使其能够在水下以高达40英里的时速“飞行”。“我的研究对象主要是海豚，但却从企鹅和潜鸟中受益最多。”他对《读者周刊·新闻》说。
这艘能潜水的运载工具最初是为娱乐而设计的。然而它将来可用于拯救被渔网缠住的鲸鱼。该运载工具的大型版也已设计成功，可用来援救海上遇险的人。“它可以把遇险者吞进来。”罗说。
救命吸管
在贫困国家，数以百万计的人们喝不上清洁、安全的饮用水。每天有大约6000人死于饮水传播的疾病。一家丹麦公司发明了一种特殊的吸管，可以使危险的水能安全饮用。“生命吸管”内含过滤器，可以阻挡许多致病的细菌和寄生虫。寄生虫是一种寄生于别的生物之上或以别的生物为食的生物。“我们希望拯救世界上许多人，特别是孩子们的生命，提高他们的生活质量。”“生命吸管”的代表布莱恩·霍林思沃斯告诉《读者周刊·新闻》。
见见太空机器人！
机器宇航员可以在未来的太空使命中提供帮助。美国国家航空航天局正在设计这种人形机器人。它将“执行到目前为止只有宇航员才能完成的任务”，国家航空航天局的工程师罗杰·卢福坎普对《读者周刊·新闻》说。机器宇航员可以用来“为宇航员在太空行走前建立一个工作场所，随时奉命修理太空船的外部损伤，或协助安装某个太空设备。”
机器宇航员可以是自主行动，或者由地球上或太空的人类操作者遥控。操作者将戴上一副特殊的耳机，可以显示从机器人头上的摄像机传回的实况影像。此人戴上具有传感器的手套就能控制机器宇航员的手指运动，使其握住像镊子一样大小的工具。
1. dolphin n. 海豚
2. life-size adj. 与真人（实物） 大小一样的
3. on exhibit 展出的，陈列的
4. gadget n. 新发明，小玩意儿
5. humanoid adj. 有人类特点的
6. receptionist n. 接待员
7. gesture n. 手势
8. mandarin n. 中国普通话
9. navigate v. 航行，航海
10. penguin n. 企鹅
11. diving bird 潜鸟
12. recreation n. 消遣，娱乐
13. entangle v. 纠缠，缠住
14. swallow v. 吞没，咽下
15. straw n. 麦秆；吸管
16. waterborne adj. 水传播的
17. parasite n. 寄生虫
18. organism n. 生物体
19. enhance v. 提高，增加
20. bot n. 一种能够连续执行同一操作的电脑程序，此处指机器人
21. robonaut n. 机器宇航员
22. spacewalk n. 太空行走
23. at a moment's notice 接到通知立刻行动
24. assembly n. 装配，组装
25. headset n. 有传话器的耳机
26. sensor n. 传感器
27. tweezers n. 镊子，小钳