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Dubai Displays Tech Reputation With Global Robotics Contest
VOA News｜Middle East
November 1, 2019 11:22 AM Associated Press (source)
Dubai Displays Tech Reputation With Global Robotics Contest
杜拜透過全球機器人技術大賽展現科技聲譽
November 1, 2019 11:22 AM
Associated Press
Seeking to bolster its image as a forward-looking metropolis, Dubai hosted the largest-ever international robotics contest this week, challenging young people from 190 countries to find solutions to global ocean pollution.
Event organizers say their selection of Dubai as host reflects a vote of confidence that this oil-rich Emirati sheikhdom can be a global hub for innovation. They also expressed hope that bringing together tomorrow's scientists and engineers will help develop technologies to solve the world's most pressing issues, particularly those related to the environment.
Dean Kamen, founder of FIRST Global Challenge, said the Middle East represents a part of the world where "the adults have not learned how to play nice with each other" and it was up to young people to fix humanity's self-inflicted wounds.
"We are in an accelerating race toward catastrophe, whether it's global warning [sic], melting of the (polar ice) caps, bird flu, terrorism – you name it, we're worried about it. The solution to most of the world's grand challenges depends on better technologies than we have today," he said.
"This globe of ours is on life support, so the thought is we get every kid in every country to focus on learning how to use technology, but focus on using it as a tool and not a weapon," he explained.
The unofficial "Robotics Olympics" seeks to encourage young people to pursue subjects known as STEM – science, technology, engineering and mathematics. Teams of four to five students, aged 14-18, each received a kit of rods, wheels, wires and other raw materials with which to assemble their roving robots. Their task: Collect orange balls of various sizes from a playing field, which represented human-created pollutants in the ocean. Some devised robots for scooping, while others snatched up and fired the balls through the air into the receptacles.
The teams then formed "alliances," each with up of four nations, to battle their way to the final round. Overall, 1,500 students took part.
A team captained by Belarus, and including Syrian refugees, eventually won the gold medal, edging out a team captained by Israel in a dramatic final match. But organizers stressed a message of unity, not conflict.
"The kids get it. To them this isn't a competition; this is a 'coop-etition.' This is a celebration of technology," said Kamen.
Previous events tackled challenges related to clean water access and sustainable energy.
Robotics is a natural fit for Dubai, a city that's already testing driverless cars and taxis. It's become a magnet for international entrepreneurs, with an entire zone called "Internet City" that's packed with high-tech startups. Next October, Dubai will host the Expo 2020, welcoming technological breakthroughs from around the world.
"If we are to become the city of the future, we need to have the right talent from around the world," said Omar Al-Olama, the 29-year-old Emirati Minister of Artificial Intelligence, the world's first such minister. "Artificial intelligence is based on data. Data is what drives all these new technologies. We have the holy grail of data. We have 200 nationalities represented in this country."
FedEx recently announced Dubai would become the first city outside the U.S. to test Roxo, an autonomous delivery device that can travel on sidewalks and even unpaved surfaces.
Roxo made its debut international appearance at this week's robotics contest, drawing the interest of the tech-savvy teens hailing from places as diverse as Afghanistan to Zimbabwe. They mingled in Dubai's Festival City, exchanging experiences and forming friendships while talking shop about their gadgets.
"We didn't do so well in the matches because we had a lot of trouble with the control hub, but it doesn't matter, we had a lot of fun," said Stefan Sijbesma, 17, from the Netherlands. "For me, robotics is really important because it really helped me choose what I want to study and what I want to do with my life."
The three-day tournament had a festival-like atmosphere to it, with announcers and commentators analyzing the action in sports-broadcast style and fans waving flags and banners supporting their teams. The pavilion floor was filled with facts about the millions of tons of pollutants threatening the world's oceans, and featured slogans such as "united by land, connected by oceans" and "together we turn the tide on pollution."
As the nail-biting results were being announced, the Israelis huddled with their Ugandan teammates before embracing the winning team in a feel-good ending.
"I can't believe it, it's a miracle," said Yamen Najjar, manager of Team Hope, which represents the Syrian refugees and was part of the winning alliance. "It was a very difficult competition for us, we faced a lot of problems, but we didn't lose hope."
Outgoing U.S. Energy Secretary Rick Perry, who'd made the original announcement that Dubai would host the event earlier this year in a surprise visit to the World Government Summit, was on hand. Perry said he's followed the robotics tournaments since 2002 when, as governor of Texas, he attended one of the regional competitions in Houston and was "blown away" by the passions and abilities of the young contestants.
But he said he found their camaraderie even more impressive.
"It is stunning what these young people are doing," Perry said. "Where the adults may have failed in the standpoint of international diplomacy, these young people may accomplish, and if that's the case maybe that is the most important thing that comes out of this."
杜拜（Dubai）於本週（編按：2019 年 10 月 21 日至 27 日）舉辦了有史以來規模最大的國際機器人技術(robotics)競賽，挑戰來自 190 個國家的年輕人，期望他們為全球海洋汙染問題找出解決辦法。杜拜也希望藉由這次的主辦(host，註 1)經驗提升(bolster)其都市形象，成為眾人心目中發展具前瞻性的(forward-looking)大都會(metropolis)。
競賽籌辦單位(organizer)表示，他們相信杜拜未來可以成為全球創新(innovation)技術的樞紐(hub)，因此選擇這個石油藏量豐富的阿拉伯酋長國(sheikhdom)作為主辦者。他們也希望透過讓這些明日(tomorrow)的科學家與工程師齊聚一堂的方式，增進技術上的發展以解決全球最緊迫的(pressing)問題，尤其是那些和環境有關的議題。
狄恩．卡門（Dean Kamen）是 FIRST 全球挑戰賽（FIRST Global Challenge，FGC；FIRST 由「For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology」中各字的首字母縮寫而成）的創辦者。他指出，中東（Middle East）地區的「成年人沒有學會彼此友善對待」，因此年輕人須負起職責(be up to . . .，註 2)，努力撫平人類自己造成的(self-inflicted，註 3)創傷。
「目前地球面臨浩劫(catastrophe，註 5)的速度正在加快(accelerating，註 4)，無論是全球暖化(global warning)、極地冰冠(polar ice cap)融化、禽流感(bird flu)還是恐怖主義(terrorism)行動，任何說得出來的(you name it)天災人禍都在加速發生，對此我們非常擔憂。世界面臨的各種重大(grand)挑戰有賴更好的技術解決，而這些技術目前尚未發展出來。」他補充說明。
「地球目前危急的情況就像病人靠著維持器延續生命般，因此我們希望全球所有國家的每位孩童都能專注學習如何運用科技為地球解決問題。不過，他們必須把科技視為工具，而非當作武器使用。」卡門解釋著。
這場非正式的「機器人奧運會（Robotics Olympics）」目的在於鼓勵年輕人選擇科學、技術、工程以及數學的科目研讀，朝向 STEM（Science、Technology、Engineering 及 Mathematics）領域發展。年紀介於 14 歲與 18 歲之間的學生組成 4 人或 5 人小組，每組皆得到成套工具，包含桿子、輪子、金屬線和其他材料。各組將用這些材料組裝(assemble)成可四處漫遊的(roving)機器人。這些機器人必須完成以下任務：從競賽場上收集大小不一的橘色球體。這些橘色球體散落在競賽場各處，象徵著人類製造的汙染物(pollutant)漂流在海洋中。有些精心設計的(devised，註 6)機器人會使用鏟子把球鏟(scoop)起，至於其他機器人則相互爭奪(snatch)並把球射向空中，讓球最終能夠進入收集器(receptacle，註 7)裡。〔編按：STEM 由 Science、Technology、Engineering 與 Mathematics 等 4 種學科領域的首字母縮寫而成；有關上述機器人任務的詳細資訊請參考影片 OCEAN OPPORTUNITIES – 2019 FIRST Global Challenge。〕
所有隊伍接著組成「聯盟(alliance)」，每個聯盟的隊伍皆分別來自（至多）4 個國家。聯盟間彼此競爭直至決賽最終回。全程共有 1500 名學生參與這場賽事。
由白俄羅斯（Belarus）率領(captain)的隊伍成員包含了來自敘利亞的難民(refugee)。他們在充滿戲劇性的決賽中打敗(edge out . . .)由以色列（Israel）領軍的隊伍，最終贏得金牌(gold medal)。不過，主辦單位也在賽程中強調(stress)團結一致(unity)而非衝突(conflict)對立的重要性。
「這些孩子懂的。對他們來說，這並不是彼此競爭，而是『合作』比賽，就像是慶祝科技發展的活動般。」卡門進一步說明。
先前的比賽項目則要求參賽者處理(tackle)某些挑戰，包含取得乾淨用水的途徑以及發展永續能源(sustainable energy，註 8)的議題。
杜拜目前已在測試無人駕駛汽車(driverless car)與計程車，因此發展機器人技術是再自然也不過了。從國際間創業者(entrepreneur)的角度來看，杜拜是個極具吸引力的地方(magnet)：當地名為「網路城（Internet City）」的一帶已林立著許多高科技新創公司(startup，註 9)。此外，杜拜將於明年 10 月主辦 2020 年世界博覽會（Expo 2020；expo，註 10），迎接全球各地在科技上的突破性發展(breakthrough)。
「要讓城市發展與未來接軌，就必須從世界各地延攬合適的人才。」現年 29 歲的奧馬爾．奧拉瑪（Omar Al-Olama）表示。他是阿拉伯聯合大公國（United Arab Emirates，UAE）的人工智慧部長（Minister of Artificial Intelligence），而這個部長(minister)職位也創下全球首例。「人工智慧(artificial intelligence，AI)以資料數據為基礎。資料數據正是驅使所有新技術發展的源頭。我們擁有夢寐以求(the holy grail，註 11)的資料數據，目前更有來自 200 個不同國家的人居住於此。」
聯邦快遞（FedEx）最近宣布杜拜將成為美國境外第一個測試羅舒（Roxo）機器人的城市。羅舒能夠自主(autonomous)完成遞送服務：不僅可在人行道上行進，就連未鋪砌的(unpaved)路面也照樣通行無阻。
羅舒於本週的機器人技術競賽中，首次在國際間公開亮相(debut，12)，這也引起了各方精通科技的(tech-savvy，註 13)青少年關注。這些青少年來自(hail from . . .)世界各國，從亞洲的阿富汗（Afghanistan）到非洲的辛巴威（Zimbabwe）皆包括在內。他們聚在杜拜的節日城（Festival City）交流(mingle)，彼此分享經歷、建立友誼的同時也談論自己的工作(talk shop)，內容皆有關於他們設計的小裝置(gadget)。
「我們處理機體的控制中心時遇到很多問題，導致比賽表現不佳，不過沒關係，整場比賽我們玩得很開心。」斯特凡．西耶貝斯馬（Stefan Sijbesma）說。現年 17 歲的他來自荷蘭（Netherlands）。「對我來說，機器人技術真的很重要，因為透過接觸這些技術，對我在選擇想要攻讀的領域上幫了大忙，也讓我清楚明白未來想做的事。」
為期 3 天的錦標賽充滿著如節慶般歡樂的氛圍，賽事播報員(announcer)和評論員(commentator)以體育運動廣播風格分析各隊行動，隊迷則揮舞著旗幟和橫布條(banner)為各隊加油。舉行賽事的大型體育館(pavilion，註 14)裡，地面上隨處可見有關幾百萬噸汙染物威脅全球海洋的資訊，以及「我們透過陸地團結，透過海洋聯結在一起（united by land, connected by oceans）」與「讓我們一起扭轉局勢(turn the tide)，降低汙染危害（together we turn the tide on pollution）」等頗具特色的標語(slogan)。
隨著緊張刺激的(nail-biting)結果揭曉，以色列的參賽者和他們的烏干達隊友相互簇擁(huddle)著，然後在愉悅的(feel-good)競賽尾聲中擁抱(embrace)獲勝隊伍。
「我真不敢相信，這就像奇蹟一樣。」希望隊（Team Hope）的經理亞門．納賈爾（Yamen Najjar）表示。這個隊伍代表了敘利亞難民，同時也是獲勝聯盟的一員。「這個比賽對我們來說實在很困難，過程中遇到好多問題，但我們沒有喪失希望。」
參賽隊伍受訪時，即將卸任的(outgoing，註 15)美國能源部長（United States Secretary of Energy）瑞克．裴利（Rick Perry）也在旁邊(on hand)。他今年（編按：2019 年）年初曾突然參訪世界政府峰會（World Government Summit），並在那時宣布杜拜將舉辦這次的機器人技術競賽。裴利部長表示，他自 2002 年起就開始關注機器人技術錦標賽。那時他還是德州（Texas）州長，曾出席休士頓（Houston）舉辦的區域賽，並對年輕參賽選手(contestant)的熱忱與能力「驚訝不已(blown away，註 16)」。
不過他說，他發現參賽者之間那份志同道合的情誼(camaraderie)更令人印象深刻(impressive)。
「這些年輕人的作為真的很令人驚豔(stunning)！」裴利部長表示。「從國際外交(diplomacy)的立場(standpoint)看來，成年人可能沒辦法做到的，這些年輕人卻可能達成(accomplish)。如果真是這樣的話，那應該就是這次活動帶給我們最重要的啟示吧。」
〔編按：FIRST 全球挑戰賽（FIRST Global Challenge）相關資訊請參考 FIRST Global Media 頻道之影片。〕
Language Notes
註 1： host 於本文第 1 段作動詞，指「主辦」，於本文第 2 段作名詞，意即「主辦者」；本字另常見意思為「主人，東道主」以及「（廣播或電視節目的）主持人」
註 2： be up to somebody 為動詞片語，意即「是 . . . . . . 的職責」
註 3： self-inflicted 源於動詞 "inflict"「使遭受（損傷等）；給予（打擊）」；注意重音在第 3 音節
註 4： accelerating 源於動詞 "accelerate"「加速；加快；促進；促使」，為現在分詞作形容詞；注意重音在第 2 音節
註 5： catastrophe 於本文指「浩劫；大災難」；本字也可指「困境；不利的局面」；注意重音在第 2 音節；相關的形容詞為 "catastrophic"
註 6： devised 源於動詞 "devise"「巧妙構思；設計；發明」，為過去分詞作形容詞；注意重音在第 2 音節
註 7： receptacle 源於動詞 "receive"「收到，接到；得到」，於本文指「收集器」；本字也有「容器；貯存器」的意思
註 8： sustainable 源於動詞 "sustain"「保持，維持；使持續」，於本文指「永續的」；本字也有「能長期保持的」之意
註 9： startup 另一拼法為 "start-up"；本字也可作形容詞，意即「創業的」；相關的動詞片語為 "start up"「啟動，開始」
註 10： expo 為名詞 "exposition"「展覽會；博覽會」的縮寫
註 11： the holy grail 於本文指「夢寐以求」；本字原指「（傳說耶穌在最後的晚餐上使用過的）聖杯」，亦可指「極難找到（或得到）之物」
註 12： debut 於本文指「首次亮相」；本字也常指「首演；初次登臺」；注意重音在第 2 音節，字尾的 "t" 不發音
註 13： tech-savvy 於本文指「精通科技的；懂技術的」；名詞 "savvy" 意即「理解能力；實際能 力」
註 14： pavilion 於本文指「大型體育館」；本字亦有「（公園、花園中的）亭子，涼亭」、「分館式建築物」與「（為公共活動或展覽搭建的）臨時建築物（如大帳篷）」等意
註 15： outgoing 於本文指「即將卸任的」；本字也常指「友好的；外向的」
註 16： blown away 是動詞片語 "blow somebody away"「使 . . . . . . 大為驚訝」的被動式，意指「感到非常驚訝的」
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Check your comprehension!
Choose the BEST answer to each of the questions below. After you finish, highlight the parentheses to reveal the hidden answers.
1. ( B ) According to the article, how did the young people accomplish the task in the contest?
(A) By developing computer programs to defeat the robots designed by other teams.
(B) By operating the robots to gather different sizes of orange balls from a playing field.
(C) By cooperating with other teammates to come up with solutions to reduce pollutants.
(D) By carrying out a long-term project to purify the contaminated water sources regularly.
2. ( C ) What is particular about Roxo, the autonomous delivery device launched by FedEx?
(A) It can deliver a variety of items without any restrictions on size or weight.
(B) It is driven, monitored, and controlled by a drone from a certain distance.
(C) It can navigate different kinds of terrain without any difficulty.
(D) It is powered by solar energy and is eco-friendly accordingly.
3. ( A ) Why does Stefan Sijbesma, the 17-year-old Dutch teenager, consider robotics important?
(A) Through the access to robotics, he realized what he was going to major and pursue as his future career.
(B) With the rapid development of technology, robotics has played an essential role in different walks of life.
(C) In regard to quality of life, he has experienced the greatest convenience brought by robotics.
(D) From the economic perspective, the application of robotics is the most cost-effective way in terms of production.
編譯：外語教學暨資源中心 編輯小組
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