每日英語跟讀 Ep.K367: About Japan - Japanese robot can peel bananas cleanly

Robots in Japan are found on factory floors carrying out simple tasks or delivering food to restaurant patrons but researchers have now unveiled a robot capable of executing the delicate task of peeling a banana without squashing the fruit inside.

日本的機器人常見到在工廠裡執行簡單的工作或是分送食物給餐廳顧客，但研究人員如今展示一種機器人，它能夠執行剝香蕉皮且不會壓壞裡面水果的細緻工作。

While the dual-armed machine is only successful 57% of the time, banana peeling points to a future where machines undertake more subtle operations than moving metal parts or delivering coffee.

雖然這種雙臂機器只有57%的時間是成功的，但剝香蕉皮顯示未來機器能夠從事比搬運金屬零件或送上咖啡更精巧的行動。

Video from researchers at the University of Tokyo showed the robot pick up and peel a banana with both hands in about three minutes.

東京大學研究人員的影片顯示，這款機器人用雙手在3分鐘內撿起一根香蕉並完成剝皮。

Researchers Heecheol Kim, Yoshiyuki Ohmura and Yasuo Kuniyoshi trained the robot using a "deep imitation learning" process where they demonstrated the banana-peeling action hundreds of times to produce sufficient data for the robot to learn the actions and replicate it.

研究人員金希哲、大村吉幸和國吉康夫利用「深度模仿學習」過程訓練機器人，他們展示剝香蕉皮的動作好幾百次來產生足夠的資料給機器人學習並複製這個動作。

Yasuo Kuniyoshi hopes the better-trained robots can alleviate Japan’s labour shortage problems, for example at bento lunch box or food processing factories that are highly dependent on human labour.

國吉康夫希望這些訓練有素的機器人可以減緩日本的勞動力短缺問題，例如在高度依賴人力的便當店或食品加工廠。

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Japanese ‘smart’ chopsticks enhance food flavours to make them more savoury日本「智能」筷子增強食物味道使它們更美味

Japanese researchers have developed computerised chopsticks that enhance salty tastes, potentially helping those who need to reduce sodium in their diets.

日本研究人員開發出一款可提升鹹味的電腦化筷子，有機會幫助那些飲食需要減少鈉攝取量的民眾。

Co-developed by Meiji University professor Homei Miyashita and beverage maker Kirin Holdings Co., the chopsticks enhance tastes using electrical stimulation and a mini-computer worn on a wristband.

這款筷子由明治大學教授宮下芳明及飲料製造商麒麟控股公司共同開發，可利用電流刺激和佩戴在腕帶上的迷你電腦來提升口味。

The device uses a weak electrical current to transmit sodium ions from food, through the chopsticks, to the mouth where they create a sense of saltiness, said Miyashita. "As a result, the salty taste enhances 1.5 times," he said.

宮下說，該設備使用微弱電流，將食物中的鈉離子通過筷子傳輸到嘴巴，在那裡它們會產生鹹味。他說，「結果，鹹味提升了1.5倍。」

The taste-enhancing chopsticks may have particular relevance in Japan, where the traditional diet favours salty tastes. The average Japanese adult consumes about 10 grams of salt per day, double the amount recommended by the World Health Organisation.

增味筷子在日本可能特別重要，因為日本的傳統飲食偏愛鹹味。日本成年人平均每天攝取約10克鹽，是世界衛生組織（WHO）建議量的2倍。Source article: https://features.ltn.com.tw/english/article/paper/1516060 ; https://features.ltn.com.tw/english/article/paper/1514949

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每日英語跟讀 Ep.K367: About Japan - 日本剝香蕉皮機器人與好吃筷子

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