This little fellow was developed

容我為各位介紹 Rezero。

by a group of 10 undergraduate students

這個小傢伙

at the Autonomous Systems Laboratory

是由蘇黎世聯邦理工學院

at ETH-Zurich.

自治系統實驗室裡的

Our robot belongs to a family of robots

十名大學生所發明出來的。

called Ballbots.

我們的機器人屬於機器人家族中

Instead of wheels, a Ballbot is balancing

所謂的以球代步機器人。

and moving on one single ball.

以球代步機器人是用一顆球來取代輪子

The main characteristics of such a system is

做為平衡和移動的工具。

that there's one sole contact point to the ground.

這種系統的主要特徵是

This means that the robot

機器人和地面之間僅有一個接觸點。

is inherently unstable.

這意味著機器人

It's like when I am trying to stand

本身是處於不穩定狀態的。

on one foot.

就好比我試著想

You might ask yourself, what's the usefulness

金雞獨立一樣。

of a robot that's unstable?

各位可能會問，

Now we'll explain that in a second.

連站都站不穩的機器人能有什麼用呢？

Let me first explain how Rezero

接下來我們立刻會向各位說明。

actually keeps his balance.

首先，讓我先向各位解釋

Rezero keeps his balance by constantly

Rezero 究竟是如何維持他自身的平衡。

measuring his pitch angle with a sensor.

Rezero 是利用一個感測器

He then counteracts and avoids toppling over

不斷測量傾斜角度以保持自身平衡的。

by turning the motors appropriately.

接著他再藉著運轉適當地運轉馬達

This happens 160 times per second,

來抵消傾斜的角度以避免傾倒。

and if anything fails in this process,

這個運作過程每秒鐘內執行達 160 次之多，

Rezero would immediately fall to the ground.

而假設在運作過程中出了任何差錯的話，

Now to move and to balance,

Rezero 就會立刻翻倒在地上。

Rezero needs to turn the ball.

為了移動和平衡，

The ball is driven by three special wheels

Rezero 需要轉動這顆球。

that allow Rezero to move into any direction

這顆球是由三個特別的輪子做為驅動，

and also move around his own axis

使 Rerezo 得以朝任何方向行進

at the same time.

並同時

Due to his instability, Rezero is always

進行自轉。

in motion. Now here's the trick.

由於天生的不穩定性，使得 Rezero 永遠

It's indeed exactly this instability that allows

必須處於運動狀態。最妙的是，

a robot to move very [dynamically].

正是基於這種不穩定性

Let's play a little.

才使機器人得以如此 “充滿活力“ 的運作。

You may have wondered what happens

我們來試試看。

if I give the robot a little push.

各位可能會好奇

In this mode, he's trying to maintain

假設我輕輕推一下這個機器人的話，會發生什麼事呢？

his position.

在這個模式中，他會試著去回到

For the next demo, I'd like you to introduce

他原來的位置。

to my colleagues Michael, on the computer,

為了進行下一個示範，我要向各位介紹

and Thomas who's helping me onstage.

我的同事麥可，他會幫忙操作電腦，

In the next mode, Rezero is passive,

而湯馬斯則會在講台上幫我。

and we can move him around.

在下一個模式中，Rezero 是處於被動狀態，

With almost no force I can control

我們可以輕易的移動他。

his position and his velocity.

我幾乎不需要花任何力氣

I can also make him spin.

就能操控他的位置和行進速率。

In the next mode, we can get Rezero

我也可以讓他旋轉。

to follow a person.

在下個模式中，

He's now keeping a constant distance to Thomas.

則可以讓 Rezero 跟著一個人移動。

This works with a laser sensor

現在他保持著一定的距離跟隨著湯馬斯。

that's mounted on top of Rezero.

這個動作是藉由安裝在

With the same method, we can also

Rezero 頭頂的感測器來進行的。

get him to circle a person.

利用同樣的方法，

We call this the orbiting mode.

我們也可以讓他繞著某個人轉。

All right, thank you, Thomas.

我們把這稱為軌道運行模式。

(Applause)

好了，謝謝你，湯馬斯。

Now, what's the use of this technology?

（掌聲）

For now, it's an experiment, but let me

好了，這種科技到底有什麼用途呢？

show you some possible future applications.

目前，這還在實驗階段，

Rezero could be used in exhibitions or parks.

但請容我為各位介紹幾個未來可能的應用範圍。

With a screen it could inform people or show

Rezero 可以用於展場或公園。

them around in a fun and entertaining way.

他可以裝上螢幕供人們查詢資訊，

In a hospital, this device could be used to

或做為新奇有趣的導覽員之用。

carry around medical equipment.

在醫院裡，這種裝置可以用來

Due to the Ballbot system, it has a very small

運送醫療儀器。

footprint and it's also easy to move around.

由於球體代步機器人的系統

And of course, who wouldn't like

他軌跡很小而且易於移動。

to take a ride on one of these.

而當然，誰不想

And these are more practical applications.

騎著他到處轉轉呢？

But there's also a certain beauty

這些是屬於比較實用的範例。

within this technology.

不過就這項科技本身而言

(Music)

也同時也有著純粹的美感。

(Applause)

（音樂）

Thank you.

（掌聲）

(Applause)

謝謝各位。

Thank you.

（掌聲）