An Army of Small Robots

A group of terrorists has stormed into an office building and taken an unknown number of people hostage. They have blocked the entrances and covered windows. No one outside can see how many they are. what weapons they carry or where they are holding their hostages. But suddenly a swat team bursts into the room and captures the assailants before they can even grab their weapons. How did the commandos get the information they needed to move so confidently and decisively?

The answer is a team of small, coordinated robots. They infiltrated the building through the ventilation system and methodically moved throughout the ducts. Some were equipped with microphones to monitor conversations, others with small video cameras, still others with sensors that sniffed the air for chemical or biological agents. Working together, they radioed this real-time information back to the authorities.

This is roughly the scenario that the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) presented to robotics researchers in 1998. Their challenge was to develop tiny re'connaissance (разведка, исследование) robots that soldiers could carry on their backs and scatter on the floor like popcorn. On the home front, firefighters and search-and-rescue workers could toss these robots through windows and let them scoot (течь, струиться) around to look for trapped victims or sniff out toxic materials. For now. these scenarios - let alone the life-like robots depicted in science-fiction movies remain well beyond the state of the art. Yet the vision of mini robots has captured the attention of leading robot designers. Rather than concentrate on a few large platforms bristling with

sensors, the focus these days is shifting toward building fleets of small, light and simple robots.

In principle. lilliputian robots have numerous advantages over their bulkier cousins. They can crawl through pipes, inspect collapsed buildings and hide in inconspicuous niches. A well-organized group of them can exchange sensor information to map objects that cannot be easily comprehended from a single vantage point. They can come to the aid of one another to scale obstacles or recover from a fall. Depending on the situation, the team leader can send in a bigger or smaller number of robots. If one robot fails, the entire mission is not lost; the rest can earn. on.

But diminutive robots require a new design philosophy. They do not have the luxury of abundant power and space, as do their larger cousins, and they cannot house all the components necessary to 'execute a given mission. Even carrying something as compact as a video camera can nearly overwhelm a little robot. Consequently, their sensors, processing power and physical strength must be distributed among several robots, which must then work in unison. Such robots are like ants in a colony: weak and vulnerable on their own but highly effective when they join forces.

И Внешнее членение предложения при переводе

Преобразование одного высказывания в два и более называется внешним членением. Например, для публицистических материалов характерны длинные предложения, которые целесообразно при переводе делить на более короткие фразы, то есть, использовать прием внешнего членения высказывания. Внешнее членение также позволяет избегать не свойственных русскому языку громоздких грамматических конструкций.

Пожары охватили Португалию. Погибло еще два человека. Общее количество жертв возросло до 15. В страну для оказания помощи в борьбе с пожарами прибыли пожарные бригады из других стран.

Задание 58. Переведите предложения, используя прием внешнего членения высказывания.

1. The latest fatalities reported Tuesday included an 88-year-old woman, who fled her home near Ourem in central Portugal last Thursday trying to escape the flames.

2. Also on Monday, a 40-year-old man who was helping to fight fires near his northern village of Vila Nova de Poiares. was killed when a firefighting truck ran over him. police said.

3. Nasiriyah, Iraq - A suicide bomber blew up a truck packed with explosives at an Italian paramilitary base Wednesday, killing at least 26 people.

4. Formal, classroom-based instruction did not become the norm until well into the nineteenth century, at which time teaching began its long and still unfinished evolution into a professional occupation.

5. Large reductions in the ozone layer, which sits about 15-30 km (9-19 miles) above the Earth, take place each winter over the polar regions, especially the Antarctic, as low temperatures allow the formation of stratospheric clouds that assist chemical reactions breaking down ozone.

Ш Задание 59. Переведите текст Обратите внимание на перевод субъектного инфинитивного оборота. Считаете ли вы целесообразным использование приемов членения некоторых предложений, смыслового развития, транскрипции? Какие предложения вводят новую информации)? Как их рекомендуется переводить на русский язык?