????該項(xiàng)目在實(shí)驗(yàn)室環(huán)境下的演示非常成功，研究團(tuán)隊(duì)（包括北卡州立大學(xué)教授埃德加?洛巴頓和米哈伊爾?斯契提尤）已經(jīng)獲得了美國國家科學(xué)基金會(National Science Foundation)信息物理系統(tǒng)(Cyber-Physical Systems)項(xiàng)目提供的資金，以盡快將該技術(shù)用于現(xiàn)實(shí)情境。團(tuán)隊(duì)的目標(biāo)是在三至四年內(nèi)實(shí)現(xiàn)該技術(shù)的實(shí)際應(yīng)用。

????博茲庫爾特表示：“我們希望大群昆蟲生物機(jī)器人可以在極短時(shí)間內(nèi)橫掃廢墟，幫助現(xiàn)場急救人員搜尋廢墟中掩埋的受困人員的呼救，或使急救人員了解潛在的危險(xiǎn)，如燃?xì)庑孤┑惹闆r。”

????據(jù)博茲庫爾特透露，工程學(xué)中最有效的方法之一是“仿生學(xué)”，即研究人員從大自然中尋找靈感，向現(xiàn)有的生物系統(tǒng)學(xué)習(xí)，應(yīng)用不同的工程學(xué)原理模仿生物，解決實(shí)際問題。然而，盡管出現(xiàn)了一些發(fā)明和探索，對于生物機(jī)器相對更復(fù)雜的特性，人類的了解和模仿能力仍非常有限。

????博茲庫爾特表示：“作為研究生物有機(jī)體的工程師，我們經(jīng)常會被這些系統(tǒng)的復(fù)雜性和運(yùn)行效率深深吸引。當(dāng)我們利用技術(shù)重現(xiàn)它們的驚人技能時(shí)，心中滿懷尊重和感激之情。”

????憑借視頻游戲技術(shù)，在不久的將來，蟑螂將出現(xiàn)在救災(zāi)第一線，為災(zāi)民送去慰藉。以后，當(dāng)我們與蟑螂狹路相逢時(shí)，踩一腳之前或許應(yīng)該三思。畢竟，不論人類怎樣對付它們，它們總能堅(jiān)強(qiáng)地生存下去。（財(cái)富中文網(wǎng)）

????譯者：劉進(jìn)龍/汪皓

????Having performed very successful demonstrations in the laboratory environment, the team (which includes NC State professors Edgar Lobaton and MihailSichitiu) has received funding from the National Science Foundation’s Cyber-Physical Systems program to bring this technology into real-life scenarios. The goal is to accomplish this within three to four years.

????“We are hoping that the swarm of insect biobots will be able to sweep the rubble from one end to another in a very short amount of time, while letting first responders hear any calls for help coming from the victims buried under the rubble, or let them know about the potential hazards such as gas leakages,” said Bozkurt.

????According to Bozkurt, one of the most efficient methods in engineering has been “biomimetics,” where researchers have looked at nature, learned from the existing biosystems and applied different engineering principles to mimic these when solving real-life problems. Despite several inventions and explorations, humans are still limited in their understanding and ability to mimic the relatively more complicated properties of biological machines.

????“As engineers performing research on biological organisms, we are often fascinated by the complexity and operational efficiency of these systems and demonstrate this appreciation through an amplified respectful attitude towards these organisms,” said Bozkurt.

????One day soon, the sight of cockroaches will be a relief to disaster victims thanks to video game technology. And we may think twice before trying to stomp out cockroaches the next time we cross paths. After all, they were deigned to live through just about anything that mankind can throw at them.