Robo Sally is a remotely controlled humanoid robot that may one day help law enforcement officials and emergency technicians defuse bombs, patrol large spaces and do guard duty. It was designed by researchers at Johns Hopkins University’s Applied Physics Laboratory [APL], outside Washington, D.C.
　　通過遠端遙控的人形機器人Robo Sally將來也許能幫助執法人員和急救技術人員拆除炸彈，在大片地區巡邏以及履行保安職責。

　　Robo Sally is a versatile moving platform with a humanoid attachment that looks like a modern day centaur. It can turn in tight spaces, climb over small obstacles, closely examine objects and even manipulate them with human-like hands.

　　But Robo Sally was not initially designed for sentry duties.

　　Mike McLaughlin, the principal investigator for APL's Prosthetics Program, said, "The purpose of that program is to develop prosthetic arms that have all the capability of your natural arms, and you do all the complex motions that we can do with the natural arm - with the robot. We had this idea if we did this for prosthetics for humans, we could also put these on robotic platforms and enable the robots to go out into dangerous situations.”
　　APL假肢程式的主要研究者Mike McLaughlin說，「該程式旨在研發出具有自然手臂的一切性能，可以做所有複雜動作的假肢，並安裝在機器人上。我們認為，如果可以成功地為人類裝假肢，我們也能為機器人平臺裝上假肢，讓它們去處理險情。」

　　It was a complex task. McLaughlin said the device not only had to have many small motors to mimic the flexibility of the human hand, it needed human-like strength. The thumb was especially difficult because it allows the hand to grasp objects. And everything had to fit into a space about the size of a hand.
　　這是個複雜的任務。McLaughlin稱，該設備裝有多個小馬達以模仿人類手臂的靈敏性，還需具備類似人手的力量。考慮到拇指需要抓住物體，因此其製作非常困難。而且一切裝備須符合人手的大小。

　　The next problem, McLaughlin said, was to figure out how to control the artificial hand. “So we had to figure out how to make the connection between the brain and this arm. We’ve done that for spinal injury patients, where we can actually interface with the brain and use the patient’s thoughts to control the arm.”
　　McLaughlin稱下一步是解決如何控制人形手臂的問題。“我們必須清楚如何連接大腦和手臂。我們曾對脊髓損傷患者執行連接，事實上我們能使手臂連接至大腦並通過患者的意識控制它。”

　　Of course, for search-and-rescue duties, Robo Sally will be operated by wireless remote control, through special gloves and glasses. The glasses allow the operator to see the robot’s hands and enables him to finely control their movement.

　　McLaughlin said robots like this could be used in “dull, dirty or dangerous” situations where human dexterity is a requirement. “So, for example, opening a door, or turning the valve or, you know, going to a factory or a power plant like Fukushima, that was all designed for humans. You need to be able to go in and have the human-like capabilities in order to be able to work in that environment.”
　　
　　McLaughlin said the technology is not ready for practical application, but he predicts that within five years we will see some amazing advances.
　　McLaughlin說，該技術還不能實際應用，但他預計五年內將出現驚人的進展。