人老了，可以加条尾巴

研究人员制造了机器尾巴来帮助老年人保持平衡

Millions of years after the ancestors of humans evolved to lose their tails, a research team at Japan’s Keio University has built a robotic one that they say could help unsteady elderly people keep their balance.

在人类祖先进化到失去尾巴的数百万年后，日本庆应大学的一个研究小组制造了一种机器人，他们说，这种机器人可以帮助老年人保持平衡。

Dubbed Arque, the gray, 1-meter device mimics tails such as those of cheetahs and other animals used to keep their balance while running and climbing, according to the Keio team.

据庆应义和团的研究小组介绍，这款名为Arque的1米长的灰色装置，模仿了猎豹和其他动物用来在奔跑和攀爬时保持平衡的尾巴。

“The tail keeps balance like a pendulum,” said Junichi Nabeshima, a graduate student and researcher at the university’s Embodied Media Project, displaying the robotic tail attached to his waist with a harness.

“尾巴像钟摆一样保持平衡，”朱尼奇·纳贝西马说，他是该大学“具体媒体项目”的研究生和研究人员，展示了绑在腰间的机器尾巴。

“When a human tilts their body one way, the tail moves in the opposite direction.”

当人的身体向一个方向倾斜时，尾巴就会向相反的方向移动。

As Japan grays, it is leading the industrial world in seeking ways to keep its aging population mobile and productive.

随着日本人口老龄化，它正在引领工业世界寻找保持老龄化人口流动性和生产力的方法。

While other nations have turned to immigrant workers to replenish a shrinking workforce, less welcoming Japan has focused more on a technological solution.

当其他国家转向移民工人来补充不断萎缩的劳动力时，不那么受欢迎的日本则更多地关注技术解决方案。

The robotic tail, which uses four artificial muscles and compressed air to move in eight directions, will remain in the lab for now, as researchers look for ways to make it more flexible, Nabeshima said.

Nabeshima说，由于研究人员正在寻找使其更加灵活的方法，这条使用四块人造肌肉和压缩空气向八个方向运动的机器尾巴，目前还只是停留在试验阶段。

Apart from helping the elderly get around, the team is looking at industrial applications for the artificial appendage, such as a balance aid for warehouse workers carrying heavy loads.

除了帮助老年人四处走动，该团队还在研究这种人工附件的工业应用，比如帮助仓库工人搬运重物的平衡装置。

“I think it would be nice to incorporate this further developed prosthetic tail into daily life, when one seeks a little more help balancing,” Nabeshima said.

Nabeshima说:“如果能把这条经过进一步发展的假尾巴融入日常生活中，帮助人们更好地保持平衡，那就太好了。”