Try to guess what these words and word combinations refer to
3. Read the text and check if your ideas were right:
Robots are now on the verge of replacing humans in a wide variety of tasks. Automatons are becoming part of the family. Today they can vacuum, play with the kids and make coffee. The number of robots in the world’s war and conflicts zones is likely to increase in the near future as well. Both American and English militaries are working with various companies to design robots that would replace people in the battle. The ‘bots are also used in the workplaces: they are able to carry out surgeries, to work as receptionists, night watchmen or guides, to babysit and even teach schoolchildren. If robots work alongside us, they have to be empathetic, fit in the same spaces and move in familiar ways. But combining these complex capabilities into a single robot is perhaps the greatest design challenge of all.
One of the most widely-known humanoid robot is Asimo created by Honda. Standing at 130 centimeters and weighing 54 kilograms, the robot resembles a small astronaut wearing a backpack and can walk or run on two feet at speeds up to 6 km/h. Officially, the name is an acronym for "Advanced Step in Innovative MObility". Asimo is also one of the world’s most advanced robots. It is able to climb stairs, and can run a mile in about 16 minutes. Asimo responds to voice commands, postures and gestures and can maneuver among people, moving aside if it meets someone in an elevator or on the stairs.
The newest model of this 24-year-old robot can cooperate with other Asimos to complete its tasks. The robots share information by wirelessly informing each other what they are doing and where they are located. They can, for example, work together to serve refreshments to humans. If one Asimo takes a break to get its batteries recharged, another will step in to take its place.
Utilizing networks such as the Internet, Asimo can provide information and function better for various commercial applications, such as reception. Its abilities fall under 2 categories:integration with user's network system and internet connectivity.By connecting with a user's network Asimo can offer many useful functions such as greeting visitors and informing personnel of the visitor's arrival by transmitting messages and pictures of the visitor's face and guide visitors to a predetermined location. By accessing information via the Internet, Asimo can, for example, become a provider of news and weather updates.
Asimo can react to and be directed by not only voice commands and the natural movements of human beings, but also by the human thoughts. The Asimo desing team
has developed technology that allows people to control the robot with the help of the helmet sensors which capture tiny changes in the brain’s electrical impulses and blood flow. The helmet’s software assesses changes in the brain in real time and translates them into commands. They are further transmitted to Asimo, which then lifts its arm, for instance, or takes a step.
Additionally, Asimo is able to recognize up to 10 people’s faces and address each by the correct name. The team that created it hopes to go further and make a humanoid robot that can behave completely autonomously and be truly intelligent, but this will require a better understanding of the human brain.
4. Find sentences with the following expressions in the text. Arrange them as they appear in the text:
1. более глубокое понимание работы мозга
2. зарядить батареи
3. на грани замещения/ вытеснения людей
4. оценивать изменения
5. быть чутким, сопереживать
6. лучше работать в коммерческой сфере
7. самая сложная задача проектирования
5. Answer the questions using the information in the text:
1. In what spheres of life are robots replacing humans? What are they used for?
2. What is Asimo? What does this acronym stand for?
3. How does Asimo look like?
4. How can the newest model of this humanoid cooperate with other robots?
5. Is it possible to use Asimo for commercial applications? In what way?
6. How is the robot directed?
7. What does the most recent technology of controlling the robot include?
8. What is the goal of the Asimo design team in the future? How can this goal be achieved?
6. Decide if the following statements are true or false. Correct the false ones:
1. Nowadays robots can be used either for military purposes or in the workplaces but not in spheres that require direct human communication (e.g. in schools, at home).
2. One of the most advanced robots in the world resembles a human being: it is 130 cm high, weighs 54 kg and is 24 years old.
3. Asimos are able to cooperate with humans but not with each other.
4. Using the Internet, the robot can inform others of the latest news or give weather forecasts.
5. Modern technologies allow people to control Asimo through the changes in their brains’ impulses and blood flow.
6. Asimo can behave completely autonomously and is a truly intelligent robot.
7. A) Complete the table using the information in the text: