In 2015, 25 teams from around the world competed to build robots for disaster response that could perform a number of tasks,
2015年，全球25个团队参加了建造灾难应对机器人的比赛，这些机器人需要完成一系列的任务，
such as using a power tool, working on uneven terrain and driving a car.
包括使用电动工具，在崎岖的地形上工作以及驾驶汽车。
That all sounds impressive, and it is, but look at the body of the winning robot, HUBO.
这些任务听上去让人佩服，事实也是如此，但让我们看一下冠军获得者优博的样子。
Here, HUBO is trying to get out of a car, and keep in mind, the video is sped up three times.
这是优博试图下车的样子，我希望你们知道，这段视频是以3倍速播放的。
HUBO, from team KAIST out of Korea, is a state-of-the-art robot with impressive capabilities,
优博来自韩国科学技术院，是目前最先进的机器人，它的能力令人赞叹，
but this body doesn't look all that different from robots we've seen a few decades ago.
但它的样子与几十年前的机器人并没什么两样。
If you look at the other robots in the competition, their movements also still look, well, very robotic.
如果你见到比赛中其他机器人的样子，它们的动作看起来也非常机械呆板。
Their bodies are complex mechanical structures using rigid materials such as metal and traditional rigid electric motors.
它们的身体完全由机械材料构成，使用的都是坚硬的材料，比如金属质地的一如既往坚硬的电动马达。
They certainly weren't designed to be low-cost, safe near people and adaptable to unpredictable challenges.
显然设计者并没有把他们打造成低价、安全，可以在人类身边工作并且能够适应突发危机的样子。
We've made good progress with the brains of robots, but their bodies are still primitive.
我们在机器人大脑的研发上成果颇丰，然而它们的外形却依然没有进步。
This is my daughter Nadia. She's only five years old and she can get out of the car way faster than HUBO.
这是我的女儿纳蒂亚。她才5岁，但她下车的速度都比优博快。
She can also swing around on monkey bars with ease, much better than any current human-like robot could do.
她也可以轻松地通过这些攀登架，远比任何人形机器人做得都好。
In contrast to HUBO, the human body makes extensive use of soft and deformable materials such as muscle and skin.
与机器人优博所不同的是，人体内有许多柔软、可以变形的组织，比如肌肉和皮肤。
We need a new generation of robot bodies that is inspired by the elegance, efficiency
我们需要创造一种新的机器人形态，这种形态应该优雅而高效，
and by the soft materials of the designs found in nature.
并运用一些天然的柔软材料。
And indeed, this has become the key idea of a new field of research called soft robotics.
事实上，这已经成为了一个新的研究领域重点，叫做柔性机器人。
My research group and collaborators around the world are using soft components inspired by muscle and skin
受肌肉和皮肤的灵感启发，我的研究小组和全世界合作者使用柔性材料
to build robots with agility and dexterity that comes closer and closer to the astonishing capabilities of the organisms found in nature.
建造敏捷灵巧的机器人，让它们能够越来越接近自然的生物。
I've always been particularly inspired by biological muscle. Now, that's not surprising.
我一直深受生物肌肉的启发。这没有什么稀奇。
I'm also Austrian, and I know that I sound a bit like Arnie, the Terminator.
我也是澳大利亚人，我知道我的口音听起来像《终结者》里施瓦辛格。
Biological muscle is a true masterpiece of evolution.
生物肌肉是进化过程中的杰作。
It can heal after damage and it's tightly integrated with sensory neurons for feedback on motion and the environment.
它可以在受损之后自愈，并且与感觉神经元紧密联结，可以感受到运动以及外部环境。
It can contract fast enough to power the high-speed wings of a hummingbird;
它还能高速收缩，让蜂鸟能够快速挥舞翅膀，
it can grow strong enough to move an elephant;
甚至可以强壮到支撑大象移动；
and it's adaptable enough to be used in the extremely versatile arms of an octopus,
同时它又是如此柔韧，可以让章鱼的触手变得非常灵活，
an animal that can squeeze its entire body through tiny holes.
这种生物甚至能够钻进一个小洞。
Actuators are for robots what muscles are for animals:
驱动器之于机器人就如同肌肉之于动物：
key components of the body that enable movement and interaction with the world.
它们都是身体构造的关键，有了它们，机器人和动物才能动起来，与世界互动。
So if we could build soft actuators, or artificial muscles,
所以，如果我们能做出柔性驱动器，或者说人工肌肉，
that are as versatile, adaptable and could have the same performance as the real thing,
多功能的、适应能力强的，可以与真正的肌肉想媲美的那种，
we could build almost any type of robot for almost any type of use.
我们就能做出用于任何场合的任何类型的机器人。
Not surprisingly, people have tried for many decades to replicate the astonishing capabilities of muscle, but it's been really hard.
人们已经努力了数十年尝试复制肌肉那惊艳的能力，但不出所料，这非常困难。
About 10 years ago, when I did my PhD back in Austria,
大约在10年前，我还在澳大利亚攻读博士学位时，
my colleagues and I rediscovered what is likely one of the very first publications on artificial muscle, published in 1880.
我和我的同事重新发现了可能是最早研究人工肌肉的论文之一，它发表于1880年。
"On the shape and volume changes of dielectric bodies caused by electricity," published by German physicist Wilhelm Rontgen.
“电流对介质形状和体积变化的影响。”作者是德国物理学家威廉·伦琴。
Most of you know him as the discoverer of the X-ray. Following his instructions, we used a pair of needles.
他因发现X射线而被大众熟知，根据他的指引，我们用了一对金属针，
We connected it to a high-voltage source, and we placed it near a transparent piece of rubber that was prestretched onto a plastic frame.
通上高压电，然后把它们靠近在塑料支架上的一块已经被拉伸的透明橡胶。
When we switched on the voltage, the rubber deformed,
当我们改变电压时，橡胶的形状就改变了，
and just like our biceps flexes our arm, the rubber flexed the plastic frame.
就如同我们手臂的肱二头肌屈伸那样，橡胶拉动了塑料支架。
It looks like magic. The needles don't even touch the rubber.
就如同魔法一般。金属针甚至没有碰到橡胶。
Now, having two such needles is not a practical way of operating artificial muscles,
实际上，使用两根针并非操纵人工肌肉的最佳方法，
but this amazing experiment got me hooked on the topic.
但这次神奇的实验让我迷上了这个课题。
I wanted to create new ways to build artificial muscles that would work well for real-world applications.
我想创造出一种新的方式来建造人工肌肉，可以把它运用在现实生活中。
For the next years, I worked on a number of different technologies that all showed promise,
在接下来的几年中，我研究了许多都很有潜力的高科技设备，
but they all had remaining challenges that are hard to overcome.
但同时又有许多障碍，难以攻克。
In 2015, when I started my own lab at CU Boulder, I wanted to try an entirely new idea.
在2015年，当我开始在科罗拉多大学博尔德分校建立自己的实验室时，我想试验一个全新的思路。
I wanted to combine the high speed and efficiency of electrically driven actuators with the versatility of soft, fluidic actuators.
我想把高速而高效的电动驱动器与多功能的柔性驱动器相结合。
Therefore, I thought, maybe I can try using really old science in a new way.
通过这种方式，或许我可以让科学老树发新芽。
The diagram you see here shows an effect called Maxwell stress.
现在你所看到的这张示意图介绍的是麦克斯韦应力张量。
When you take two metal plates and place them in a container filled with oil, and then switch on a voltage,
当你拿两个金属板把它们放在一个充满油的容器中，然后通上电，
the Maxwell stress forces the oil up in between the two plates, and that's what you see here.
麦克斯韦应力就会迫使油聚集上升到两个板之间，这张图所表现的就是这个意思。
So the key idea was, can we use this effect to push around oil contained in soft stretchy structures?
所以最重要的问题在于，我们是否能够运用这个原理让在柔性弹性组织中的油活动起来呢？
And indeed, this worked surprisingly well, quite honestly, much better than I expected.
结果，这个想法非常成功，说实话，远超我的预期。
Together with my outstanding team of students,
我和我出色的学生团队一起，
we used this idea as a starting point to develop a new technology called HASEL artificial muscles.
从这个想法出发，发明了一个新的科技：哈塞尔人工肌肉。
HASELs are gentle enough to pick up a raspberry without damaging it.
哈塞尔足够柔软，能拿起一颗草莓而不损坏它。

They can expand and contract like real muscle. And they can be operated faster than the real thing.
它也能像真的肌肉那样延展和收缩。而且它的活动速度比真肌肉还快。
They can also be scaled up to deliver large forces.
它可以变大，提供更大的力量。
Here you see them lifting a gallon filled with water.
现在你看到的是它在举起一加仑的水。
They can be used to drive a robotic arm, and they can even self-sense their position.
它可以用来驱动机器人手臂，可以感知自己的状态。
HASELs can be used for very precise movement,
哈塞尔不仅可以进行精准移动，
but they can also deliver very fluidic, muscle-like movement and bursts of power to shoot up a ball into the air.
也可以做出流畅、如同真肌肉一般的行动，还可以突然爆发力，把球仍到空中。
When submerged in oil, HASEL artificial muscles can be made invisible.
当哈塞尔浸在油里的时候，它甚至可以隐形。
So how do HASEL artificial muscles work? You might be surprised.
那么，哈塞尔人工肌肉究竟是如何工作的呢？你可能会好奇。
They're based on very inexpensive, easily available materials.
它是由非常廉价、常见的材料做成的。
You can even try, and I recommend it, the main principle at home.
我建议，你甚至可以在家尝试这个原理。
Take a few Ziploc bags and fill them with olive oil. Try to push out air bubbles as much as you can.
拿几个保鲜袋，装满橄榄油。试着把所有的空气炮挤出袋子。
Now take a glass plate and place it on one side of the bag.
现在拿一个玻璃板，把它放在袋子的一边。
When you press down, you see the bag contract.
当你开始挤压的时候，你会发现袋子开始收缩。
Now the amount of contraction is easy to control.
收缩的量很容易控制。
When you take a small weight, you get a small contraction.
如果施加的力较小，收缩就较小。
With a medium weight, we get a medium contraction. And with a large weight, you get a large contraction.
如果施加的力中等，收缩就中等。如果施加的较大，收缩就较大。
Now for HASELs, the only change is to replace the force of your hand or the weight with an electrical force.
对于哈塞尔而言，变量就是你施加的力或者是电流施加的力。
HASEL stands for "hydraulically amplified self-healing electrostatic actuators."
哈塞尔的意思是“液体增强自愈式静电驱动器”。
Here you see a geometry called Peano-HASEL actuators, one of many possible designs.
现在你看到的是一个叫做皮亚诺·哈塞尔的驱动器，是我的设计之一。
Again, you take a flexible polymer such as our Ziploc bag,
现在你再拿一个柔韧的有机聚合物，比如说保鲜袋，
you fill it with an insulating liquid, such as olive oil,
在里面倒满绝缘液体，比如说橄榄油，
and now, instead of the glass plate, you place an electrical conductor on one side of the pouch.
然后把导电体而不是玻璃板，放在袋子的一边。
To create something that looks more like a muscle fiber,
为了让它看起来更像肌肉纤维，
you can connect a few pouches together and attached a weight on one side. Next, we apply voltage.
你可以把几个袋子放在一起然后在一边施加一个力。然后我们通上电流。
Now, the electric field starts acting on the liquid.
现在电场开始作用于流体。
It displaces the liquid, and it forces the muscle to contract.
它迫使流体移动，也意味着它迫使肌肉收缩。
Here you see a completed Peano-HASEL actuator and how it expands and contracts when voltage is applied.
现在你看到的是一个完整的皮亚诺·哈塞尔驱动器是如何在电流下延展和收缩的。
Viewed from the side, you can really see those pouches take a more cylindrical shape, such as we saw with the Ziploc bags.
从边上看，你可以看到这些袋子是圆柱形的，就像是保鲜袋。
We can also place a few such muscle fibers next to each other
我们也可以把几个这样的肌肉组织联系在一起，
to create something that looks even more like a muscle that also contracts and expands in cross section.
让它们看起来更像真肌肉，当然它们在横截面同样会延展和收缩。
These HASELs here are lifting a weight that's about 200 times heavier than their own weight.
这些哈塞尔肌肉可以举起相当于它们自身重量200倍的重量。
Here you see one of our newest designs, called quadrant donut HASELs and how they expand and contract.
现在你看到的是我们最新的发明：象限圈式哈塞尔以及它们延展和收缩的动作。
They can be operated incredibly fast, reaching superhuman speeds.
它们行动的速度非常快，远超人类。
They are even powerful enough to jump off the ground.
它们力量之大，甚至可以从地上跳起来。
Overall, HASELs show promise to become the first technology
总而言之，哈塞尔让我们看到了未来，
that matches or exceeds the performance of biological muscle while being compatible with large-scale manufacturing.
它能和生物肌肉媲美，甚至可以超过生物肌肉，同时又可以运用于大型机械操作中。
This is also a very young technology. We are just getting started.
这项科技还非常年轻，我们才刚刚开始研究。
We have many ideas how to drastically improve performance, using new materials and new designs
我们在改进这项技术上还有很多想法，运比如用新材料和新设计，
to reach a level of performance beyond biological muscle and also beyond traditional rigid electric motors.
让它表现更好，超越生物肌肉，当然也超越传统硬性的电动马达。
Moving towards more complex designs of HASEL for bio-inspired robotics,
在仿生机器人中运用更加复杂的哈塞尔设计，
here you see our artificial scorpion that can use its tail to hunt prey, in this case, a rubber balloon.
现在你看到的是一只人工蝎子，它可以操纵自己的尾巴来刺杀猎物，在这里，是橡胶气球。
Going back to our initial inspiration, the versatility of octopus arms and elephant trunks,
回到我们最初的灵感中，章鱼灵活的触手以及象鼻，
we are now able to build soft continuum actuators that come closer and closer to the capabilities of the real thing.
我们现在可以建造柔性连续驱动器，它们越来越接近真的肌肉了。
I am most excited about the practical applications of HASEL artificial muscles.
我对哈塞尔人工肌肉的实际应用充满期待。
They'll enable soft robotic devices that can improve the quality of life.
它们能够让柔性机械设备成为现实，同时提升你的生活质量。
Soft robotics will enable a new generation of more lifelike prosthetics for people who have lost parts of their bodies.
柔性机械将为更加逼真的义肢开创一个新时代，造福那些失去一部分躯干的残疾人。
Here you see some HASELs in my lab, early testing, driving a prosthetic finger.
现在你看到的是我实验室中的一些哈塞尔样品，这是早期实验，它们正在驱动手指假体。
One day, we may even merge our bodies with robotic parts. I know that sounds very scary at first.
某天，我们或许就会在身体的某些部位运用机械设备。我知道一开始这听起来非常吓人。
But when I think about my grandparents and the way they become more dependent on others
但我想到了我的祖父母，他们有时不得不依靠他人的帮助，
to perform simple everyday tasks such as using the restroom alone, they often feel like they're becoming a burden.
才能完成简单的日常任务，例如独自上厕所，他们经常会觉得自己已经变成了他人的负担。
With soft robotics, we will be able to enhance and restore agility and dexterity,
有了柔性机器人，我们就能加强和恢复敏捷性和灵巧性，
and thereby help older people maintain autonomy for longer parts of their lives.
因此能帮助老年人延长他们在生活中自主活动的时间。
Maybe we can call that "robotics for antiaging" or even a next stage of human evolution.
也许我们可以把这个项目叫做“延缓衰老的机器人”或者人类进化的新阶段。
Unlike their traditional rigid counterparts, soft life-like robots will safely operate near people and help us at home.
和传统硬性的机器人不同的是，柔性仿生机器人在人旁或家中工作时更加安全。
Soft robotics is a very young field. We're just getting started.
柔性机器人还是个非常年轻的领域，我们才刚刚开始。
I hope that many young people from many different backgrounds join us on this exciting journey
我希望更多来自不同背景的年轻人能够加入我们，
and help shape the future of robotics by introducing new concepts inspired by nature.
通过引入更多的仿生技术帮助我们描绘机器人的未来。
If we do this right, we can improve the quality of life for all of us. Thank you.
如果我们表现出色，就能提高我们所有人的生活质量。谢谢。