Scientists are developing the next generation of robot-driven cars and predict they could be shuttling humans around by the year 2030.

　　科学家正在研发新一代机器人汽车并预言将在2030年投入使用。

　　The first wave of intelligent robot cars, capable of understanding and reacting to the world around them, will be tested this November in a competition run by the US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA).

　　新一代智能机器人汽车将能对周围事物进行反应，将于今年11月参加美国国防部高级研究规划署举行的测试比赛。

　　Scientists are developing vehicles which will not only be driven by robots independently, but will be able to operate in a simulated city environment.

　　新型机器人汽车不但能够自动行驶，还能在科学家设计的模拟城市环境中应付各种变化。

　　"In the past it was sufficient for a vehicle just to perceive the environment, said Sebastian Thrun, an associate professor of computer science and electricalengineering at Stanford University.

　　斯坦福大学计算机科技和电子工程副教授Sebastian Thrun说："过去，汽车能够知道周围情况就行了。"

　　"The new challenge will be to understand the environment. The robot must be able to recognize another car, to understand that it is moving and that it will interact with it as it gets closer."

　　"但是新一代汽车必须能够应付周遭变化。机器人必须能识别其他车辆，理解对方也在运行中并在靠近时有所反应。"

　　Stanford's entrant "Junior" is a converted 2006 Volkswagen Passat whose steering, throttle and brakes all have been modified by engineers to be completely computer-controllable.

　　斯坦福的参赛车辆是一辆改装的2006款大众帕撒特，名叫Junior。它的方向盘，节流阀和刹车全部被工程师改装，已经完全由计算机控制。

　　An array of lasers fitted on the car bumpers, radar and global positioning systems feed data into the on-board computer to determine its location and position.

　　汽车缓冲器上被安装了一排雷射灯，雷达和全球定位系统随时将数据传入车载计算机用以确定位置。

　　Thrun predicted that leaps in artificial intelligence would lead to driverless cars on the roads by 2030.

　　Thrun预言人工智能的飞速发展将使2030年马路上飞跑无人驾驶汽车。

　　"Today we can drive about 100 miles (160 kilometers) before human assistance is necessary, by 2010 I expect this to go 1,000 miles (1,160 kilometers), by 2020 up to a million miles (1.6 million kilometers)," he said.

　　他说："如今我们能够让汽车自动行驶100英里，2010年能达到1000英里，到2020年达到100万英里。"

　　"By 2030 you'll be able to see them on the highway, with a driving reliability(10) that will exceed humans by orders of magnitude.

　　"到2030年，你就能看见无人驾驶汽车在高速路上飞奔，安全性比人类驾驶高出很多倍。"

　　"We believe this technology will affect all of us. It is going to have enormous significance for people who can't drive because of disabilities or because they are ill or impaired."

　　"我们认为这项科技关系到所有人，对那些由于残疾，疾病无法开车的人们来说，它的意义尤其重大。"

　　Thrun said he believed robot-driven vehicles would be deployed in war zones before they are seen in everydaycivilianenvironments.

　　Thrun说无人驾驶汽车可能会首先用于军事地区，然后才面向百姓出售。

　　"I think they'll be on the battlefield by around 2015," he said. "It is going to make sense to use them in situations such as convoys, or in hostile environments where there is danger to personnel."

　　他说："我想大约2015年，它们会用于战场，例如护航或者去危险的敌方战场。"

　　（中国国际广播电台 译）