ETH Zurich researchers led by Professor Marco Hutter have developed a new control approach that enables a legged robot, called ANYmal, to move quickly and steadily over difficult terrain(地形).
Thanks to a new controller based on a neural network, the legged robot ANYmal, which was developed by ETH Zurich researchers and commercialized by the ETH spin-off ANYbotics, is now able to combine its visual perception of the environment with its sense of touch for the first time.
Before the robot could put its capabilities to the test in the real world, the scientists exposed the system to numerous obstacles and sources of error in a virtual training camp. This let the network learn the ideal way for the robot to overcome obstacles, as well as when it can rely on environmental data.
“With this training, the robot is able to master the most difficult natural terrain without having seen it before, ” says Hutter. This works even if the sensor data on the immediate environment is ambiguous or vague. ANYmal then plays it safe and relies on its proprioception(本体感觉). According to Hutter, this allows the robot to combine the best of both worlds: the speed and efficiency of external sensing and the safety of proprioceptive sensing.
Whether after an earthquake, after a nuclear disaster, or during a forest fire, robots like ANYmal can be used primarily wherever it is too dangerous for humans to take action and where other robots cannot cope with the difficult terrain.
To navigate difficult terrain, humans and animals quite automatically combine the visual perception of their environment with the proprioception of their legs and hands. This allows them to easily handle slippery or soft ground and move around with confidence, even when visibility is low. However, until now, the legged robots have been able to do this only to a limited extent. Hopefully, the technological progress in the near future will enable them to play a greater role.
1. What is the passage mainly about?| A．A new controller is based on a neural network |
| B．ETH Zurich researchers have developed a new robot. |
| C．A new controller enables a legged robot to handle tough terrain. |
| D．The legged robot is commercialized by the ETH spin-off ANYbotics. |
| A．The robot. | B．The sensor data. |
| C．The immediate environment. | D．The most difficult natural terrain. |
| A．By making comparisons. | B．By introducing a concept. |
| C．By using a professor’s words. | D．By referring to research. |
| A．The legged robot can be widely used. |
| B．Humans and animals are better than robots. |
| C．The legged robot remains to be further improved. |
| D．Humans and animals can easily handle slippery or soft ground. |
相似题推荐
【推荐1】We have most friends at the age of 26 after having spent the first quarter of our lives building up our friendship circle, a new research has claimed.
The research into friendship shows that our social circle peaks at 26 years and 7months, at which we typically have five close friends. Women are most popular at 25 years and 10 months with men hitting the highest friendship point a little later at 27 years and 3 months.
The research, by Forever Friends, shows that about a third of adults meet their closest friends while at school, with about a fifth saying they meet them at work.
Social networks such as Facebook and Twitter now also play a major role in building new friendship. The research points out that 25 to 34-year-olds make 22 friends via Facebook compared to 18 to 24-year-olds who make 12, and 35 to 44-year-olds who make just four.
Forever Friends’ relationship coach Sam Owen says, “It is no coincidence that over a third of us meet our best friends at school. It is a key time in our lives when friendship is growing through sharing notes, giving gifts, seeing each other regularly and laughing a lot. As adults we can often forget how powerful these small things are and how the little things can make a difference.”
Later in life we find ourselves losing friends. Over half of us lose friendship through a moving, while 36% say that over time they grow apart from close pals. Having children also causes 19% to drift away from childhood friends.
With growing pressures being put on friendship these days, it’s important to make time for our friendship.
1. How many friends can a 20-year-old college student make via Facebook?| A．4. | B．12. | C．18. | D．22. |
| A．Friendship is not easy to keep. | B．How important making friends is. |
| C．Friendship at school is important. | D．How much has been done to keep friendship. |
| A．Make sense of . | B．Feel sorry for. |
| C．Lose contact with. | D．Make up with. |
| A．Facebook. | B．An advertisement. | C．A textbook. | D．A newspaper. |
【推荐2】The earliest simple computer, the Chinese abacus dates back to thousands of years ago, consisting of rows of beads on a wooden frame used for counting. The modern computer dates back to 1946, when the Electronic Numerical Integrator and Calculator (ENIAC) was invented. The U.S. Department of Defense developed the Internet so all of its own computers could be connected; in 1990 the World Wide Web was born. The rapid development of technology has resulted in the computers we use today, and those are changing as we speak too.
You can do many things on a computer. You can create and print letters or reports for school, and save those documents in case you need them later; you can watch movies, listen to music and play video games. The Internet allows people to visit different websites, send e-mails, shop online and pay bills electronically. Some people even work or receive schooling through their home computers.
The most common types of computers used are the desktop, the laptop and the handheld computer. Desktop computers stay in one place, and their parts are contained in a case that is placed beneath the monitor. Laptop computers are lightweight and small enough to be carried by users who need computers and the Internet access to them in different places. Handheld computers include personal digital assistants, small video gaming devices and mobile phones.
While computers make life convenient and are considered positive to society, there are negative aspects of computer use that kids and their family should consider. Computer viruses are harmful programs that damage information and can stop your computer from working properly. The Internet presents risks for young people, too. The information you share is not private. Some kids use their computers so much that they don’t want to do anything else.
1. The earliest simple computer was invented ________.| A．in 1946 | B．in 1990 | C．by Chinese | D．by Americans |
| A．The desktop. | B．The laptop. |
| C．The mobile phone. | D．The personal digital assistant. |
| A．Functions→Types→History→Warnings. | B．History→Warnings→Types→Functions. |
| C．History→Types→Functions→Warnings. | D．History→Functions→Types→Warnings. |
| A．computers do more harm than good to kids. |
| B．kids shouldn’t be allowed to use computers. |
| C．parents should limit the time of their kids using computers. |
| D．people should stay away from computers so as not to get viruses. |
【推荐3】In October, Mediterranean fruit flies were discovered in an area of Los Angeles. California is a big farming state, and this was serious news for farmers. The Mediterranean fruit fly, often known as the “Medfly”, is one of the most serious threats faced by farmers worldwide. Once the Medfly makes its way into an area, it can be very hard to get rid of.
The fies lay their eggs in over 300 kinds of fruits and vegetables. When the eggs hatch, they turn into worm-like larvae (幼虫) that can ruin these products. The problem is that it can be hard to know that the flies are there until it’ s too late. That’ s because the fruits and vegetables still look normal even after the eggs are laid inside. So the damaged fruits and vegetables can be sent to other places, allowing the Medflies to spread.
Mediterranean fruit fies were first found in California in 1975, but they really became a problem in the 1980s. Luckily, Califormia has developed a program to control the Medflies. The program involves using planes to drop millions of Medflies over the area. That may sound like a bad idea, but it’ s actually a tricky way to make sure that Medfly numbers go down.
The trick? The airplanes only drop male flies, and all of them have been treated so that they are sterile. This means that even though they can mate with female fruit flies, the eggs produced will never grow or hatch.
In the early growing stages, these sterile flies are grown in labs in Hawaii and Guatemala. The insects are colored with a special substance to make sure they won’t be confused with wild Medflies.
These immature insects are then sent to Califormia in huge numbers -around 200 million a week. They’ re raised until they’ re adults, and then they’ re treated to be sterile. Finall , the flies are released from airplanes, sing a special method designed to spread them out over a wide area. The government says that the number of infestations (times when flies are found) has been cut by over 90%.
1. What troubles farmers about the Medflies?| A．The wide spread of them. | B．The instant damage caused by them. |
| C．The difficulty in detecting them early. | D．The strong team spirit of them. |
| A．hard to get along with | B．difficult to see in the wild |
| C．unlikely to become fully grown | D．unable to produce young |
| A．To make them distinguishable. | B．To make them more attractive. |
| C．To shorten their treatment process. | D．To speed up their growth. |
| A．Practical and successful. | B．Complex and inapplicable. |
| C．Eco-friendly but fruitless. | D．Time-saving but dangerous. |
【推荐1】A Chinese company says it has created a new facial recognition system that can identify people even if they are wearing masks.
Engineers at the Beijing-based Hanwang Technology Ltd. say their system is the first to be created to effectively identify people wearing face masks. A team of 20 people built the system in about a month. The system is based on existing technologies developed over the past 10 years. The process involved adding a collection of about 6 million unmasked faces and a much smaller collection of masked faces.
Hanwang is now selling two main kinds of products that use the new technology. One performs “single channel” recognition, which is designed to be used at the entrances to buildings. The other product is a “multi-channel” recognition system that uses groups of surveillance cameras (监控摄像头).
“When wearing a mask, the recognition rate can reach about 95 percent, which can ensure that most people can be identified,” said Huang Lei, Hanwang’s vice president. He added that the system’s success rate for people not wearing a mask is about 99.5 percent.
Huang said Hanwang’s technology can be used to identify and track people as they move about. He added the system can identify crime suspects, terrorists or make reports or warnings.
However, the new system struggles to identify people wearing both a mask and sunglasses. “In this situation, all of the key facial information is lost. In such cases recognition is tough,” Huang said.
It was not immediately clear how people were reacting to the new technology. While some have expressed opposition to such tools, many others seem to have showed interest in the new system and accepted it as a way to deal with the current health emergency—the spread of the novel coronavirus (新型冠状病毒). Huang says he sees the interest likely expanding if the virus continues to spread and the use of face masks increases.
1. What is the second paragraph mainly about?| A．How the system is developed. | B．Where the company is located. |
| C．When the research work started. | D．What the collection stands for. |
| A．The poor storage of information. |
| B．The relatively low recognition rate. |
| C．Identifying people with both a mask and sunglasses. |
| D．Tracking the movement of crime suspects and terrorists. |
| A．Unclear. | B．Opposed. | C．Optimistic. | D．Worried. |
| A．A facial recognition system has been created to defeat the novel coronavirus.. |
| B．A company has developed a new facial recognition system which can meet different intentions. |
| C．The market is quite huge for the facial recognition system due to the spread of the disease and great need for security. |
| D．There are two kinds of the products using the new technology which sell well. |
【推荐2】Network-based technologies have become increasingly widespread, and they are now being used by countless individuals, professionals, and businesses worldwide. Despite their advantages, most network-based systems are highly at risk of malicious (恶意的) attacks.
The consequences of a malicious attack on network-based systems can be extremely harmful. For instance, an attack on a power plant network could leave millions of individuals and offices without electricity, while attacks on social media networks can lead to exposure of user information.
To overcome the weaknesses of network-based systems, computer scientists worldwide have been trying to develop advanced intrusion detection systems (IDSs) (入侵检测系统) that could help to identify malicious attacks, increasing a network’s safety. In recent years, machine learning (ML) algorithms (机器学习算法) have been found to be particularly promising for automatically detecting attacks and intrusions on a network’s functioning.
An important step in the development and training of ML-based IDSs is the selection of data features that a model can rely or focus on when making predictions. Ideally, by analyzing large datasets, researchers should be able to identify the most suitable features for solving a given task using ML tools, and this can also be applied to intrusion detection.
Researchers at Canadian University Dubai in the UAE have recently developed a new feature selection method that could enable the development of more effective ML-based IDSs. This method was found to perform remarkably well when compared with other commonly employed feature selection techniques. Using the features they identified as most important for intrusion detection, the researchers created a highly efficient ML-based detection system. This system was found to be capable of distinguishing between DDoS attacks and harmless network signals with 99% accuracy.
In the future, the feature selection method developed by the researchers and their findings could help the development of new, highly effective IDSs. In addition, the system they created using the features they identified could be applied in real-world settings to detect malicious attacks on real networks.
1. What does paragraph 1 focus on about network-based technologies?| A．Their targeted users. | B．Their popularity. |
| C．Their potential risk. | D．Their advantages. |
| A．By tracking malicious attacks. |
| B．By starting anti-virus programs. |
| C．By sorting out user information. |
| D．By recognizing malicious attacks. |
| A．Solving given tasks. | B．Selecting reliable data features. |
| C．Making accurate predictions. | D．Analyzing large enough datasets. |
| A．To introduce a new technique for IDSs. |
| B．To promote network-based technologies. |
| C．To raise people’s awareness of network safety. |
| D．To discuss ways to deal with malicious attacks. |
【推荐3】The founder of electric supercar maker Rimac has said it won’t make sense for people to own or drive their own cars in the coming decades.
According to Rimac, most people will no longer own or operate their own cars in the future.Instead, vehicles will be shared, self—driving and electric.These changes are already starting. “There will be people who still want to own their cars and drive their cars and I am happy for that because that is our business, ”Rimac said. “Long term, I think 20 years down the road, it will be totally changed and people will not own or drive their cars anymore.”Rimac’s most recent car.the C—Two, comes off the production line next year.
Rimac is well aware the industry is changing quickly due to the rise of self-driving vehicles and electric batteries, and says in the next 20 years driving as we know it may exist mainly as a hobby. “I really believe that humanity goes for things that make sense.”he told Newsweek. “If you look at 1.3 million people dying every year on the roads, if you look at the impact it has on economies based on traffic jams and time lost, it’s so much of a negative impact to society that I think such a huge benefit can be gained if people stop driving.”
“Let’s look into the future.You are standing in front of the choice of either investing a huge amount of your money in buying a hunk of metal and plastic for 30, 40, 50 thousand dollars, or you have the convenient option of paying as you go, the car picks you up in a few minutes, it’s a nice environment and you spend a few dollars per day on your transport.”
“When you take the driver out of the car, transport can be much cheaper and you can use the time to do other things, instead of sitting behind a steering(转向)wheel and not doing anything else.So I think the choice for the vast majority of people will be the obvious one.”
1. What can we learn from paragraph 2?| A．The majority of people will purchase cars. |
| B．Huge changes will take place in car industry. |
| C．Driving cars will enjoy more popularity. |
| D．The car business is gradually disappearing. |
| A．The rapid growth of self-driving cars. |
| B．The rise of shared vehicles. |
| C．The increasing demand of customers. |
| D．The advanced production line. |
| A．Uncertain. | B．Confused. | C．Optimistic. | D．Frightened. |
| A．Self-driving cars meet new challenges. |
| B．Self-driving cars avoid human errors. |
| C．Possessing or driving cars won’t be a must. |
| D．Conventional cars will be completely replaced. |
【推荐1】You may have heard the expression “buying into the dip”. We usually think of this in terms of nesting (投资) --- for example, recessions (经济萧条) offer an opportunity to take advantage of buying cheap stocks that were once expensive.
But to me, “buying into the dip” is a term which covers a lot more than that. There are a few reasons that I was able to “buying into the dip” and start a business during the Great Recession: ChopDawg.com had zero upstart costs, with no need for any credit to get started. No loans, just $10 for the domain name. I picked a service that only required my own time and labor and that’s basically it, Not needing credit was a big deal for me, and I didn’t even think about this at the time.
I was also selling a service that was priced at just the right rock-bottom level to fill a need local small business badly needed more sales, since so many had cut their spending due to the recession. A website could give these businesses a new way to reach their customers, new and old.
From an economic standpoint, the Great Recession was an opportunity to start if you were selling the right thing at the right cost. During recessions, the pool gets way less crowded. Potential competitors become much more unwilling to risk, but for those who have an in-demand service, and the means to provide it, you are in business.
Back in 2009, website design had not yet become a commercial service, Offering web design as a service for small businesses was a novel idea, and many mom-and-pop shops didn’t know they needed it yet, which brings me to this: if you can solve a fresh-out-of-the-recession pain point at the right price, you have a chance of buying into the dip and helping a lot of people at the same.
1. What is “buying into the dip” to the author?| A．Selling things at low costs. |
| B．Buying cheap stocks in time. |
| C．Offering help to small businesses. |
| D．Starting a business with the least investment. |
| A．Familiar. | B．Simple. |
| C．Clear. | D．New. |
| A．Start small--very small. |
| B．Keep an eye on what you may need. |
| C．Serve right--quite right. |
| D．Adapt to changes in the Internet service. |
【推荐2】In the social media age, teenagers are sharing more information about themselves on social media sites than ever before.
According to a Common Sense Media research study, more than eight in ten teenagers have visited a social networking site like Facebook, and three out four teenagers now have an account on a social networking site.
However, while social media sites can improve teenagers’ communication abilities, experts say that social networking could be harmful to healthy teenage self-esteem. Health educator and motivational speaker Scott Fried began working with teenagers 22 years ago. He recently developed a new lecture, “Broken-Heartedness and Intimacy in the Age of Social Media,” to discuss with teenagers the differences between their personalities online and their true selves.
“The definition of growing up is bringing together many different parts of your personality,” Fried said. “As you grow, they turn into one whole personality. Now, you have a personality at school, at home, and online. The goal of being a teenager is to bring together all these different parts that are shown online in a complete way.”
Fried uses the phrase “compare and despair” to describe the bad effect of social media / on teenage self-esteem. you compare yourself to someone else, you’re usually going to end up despairing.”
Fried said, “One of the problems with social media is that we throw our best selves out there, or what we like to think of as our best self.”
Psychologist Nadine De Ciordany says that teenagers who already have low self-esteem can get easily depressed and give others their low self-esteem. She thinks social media is causing more and more depression. She adds that parents should educate their children early on social media.
“Teenagers can use a whole lot of resources that affect the way they deal with peer pressure,” De Giordaiiy said, “As the child is growing up, supervise(监督) what it is that they have access to. There is an age that social media is appropriate for and there is an age that isn’t appropriate for.”
1. What does the research find?| A．About 75% of teenagers have a Facebook account. |
| B．Teenagers like to share opinions with others on social media. |
| C．Social media users generally have better communication skills. |
| D．Over 80% of teenagers have access to a social networking site. |
| A．Teenagers like to compete with others on social media. |
| B．Teenagers often get rid of their true selves on social media. |
| C．Teenagers present the same personality in different situations. |
| D．Teenagers like to show the greatest parts of themselves on social media. |
| A．Social media should set a minimum age limit. |
| B．Teenagers should have right to any social networking sites. |
| C．Parents should monitor what is accessible to their children. |
| D．Teenagers should be free to use social media for their problems. |
| A．Social media have bad effects on teenagers. |
| B．More and more teenagers use social media. |
| C．Social media promote teenagers’ communication skills. |
| D．Teenagers have better developed their personalities online. |
【推荐3】After at least five years of transporting you around the country, car batteries will now spend their retirement making you tea and toast and running your washing machine.
Used electric car batteries are being changed into home energy storage units which can be linked to rooftop solar panels to keep lights on and devices running when the sun goes down. The plan between Honda and Snam, an Italian energy infrastructure company, will reuse or recycle thousands of batteries from electric and hybrid cars and trucks across Europe, with single batteries installed（安装）in homes and lines of them linked to wind farms to store electricity.
They will also be used by homes and businesses on "time of use" electricity rates—to be charged up when electricity is cheap and used when the rate increases at times of peak demand. The plan will help solve one of the biggest challenges for the rapidly growing electric car industry —how to deal with large batteries which contain valuable metals such as lithium and cobalt but are expensive to break down and recycle.
Most have a warranty（保证）lasting five to eight years depending on how well they are managed and how often recharged. Used batteries have 50 to 90 per cent of their original capacity, according to Aceleron, which makes batteries that are easier to reuse and recycle.
Amrit Chandan, its founder, said："Transport is the largest source of carbon emissions in the UK, and in order to reduce carbon emissions, million electric vehicles are sold each year. But we are currently solving one environmentally friendly issue while ignoring another. Waste is the elephant in the room. By designing batteries for the circular economy from the start, we can prevent mountains of battery waste from being created worldwide. "
1. What can be inferred about used batteries from paragraph 2？| A．They will be taken apart. |
| B．They will soon disappear. |
| C．They can be given a second life. |
| D．They are used to produce electricity. |
| A．The solution to battery waste. |
| B．The production of electric vehicles. |
| C．The invention of cheap batteries. |
| D．The creation of fast electric cars. |
| A．Used batteries. |
| B．Cars and trucks. |
| C．Homes. |
| D．Hosts. |
| A．Battery waste has become a big concern. |
| B．Transport is responsible for carbon emissions. |
| C．Used electric car batteries will soon power homes. |
| D．New reusable battery can get rid of battery waste. |
