日本公司發明炫酷機械臂

If you’ve ever stared enviously at an ant, jealous of its six-legged efficiency, then you’ll be happy to hear that engineers at Japan’s Inami Hiyama Laboratory have developed a multi-limbed robotic suit – able to give users control over two extra arms.

如果你曾羨慕地盯着一隻螞蟻，嫉妒它六條腿的效率，那麼你會很高興聽到這則消息，日本稲見?檜山研究所的工程師開發了一套多臂機械套裝，可以使用戶控制另外兩條手臂。

The MetaLimbs system is built up of two main parts: The first is a set of robotic limbs that rest on the wearer like a tech-heavy backpack. The second is a tracking system attached to the wearer’s legs.

金屬壁系統由兩個主要部分構成：第一部分是一套機械臂，它就像一個高科技的雙肩揹包一樣背在佩戴者身上。第二部分是一個附着在佩戴者腿上的追蹤系統。

Optical markers are attached to toes and knees. When the wearer moves their leg, so does the accompanying robotic arm. When they squeeze their toes, the robot hand tightens its grip.

光學指示器附着在腳趾和膝蓋上。當佩戴者移動他們的腿部時，附屬的機械臂也會移動。當他們擠壓腳趾，機械臂就會牢牢握緊。

There’s also haptic feedback, so when wearer holds something they feel pressure on their foot.

這套機械臂還有觸覺反饋，所以當佩戴者握住某物時，他們的足部就會感受到壓力。

Although the demo highlights the use of additional limbs alongside the upper body, it seems the most immediately useful case for the technology would be for those who have lost the use of their arms.

雖然樣品演示突出了上半身外加手臂的用途，但這種技術立竿見影的有效實例似乎就是爲那些失去手臂的人所用。

Being able to shift control of the legs to an exterior set of limbs is a useful way to rejig body functionality for those with disabilities. It would be interesting, for example, to see if a similar system could move in the opposite direction – with artificial legs controlled by arm movements.

對於那些身有殘疾的人來說，能夠通過腿部來控制一套外置手臂是調整身體功能的一種有效方式。設想一下，一套相似的系統是否可以反向操作，例如通過移動手臂來控制義肢，這會很有趣。

Beyond this, the project raises interesting questions about the concept of the human body, and how it can be reorganised with the help of advanced prosthetics.

除此之外，這個項目提出了關於人體概念的有趣問題，藉助先進的修復術可以如何重組人體？

It is a novel experience, your body will adapt to a new type of human shape and the body schema will metamorphose [to encompass] multiple arms.

這是一項新奇的體驗，你的身體會適應一種新式的體型，而且身體架構會變得可以附着多條手臂。