普通高中课程标准实验教科书 英语选修7 Unit 2 Reading task

　　This is where robotics comes in. Several countries are working on technological solutions to the landmines problem. As part of Japan's support for finding and removing landmines in Afghanistan, Japanese scientists and engineers have been researching into robotics. One of the most exciting projects is at Chiba University, where a robot that looks something like an insect is being developed. It is 4 metres long, 1.8 metres wide, 1 metre high, and weighs 900 kilograms, about the size of a small car. It walks on 6 legs and when it finds a mine, it marks the spot with paint and sends data to a computer which can then map the mines. As well as being much safer than finding mines by hand, the insect robot is also much faster.

　　The university is also experimenting with the robot so that it can use radar to search for plastic mines. The goal is for the computer to use the data it receives to determine not only whether an object is just a piece of metal or a mine, but also what type of mine it is. The researchers hope that mass production of robots will start in the next year or so and they will be used in such countries as Afghanistan and Cambodia.

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