閱讀理解
PITTSBURGH －For most people, snakes seem unpleasant or even threatening(有威脅的)．But Howie Choset sees in their delicate(靈敏的)movements a way to save lives．
The 37-year-old Carnegie Mellon University professor has spent years developing snake-like robots he hopes will eventually slide(滑)through fallen buildings in search of victims trapped after natural disasters or other emergencies(緊急情況)．
Dan Kara is president of Robotics Trends, a Northboro, Mass-based company that publishes an online industry magazine and runs robotics trade shows．He said there are other snake-like robots being developed, mainly at universities, but didn’t know of one that could climb pipes．
The Carnegie Mellon machines are designed to carry cameras and electronic sensors and can be controlled with a joystick(操縱桿)．They move smoothly with the help of small electric motors, or servos, commonly used by hobbyists(業(yè)余愛(ài)好者)in model airplanes．
Built from lightweight materials, the robots are about the size of a human arm or smaller．They can sense which way is up, but are only as good as their human operators, Choset added．
Sam Stover, a search team manager with the Federal Emergency Management Agency based in Indiana, said snake-type robots would offer greater mobility(靈活性)than equipment currently available(可利用的), such as cameras attached(系)to extendable poles．
“It just allows us to do something we’ve not been able to do before,” Stover said, “We needed them yesterday．”
He said sniffer dogs(嗅探犬)are still the best search tool for rescue(救援)workers, but that they can only be used effectively when workers have access(接近)to damaged buildings．
Stover, among the rescue workers who handled(處理)the aftermath(后果)of Hurricane Katrina, said snake robots would have helped rescuers search flooded houses in that disaster．
Choset said the robots may not be ready for use for another five to ten years, depending on funding(資金)．
