阅读外刊学英语

外刊阅读:A navigation system inspire

2019-08-23  本文已影响3人  爱英语爱阅读

智能手机能导航和定位,给日常生活带来了很大便利,但是也引起了隐私泄露的担忧。现在有人研究出了不依赖卫星和网络的导航系统,有望让我们多一种选择。

A navigation system inspired by insect eyes

by Ali Morris

A team of student designers and engineers from the RCA and Imperial College have designed an open-source alternative to GPS, called Aweigh, that does not rely on satellites. Instead, the device calculates a user's position using the sun – a feature inspired by the polarised vision of insects.

open-source (软件)开放源代码的
alternative /ɒlˈtɜːnətɪv/ n. 另一种选择
rely /rɪˈlaɪ/ on 依靠
satellite /ˈsæt(ə)laɪt/ n. 人造卫星
device /dɪˈvaɪs/ n. 设备、装置
calculate /ˈkælkjuleɪt/ v. 计算
feature /ˈfiːtʃə(r)/ n. 特点、特性
inspire /ɪnˈspaɪə(r)/ v. 启发、给予灵感
polarise /ˈpəʊləraɪz/ v. 极化(这里指光线变成偏振光)
vision /ˈvɪʒ(ə)n/ n. 视力
insect /ˈɪnsekt/ n. 昆虫

Its student makers said that the design is similar to that of the sextant(六分仪), one of the oldest known navigating tools that measures the angular distance between two visible objects, in this case the horizon and the sun.

maker /ˈmeɪkə(r)/ n. 制作者(由make加上表示人的后缀-er)
navigate /ˈnævɪɡeɪt/ v. 导航、确定方位
tool /tuːl/ n. 工具
measure /ˈmeʒə(r)/ v. 测量
angular /ˈæŋɡjulə(r)/ adj. 角的、角度的
visible /ˈvɪzəb(ə)l/ adj. 可见的
object /ˈɒbdʒɪkt/ n. 物体
horizon /həˈraɪz(ə)n/ n. 地平线

They said that Aweigh can even work on a cloudy day when the sun is not in view, and unlike devices that use satellites, such as smartphones, Aweigh functions offline so a user's positional data cannot be leaked through the internet.

smartphone /ˈsmɑːtfəʊn/ n. 智能手机(由smart和phone组成)
function /ˈfʌŋkʃ(ə)n/ v. 起作用、运转
offline /ɒfˈlaɪn/ adj. 离线的、不联网的(跟online相反)
positional /pəˈzɪʃ(ə)n(ə)l/ adj. 位置的(由position加后缀-al变成形容词)
data /ˈdeɪtə/ n. 数据
leak /liːk/ v. 泄漏、泄露

"Satellites send information which can be intercepted and interfered with, but to interfere with Aweigh, one would need to artificially move the sun," explained the team.

intercept /ˌɪntəˈsept/ v. 拦截
interfere /ˌɪntəˈfɪə(r)/ v. 扰乱、干扰
artificially /ˌɑːtɪˈfɪʃ(ə)li/ adv. 人工地、人为地(由artificial加后缀-ly变成副词)

"Most people don't think about the way they navigate," the group continued, "but as concerns over centralised technology and data privacy increase, individuals should have a choice over how their data is taken and used. Aweigh is about giving back choice."

concern /kənˈsɜːn/ n. 担心、担忧
centralise /ˈsentrəlaɪz/ v. 中心化(由central加后缀-ise变成动词)
privacy /ˈprɪvəsi/ n. 隐私
individual /ˌɪndɪˈvɪdʒuəl/ n. 个人、个体

Describing the system as "a set of tools and blueprints", the team wanted users to be able to hack or fix the tools they use, so making the project open-source was important.

blueprint /ˈbluːprɪnt/ n. 蓝图、设计图
hack /hæk/ v. 快速编写程序
project /ˈprɒdʒekt/ n. 项目

The device's custom circuit board that reads light values to find the sun, is powered by Raspberry Pi, a tiny computer that is specifically designed to educate users about coding. The circuit board can be modified to customise interactions and the team imagine the device could work with older navigation tools like maps, and satellite navigation tools, by replacing the GPS chip.

custom /ˈkʌstəm/ adj. 定做的
circuit /ˈsɜːkɪt/ n. 回路、电路
value /ˈvæljuː/ n. 值、数值
power /paʊə(r)/ v. 提供动力、提供算力
specifically /spəˈsɪfɪk(ə)li/ adv. 专门地(由specific加后缀-ally变成副词)
educate /ˈedʒukeɪt/ v. 教
code /kəʊd/ v. 编写程序
modify /ˈmɒdɪfaɪ/ v. 修改、调整
customise /ˈkʌstəmaɪz/ v. 定制、定做(由custom加后缀-ise变成动词)
interaction /ˌɪntəˈrækʃ(ə)n/ n. 交互、互动
imagine /ɪˈmædʒɪn/ v. 想象
navigation /ˌnævɪˈɡeɪʃ(ə)n/ n. 导航(由navigate加后缀-ion变成名词)
chip /tʃɪp/ n. 芯片

A booklet explaining how the device works is included in the pack, and the group hope that coders will collaborate on the project to improve it. "One variation of this device is simply a list of commercially available parts to buy, and an electronics diagram," they said.

booklet /ˈbʊklət/ n. 小册子
pack /pæk/ n. 全套东西
coder /ˈkəʊdə(r)/ n. 编程者(由code加上表示人的后缀-er)
collaborate /kəˈlæbəreɪt/ v. 合作、协作
variation /ˌveəriˈeɪʃ(ə)n/ n. 变种、变体(由vary加后缀-ation变成名词)
simply /ˈsɪmpli/ adv. 仅仅
commercially /kəˈmɜːʃ(ə)li/ adv. 商业上(由commercial加后缀-ly变成副词)
part /pɑːt/ n. 零部件
electronics /ˌelekˈtrɒnɪks/ n. 电子学
diagram /ˈdaɪəɡræm/ n. 示意图(electronics diagram指电路图)

The team is currently working on increasing the resolution, whilst the details for building the device yourself are available to download.

currently /ˈkʌr(ə)ntli/ adv. 现在、目前(由current加后缀-ly变成副词)
resolution /ˌrezəˈluːʃ(ə)n/ n. 分辨率
whilst /waɪlst/ = while

"We believe that this project is particularly contemporary, given how design is shifting towards more science-focused work and given how beholden UK citizens currently are to foreign satellite systems," said team member Flora Weil. "We also believe that the values of this project are important to shift current trends in technological progress towards more democratic motives."

contemporary /kənˈtemp(ə)r(ə)ri/ adj. 现代的
given /ˈɡɪv(ə)n/ prep. 考虑到
shift /ʃɪft/ v. 移动、转移
focused /ˈfəʊkəst/ adj. 专注于…的
beholden /bɪˈhəʊld(ə)n/ adj. 欠人情的、感恩的
citizen /ˈsɪtɪz(ə)n/ n. 公民
technological /ˌteknəˈlɒdʒɪk(ə)l/ adj. 科技的、技术的(由technology加后缀-ical变成形容词)
progress /ˈprəʊɡres/ n. 进步
democratic /ˌdeməˈkrætɪk/ adj. 民主的
motive /ˈməʊtɪv/ n. 动机

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