🔥INSECT-INSPIRED ROBOTS(Đề thi IELTS READING 01/03/2024 & 28/12/2024): Kèm giải thích từ vựng

INSECT - INSPIRED ROBOTS

A. A tiny insect navigates its way across featureless salt-pans. A cockroach successfully works out how to scramble over an obstacle. The mantis shrimp scans its aquatic world through hyperspectral eyes. Using the most basic of equipment and brains tinier than a pinhead, insects constantly solve complex problems of movement, vision and navigation processing data that would challenge a supercomputer. How they do it is driving one of the most exciting new fields of technology-biomimetics and biorobotics, the imitation of insect systems to control man-made machines. Delegates at a recent conference presented some outcomes of their work in this area.

B. Dr Alex Zelinsky suggested that the method by which wasps use landmarks to find their way back to the nest may one day be part of a system for navigating cars that ‘know’ where to go. A research team led by Dr Zelinsky has shown that a robot can navigate its way along 50 different landmarks by recognizing them individually using a panoramic camera. ‘The inspiration came from biology, where wasps use a practice called “turn back and look” to orient themselves as they emerge from its nest. By flying to and fro, they lock in images of the nest so they can recognize it again,’ he explained. The robot’s panoramic camera logs the surrounding area and its key landmarks, which are then sorted in its computer according to how reliable they are as navigational aids. The landmarks are then scaled, from small to large, so that the robot can recognize whether it is getting closer to or further away from them. Their location is built into a map in its ‘mind’, which operates at different scales and instructs the robot whether to turn left or right at a particular mark. The technology provides a general way for a machine to navigate an unknown landscape.The ant also has a way of measuring distance traveled, while a ‘path integrator’ periodically informs the ant of its current position relative to its point of departure. Rather than integrate all the information it receives in its brain, the ant actually performs a number of complex calculations in different organs. Like a supercomputer, the ant has many separate subroutines going on simultaneously. Using the ant’s ability to steer by polarised light and to store and reuse landscape images, Wehner and colleagues have built ‘Sahabot’, a small vehicle that uses polarisers and a digital CCD camera to store 3600 images of landmarks to the ones in its memory.

C. For three decades, Professor Ruediger Wehner has journeyed from Switzerland to the Sahara desert where Catalyphis, a tiny ant with a brain weighing just 0.1 mg, performs acts of navigational genius when it leaves its nest, forages for food and returns successfully. Cataglyphis uses polarised light, caused when air molecules scatter light, to orient and steer itself. Wehner’s team found the ant has a set of specialized photoreceptors along the upper rim of its eyes that detect polarized light, while other receptors perform different navigational tasks. As the sun moves, the ant notes its direction each time it leaves the nest and updates its internal compass. Using other eye receptors it stores a ‘snapshot’ image of landmarks, close to the nest entrance in its eyes and compares this with what it sees as it returns.

D. Professor Robert Michelson had a different desert challenge – to design a flying robot that can not only navigate but also stay aloft and hover in the thin atmosphere of Mars. Drawing inspiration from insect flight, he has gone beyond nature to devise a completely new concept for a flying machine. The ‘Entomopter’ is sort of double-ended dragonfly whose wings beat reciprocally. Michelson says that the flapping-wing design gives the craft unusually high lift compared with a fixed-wing flyer, enabling it to fly slowly or hover in the thin Martain air- whereas a fixed-wing craft would have to move at more than 400 km/h and could not stop to explore.

E. Engineer Roger Quinn and entomologist Professor Roy Ritzmann are taking their inspiration from cockroaches. According to Quinn and Ritsmann, the ability of cockroaches to run very fast over rough terrain may one day give rise to a completely new all-terrain vehicle with six-legs, or maybe even wheel-like legs call ‘whegs’. The key to the cockroach’s remarkable cross-country performance lies partly in the fact that its legs do a lot of the ‘thinking’ without having to consult the brain. Quinn and Ritzmann are drawing on cockroach skills to create robotic walkers and control strategies that capture the remarkable capacity of these insects to traverse complex terrain and navigate safety toward goals while avoiding obstacles. The team has already designed a series of robots that run on six legs or on whegs, enabling them to handle surprisingly rugged terrain.

F. International experts believe there are tremendous opportunities biorobotics. However, delegates at the conference had differing visions for the future of the science. While some were concerned that the initial applications of biorobotics may be military, others, such as Dr barbara Webb, predicted swarms of tiny cheap insect-like robots as society’s cleaners and collectors. Sonja Kleinlogel hoped the study of the hyperspectral eyes if the mantis shrimp might yield remote sensors that keep watch over the environmental health of our oceans. Several delegates were concerned about the ethical implications of biorobotics, and urged that close attention be paid to this as the science and technologies develop. >> IELTS TUTOR lưu ý: Phân tích và sửa chi tiết đề thi IELTS SPEAKING 4/8 [Audio+Transcript]

Question 27-32

Reading Passage 3 has six sections A-F.

Which section contains the following information?

Write the correct letter A-F in boxes 27-32 on your answer sheet.

NB You can use any letter more than once.

27. positive and negative possibilities for the use of insect-inspired robots

28. how perceived size is used as an aid to navigation

29. an example of decision-making taking place in the limbs

30. a description of a potential aid in space exploration

31. the range of skills that have inspired biorobotics

32. how a variety of navigational methods operate at the same time.

QUESTIONS 33 - 36

Choose NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS from the passage for each answer.

Write your answers in boxes 33-36 on your answer sheet.

33. Which creatures see particularly well underwater?

34. In addition to a computer, what technical equipment is fitted in Dr Zelinsky’s robot?

35. Where is the Cataglyphis ant found?

36. What atmospheric effect helps the Catalyphis ant to know its direction?

QUESTIONS 37 - 40
• Look at the following people and the list of robots below.
• Match each person or people with the correct robot A-G.
• Write the correct letter A-G in boxes 37-40 on your answer sheet.
List of robots
A. a robot that makes use of light as well as stored images for navigational purposes
B. a robot that can contribute to environmental health
C. a robot that can move over difficult surfaces
D. a robot that categorises information from the environment according to its usefulness
E. a robot that can be used to clean surfaces and collect rubbish
F. a robot that has improved on the ability of the insect on which it is based
G. a robot that can replace soldiers in war.

37. Dr Alex Zelinsky
38. Professor Ruediger Wehner
39. Professor Robert Michelson
40. Roger Quinn and Professor Roy Ritzmann.

Đáp án:

27. F

28. B

29. E

30. D

31. A

32. C>> Form đăng kí giải đề thi thật IELTS 4 kĩ năng kèm bài giải bộ đề 100 đề PART 2 IELTS SPEAKING quý đang thi (update hàng tuần) từ IELTS TUTOR

33. Mantis Shrimp

34. Panoramic camera

35. Sahara desert

36. Polarized light

37. D

38. A

39. F

40. C

A. General Terms

1. Featureless

   • Definition: Without noticeable details or characteristics - Không có đặc điểm, trống trơn.
   • IELTS TUTOR xét ví dụ từ bài đọc: "A tiny insect navigates its way across featureless salt-pans." - Một con côn trùng nhỏ tìm đường qua cánh đồng muối trống trơn.

2. Hyperspectral

   • Definition: Related to capturing light across a wide range of wavelengths. - Siêu phổ quang.
   • IELTS TUTOR xét ví dụ từ bài đọc: "The mantis shrimp scans its aquatic world through hyperspectral eyes." - Tôm bọ ngựa quét thế giới dưới nước bằng đôi mắt siêu phổ quang.

3. Biomimetics

   • Definition: Imitating natural biological designs in engineering or technology - Mô phỏng sinh học.
   • IELTS TUTOR xét ví dụ từ bài đọc: "Biomimetics and biorobotics, the imitation of insect systems to control man-made machines." - Mô phỏng sinh học và robot sinh học, bắt chước hệ thống côn trùng để điều khiển máy móc nhân tạo.

4. Biorobotics

   • Definition: The study and design of robots inspired by biological systems. - Robot sinh học.
   • IELTS TUTOR xét ví dụ từ bài đọc: "One of the most exciting new fields of technology - biomimetics and biorobotics." - Một trong những lĩnh vực công nghệ mới thú vị nhất - mô phỏng sinh học và robot sinh học.

B. Terms Related to Insects and Navigation

1. Landmarks

   • Definition: Fixed objects used as reference points for navigation. - Mốc địa hình.
   • IELTS TUTOR xét ví dụ từ bài đọc: "The method by which wasps use landmarks to find their way back to the nest." - Cách mà ong bắp cày sử dụng mốc địa hình để tìm đường về tổ.

2. Panoramic

   • Definition: Giving a wide view of an area. - Toàn cảnh.
   • IELTS TUTOR xét ví dụ từ bài đọc: "A robot can navigate its way along 50 different landmarks by recognizing them individually using a panoramic camera." - Một con robot có thể di chuyển qua 50 mốc địa hình khác nhau bằng cách nhận diện chúng qua camera toàn cảnh.

3. Polarized light

   • Definition: Light waves oriented in specific directions. - Ánh sáng phân cực.
   • IELTS TUTOR xét ví dụ từ bài đọc: "The ant has a way of measuring distance traveled, while a ‘path integrator’ periodically informs the ant of its current position." - Con kiến có cách đo khoảng cách đã di chuyển, trong khi "bộ tích hợp đường đi" thông báo vị trí hiện tại.

4. Photoreceptors

   • Definition: Cells or sensors that detect light. - Tế bào cảm quang.
   • IELTS TUTOR xét ví dụ từ bài đọc: "A set of specialized photoreceptors along the upper rim of its eyes detect polarized light." - Một tập hợp các tế bào cảm quang đặc biệt ở mép trên mắt nó phát hiện ánh sáng phân cực.

5. Snapshot

   • Definition: A quick photograph or mental image for reference - Ảnh chụp nhanh/ảnh chụp bộ nhớ.
   • IELTS TUTOR xét ví dụ từ bài đọc: "Using other eye receptors, it stores a ‘snapshot’ image of landmarks." - Sử dụng các tế bào cảm nhận khác trong mắt, nó lưu giữ hình ảnh "chụp nhanh" của các mốc địa hình.

C. Terms Related to Robots

1. Hover

• Definition: Stay in the air without moving forward - Bay lơ lửng.
• IELTS TUTOR xét ví dụ từ bài đọc: "Michelson says that the flapping-wing design gives the craft unusually high lift enabling it to fly slowly or hover." - Michelson nói rằng thiết kế cánh vỗ mang lại lực nâng cao bất thường cho thiết bị, cho phép nó bay chậm hoặc lơ lửng.

1. Subroutines

• Definition: Smaller, specific tasks within a larger system - Các chương trình con.
• IELTS TUTOR xét ví dụ từ bài đọc: "The ant has many separate subroutines going on simultaneously." - Con kiến có nhiều chương trình con hoạt động cùng lúc.

1. Entomopter

• Definition: A flying robot inspired by insect flight. - Máy bay robot lấy cảm hứng từ côn trùng.
• IELTS TUTOR xét ví dụ từ bài đọc: "The ‘Entomopter’ is sort of double-ended dragonfly whose wings beat reciprocally." - "Entomopter" là một loại chuồn chuồn hai đầu có cánh đập ngược nhau.

1. All-terrain vehicle

• Definition: A vehicle designed to move across all types of surfaces. - Xe địa hình.
• IELTS TUTOR xét ví dụ từ bài đọc: "May one day give rise to a completely new all-terrain vehicle with six legs." - Có thể một ngày nào đó sẽ tạo ra một loại xe địa hình mới hoàn toàn với sáu chân.

1. Whegs

• Definition: A design combining wheels and legs - Bánh-chân (kết hợp bánh xe và chân).
• IELTS TUTOR xét ví dụ từ bài đọc: "An all-terrain vehicle with six legs, or maybe even wheel-like legs called ‘whegs’." Một chiếc xe địa hình với sáu chân hoặc thậm chí các chân giống bánh xe được gọi là "whegs."

D. Ethics and Future of Biorobotics

1. Ethical implications

• Definition: Moral consequences or considerations of an action- Hệ quả đạo đức.
• IELTS TUTOR xét ví dụ từ bài đọc: "Several delegates were concerned about the ethical implications of biorobotics."- Một số đại biểu lo ngại về các hệ quả đạo đức của robot sinh học.

1. Remote sensors

• Definition: Devices that detect or measure without direct contact - Cảm biến từ xa.
• IELTS TUTOR xét ví dụ từ bài đọc: "Hyperspectral eyes of the mantis shrimp might yield remote sensors that keep watch over the environmental health of our oceans."- Đôi mắt siêu phổ quang của tôm bọ ngựa có thể tạo ra các cảm biến từ xa để giám sát sức khỏe môi trường của các đại dương.