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Hundreds of little robots are rolling around colleges and cities in the United States, Britain and elsewhere.
数以百计的小机器人出现在美国、英国和其他国家的大学和城市里。
The robots, about 50 centimeters tall, are bringing food like pizza to hungry students.
这些大约50厘米高的机器人正在为饥饿的学生派送披萨等食物。
The robots were being tested in limited numbers before the pandemic started.
在新冠疫情开始之前，这种机器人正在进行有限数量的测试。
But pandemic-related worker shortages and a desire for contactless delivery have expanded their use.
但与疫情相关的劳动力短缺和对非接触式配送的需求扩大了它们的使用。
"We saw demand for robot usage just go through the ceiling," said Alastair Westgarth.
阿拉斯泰尔·韦斯特加斯说：“我们看到对使用机器人的需求在激增。”
He is the head of Starship Technologies, whose robots recently made their 2 millionth delivery.
他是星舰科技公司的负责人，其公司的机器人最近完成了第200万个配送订单。
"I think demand was always there, but it was brought forward by the pandemic effect."
“我认为需求一直存在，但这是由疫情效应带来的。”
Starship has deployed more than 1,000 robots, up from just 250 in 2019.
星舰科技公司已经部署了1000多台机器人，而2019年只有250台。
Hundreds more will be sent out soon.
很快还会有数百台机器人被派出去。
They are delivering food at 20 U.S. colleges and 25 more will be added soon.
它们正在20所美国大学送餐，不久还会增加25所。
They are also operating in Milton Keynes, England; Modesto, California; and the company's hometown of Tallinn, Estonia.
它们还在英国的米尔顿·凯恩斯、加利福尼亚州的莫德斯托以及该公司的家乡爱沙尼亚的塔林运转。
The robots use cameras, sensors and GPS to move around and even cross streets on their own at the speed of 8 kilometers per hour.
这些机器人使用摄像头、传感器和GPS以每小时8公里的速度自主移动，甚至过马路。
Operators keep watch on several robots at a time but they say they rarely need to stop or move them around a barrier.
操作人员同时监视几个机器人，但他们表示，他们很少需要阻止或移动它们绕过障碍物。
When a robot arrives, people enter a code from their phones to open the robot and get their food.
当机器人到达时，人们从他们的手机上输入一个代码来打开机器人，然后拿到他们的食物。
There are some limitations for now.
目前有一些限制。
The robots have to be recharged regularly.
机器人必须定期充电。
They are slow and cannot travel far.
它们速度很慢，走不了多远。
They will not leave food at the door.
它们不会把食物放在门口。
And big cities like New York and Beijing are not welcoming them.
而像纽约和北京这样的大城市并不欢迎它们。
Data company NPD found that U.S. food delivery orders increased 66 percent for the year ending in June.
数据公司NPD发现，截至今年6月，美国的外卖订单增加了66%。
And delivery demand could remain high even after the pandemic because people have gotten used to the service.
即使在新冠疫情之后，配送需求仍可能居高不下，因为人们已经习惯了这项服务。
Ji Hye Kim is the chef of Miss Kim restaurant in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
金智惠是密歇根州安娜堡市金小姐餐厅的主厨。
She used robot delivery when her dining room was closed last year.
去年她的餐厅关门时，她使用了机器人送外卖。
Kim prefers robots to delivery companies which cost more and sometimes cancel orders if they do not have enough drivers.
比起外卖配送公司，金智惠更喜欢机器人配送，因为外卖配送公司成本高且如果外卖配送公司没有足够的外卖骑手，有时他们就会取消订单。
Delivery companies also group several orders per trip, she said, so food sometimes arrives cold.
她说，而且外卖配送公司每次会凑几份订单一起送，所以有时食物送到时是冷的。
Robots take just one order at a time.
机器人一次只接一份订单。
Kim said the robots also excite people who often share videos of their interactions.
金智惠说，机器人还会让经常分享互动视频的人感到兴奋。
Denis Maloney is the vice president at Domino's Pizza.
丹尼斯·马洛尼是多米诺披萨的副总裁。
His company is testing robots from Nuro, a California-based company.
他的公司正在测试加利福尼亚州公司Nuro生产的机器人。
The robots are about 1.8 meters tall and can travel at a top speed of 40 kilometers on streets, not sidewalks.
这些机器人大约1.8米高，可以在街道上而不是在人行道上以最高40公里的速度行驶。
Maloney said Nuro delivery costs more than using human drivers for now.
马洛尼表示，就目前而言，Nuro的配送成本比使用外卖骑手更高。
But as the technology gets more popular, the costs will go down.
但随着这项技术越来越受欢迎，成本将会下降。
Brendan Witcher is a technology expert with Forrester.
布兰登·威彻是弗雷斯特公司的技术专家。
He said it is easy to get excited about robots.
他说，人们很容易对机器人感到兴奋。
But they will need to prove to companies they are better than human delivery drivers.
但它们需要向公司证明，他们比外卖骑手更好。
It is "the right time and place for companies considering robots to test them and learn from them and do their own evaluation."
对于考虑使用机器人的公司来说，这是“测试它们，向它们学习，并进行自己的评估的合适的时间和地点。”
I'm Dan Novak.
丹·诺瓦克为您播报。
译文为可可英语翻译，未经授权请勿转载！
