会思考的机器——机械智能

Machines Which Can Think——Mechanical Intelligence(MI)

第三次工业革命后,电子信息技术得到了飞速发展,人们习惯于将机械系统视为冰冷的被控对象,一切动作和响应都依靠中央控制器发出的指令而执行。然而,自古以来机械结构就以其巧妙的设计和组合,对人们的生产和生活发挥着重要的作用。如今,随着机构学、机器人学和材料学等的发展,重新审视这些会思考的机器,并引出了机械智能的概念。基于此,总结传统机构、柔性机构及机器人中所展现的机械智能,并对其中涉及的科学问题进行概述。对机械智能和机械控制系统的关系进行讨论。机械智能以其系统可靠性、快速响应性和人机交互安全性等优点必将成为今后智能机器或机器人发展的重要方向之一。

Electronic and information technologies have been rapidly developed since the third industrial revolution. Conventionally, machines are considered as cold and lifeless objects which depend solely on commands from central controllers to perform motions and responses. However, mechanical structures have historically exerted great impacts on various aspects of the society. With the fast development of mechanisms, robotics and materials, those machines that can think is re-examined by researchers, from which the concept of mechanical intelligence(MI) emerges. The characteristics of MI in traditional mechanisms, flexible mechanisms and robotics are reviewed, and the underlying scientific problems are elaborated. The relationship between MI and mechanical control system is discussed. It can be believed that the MI will become the one of the most promising directions in the study of intelligent machines or robots due to its high reliability, fast response and safety in human-machine interaction.