 The prime ministers of Japan and the Czech Republic have had an unusual dinner companion as they met for a state dinner in Prague.
A talking robot named Asimo walked into the dining room at the city's Hrzansky Palace and shook hands with the two leaders. The robot then said in Czech: "I have arrived in the Czech Republic, where the word robot was born, together with Prime Minister Koizumi as a Japanese envoy of goodwill." Asimo, the world's most advanced humanoid robot - can also speak Japanese as well as being able to walk upstairs and recognise voices. Japanese leader Junichiro Koizumi decided to bring the robot - made by the Japanese company Honda - as a tribute to the Czech writer Karel Capek. Capek invented the word "robot" in his 1921 play RUR (Rossum's Universal Robots), when he introduced the concept of human-like creations capable of doing dull repetitive tasks. Robot comes from the Czech word robota, which means drudgery. As well as honouring their Czech hosts, the Japanese delegation were hoping Asimo would provide light relief from the diplomatic purpose of Mr Koizumi's trip. The prime minister's two-day visit to the Czech Republic is the final stage of a week-long European tour, which has also seen him visit Poland and Germany. (Agencies) | 日本首相和捷克總理在布拉格舉行的國(guó)宴上有一位不同尋常的陪同。 一個(gè)會(huì)說(shuō)話的機(jī)器人Asimo走進(jìn)Hrzansky宮殿的宴會(huì)廳，分別和兩位領(lǐng)導(dǎo)人握手。 隨后機(jī)器人用捷克語(yǔ)說(shuō)道：“我作為日本的親善大使，和小泉純一郎首相一起來(lái)到捷克共和國(guó)--這里也是機(jī)器人這個(gè)詞誕生的地方。” Asimo是世界上最先進(jìn)的人工智能機(jī)器人，它不僅能說(shuō)日語(yǔ)而且還能上下樓和識(shí)別不同的聲音。 日本首相小泉純一郎打算將這臺(tái)日本本田公司制造的機(jī)器人作為禮物送給捷克作家卡雷爾·卡佩克。 卡佩克在其1921創(chuàng)作的舞臺(tái)劇《羅森的全能機(jī)器人》中創(chuàng)造了“機(jī)器人”這個(gè)詞，他提出了創(chuàng)造與人類相似的機(jī)器人的概念，機(jī)器人能夠做枯燥重復(fù)的勞動(dòng)。 機(jī)器人這個(gè)詞來(lái)源于捷克單詞“robota”，它的意思是苦差事，單調(diào)乏味的工作。 日本代表團(tuán)希望在向東道主捷克表示敬意的同時(shí)，讓Asimo為小泉首相此次出訪的外交目的增加幾分愉快的氣氛。 日本首相小泉對(duì)捷克共和國(guó)為期兩天的訪問(wèn)是他一周歐洲之旅的最后一站，此前他已經(jīng)訪問(wèn)了波蘭和德國(guó)。 （中國(guó)日?qǐng)?bào)網(wǎng)站譯） |
Updated: 2003-08-25 01:00
