For most of us, walking is something we do without thinking at all.
对我们大多数人来说，走路是一件完全不用思考的事情。
But for some disabled or aged people, it can be a real challenge.
但对一些残疾人或老年人来说，这却是真正的挑战。
It can also be difficult when a person needs to carry heavy things and walk for a long way.
当一个人需要提着重物走很长一段路时，也会变得很困难。
Researchers at Harvard are trying to solve this problem with a soft robot suit worn over the legs.
哈佛大学的研究人员正在尝试用一种穿在腿上的柔性机器人服来解决这个问题。
It uses sensors to watch how a person is walking.
它利用传感器来监测人是如何行走的。
Then, it sends tiny electric impulses to the person's leg muscles to help them work when necessary.
然后在需要时向人的腿部肌肉发送微小的电脉冲，帮助肌肉工作。
It is not easy to understand, right?
这听起来不太容易理解，对吧？
Let's start by looking at how humans walk.
让我们先从人类是如何行走的说起。
Walking is a process that doesn't require much thinking or energy.
走路是一种不需要太多思考或能量的过程。
Our legs’ movement is like a swinging swing set.
我们腿部的运动就像在摆动的秋千。
All our muscles need to do is to provide tiny power to help that swinging along.
我们所有的肌肉只需要提供一点点力量来帮助这种摆动继续。
That's why humans can generally walk for a long time without getting too tired.
这就是为什么人类通常可以走很久而不会太累。
Walking becomes a challenge when our muscles can't provide energy to keep that movement happening.
当我们的肌肉无法提供足够的能量来维持这种运动时，走路就成了一种挑战。
This is where that robot suit comes in.
这正是机器人服发挥作用的地方。
It has many sensors all across the legs that are made to read how things are going as the person is moving.
它在腿部各处装有许多传感器，用来在人体运动时读取行走情况。
This way, the robot can read in real time where the problems are.
通过这种方式，机器人可以实时判断问题出在哪里。
Then, it sends out impulses to help muscles along in a way that is very similar to how our bodies work naturally.
接着，它会以一种非常接近人体自然运作方式的形式发送脉冲，帮助肌肉完成动作。
Researchers are still working on the robot suit, although it takes time.
尽管还需要时间，研究人员仍在继续完善这套机器人服。
They hope it can be as comfortable as a pair of trousers and finally can take the place of things like metal leg braces, walking sticks and walkers.
他们希望它能像一条裤子一样舒适，并最终取代金属护腿、拐杖和助行器等工具。
At that time, everyone, including the disabled or the aged, can walk without thinking again.
到那时，包括残疾人和老年人在内的每个人，都可以再次毫不费力地行走。
What a cool idea!
这是一个多么酷的想法啊！
=
For most of us, walking is something we do without thinking at all. But for some disabled or aged people, it can be a real challenge. It can also be difficult when a person needs to carry heavy things and walk for a long way.
Researchers at Harvard are trying to solve this problem with a soft robot suit worn over the legs. It uses sensors to watch how a person is walking. Then, it sends tiny electric impulses to the person's leg muscles to help/hem work when necessary.
It is not casy to understand, right? Let's start by looking at how humans walk. Walking is a process that doesn't require much thinking or energy,Our legs’movement is like a swinging swing set. All our muscles nced to do is to provide tiny power to help that swinging along. That's why humans can generally walk for a long time without getting too tired.
Walking becomes a challenge when our muscles can't provide energy to keep that movement happening. This is where that robot suit comes in. It has many sensors all across the legs that are made to read how things are going as the person is moving. This way, the robot can read in real time where the problems are. Then, it sends out impulses to help muscles along in a way that is very similar to how our bodies work naturally.
Researchers are still working on the robot suit, although it takes time. They hope it can be as comfortable as a pair of trousers and finally can take the place of things like metal leg braces, walking sticks and walkers. At that time, everyone, including the disabled or the aged, can walk without thinking again. What a cool idea!