There's a whole new economy, where things are made and assembled in space.

有一種全新的經濟，在太空中製造和組裝物品。

From huge satellites and spacecraft in orbit, to entire cities on the Moon and Mars.

從軌道上的巨大衛星和航天器，到月球和火星上的整個城市。

We are treading new ground here.

我們在這裡踏上了新的征程。

So what advances in technology could make building and manufacturing in space a reality?

那麼，怎樣的技術進步才能讓太空建築和製造成為現實呢？

The answer could be robots, guided by AI.

答案可能是由人工智能引導的機器人。

I think a lot of paradigms will change the moment we start manufacturing in space.

我認為，一旦我們開始太空製造，很多模式都將改變。

Ed Mayer is co-founder of a company with ambitious plans to build a factory of the future in space.

埃德-梅耶是一家公司的聯合創始人，該公司雄心勃勃地計劃在太空建造一座未來工廠。

AI and robotics are going to be a big part of that.

人工智能和機器人技術將是其中的重要組成部分。

The ability to do this kind of building in space is decades away.

要在太空中建造這樣的建築，還需要幾十年的時間。

But Machina Labs is drawing inspiration from the manufacturing process that it's currently using here on Earth.

不過，Machina 實驗室正從其目前在地球上使用的製造工藝中汲取靈感。

We call these robotic cells Robocraftsman.

我們稱這些機器人細胞為 "機器人工匠"。

The company specialises in a new way of shaping sheet metal, called roboforming.

該公司專門從事一種新的金屬板材成型方法，即機器人成型。

Think of two robotic arms on two sides of a flat sheet of metal, working together like fingers of the potter, to deform a sheet of metal into very complex shapes.

想象一下，兩隻機械臂分別放在一塊平整金屬板的兩側，像陶工的手指一樣相互配合，將金屬板變形為非常複雜的形狀。

They can pick up different tools, apply it differently to the material, and replicate all kinds of different processes.

他們可以拿起不同的工具，對材料進行不同的處理，複製各種不同的工藝。

The hope is that one day, a new generation of robots like these will be able to assemble and construct things in space.

希望有一天，新一代的機器人能像它們一樣在太空中組裝和建造物品。

Welcome to our second facility.

歡迎來到我們的第二個設施。

We call this facility Machina East.

我們把這個設施稱為 "東方機器"。

We're using this facility to manufacture our next generation, which is going to be portable.

我們將利用這一設施生產下一代產品，它將是便攜式的。

Not only can we deploy it anywhere on Earth, but the portable nature of it can be also put eventually on a rocket and deployed to space.

我們不僅可以將其部署在地球上的任何地方，而且由於其便攜性，最終還可以將其裝入火箭，部署到太空中。

AI is crucial to roboforming.

人工智能對機器人成型至關重要。

With artificial intelligence, now we can enter the realm where a robot can be flexible, can decide what to do and what not to do.

有了人工智能，現在我們可以進入這樣一個領域：機器人可以靈活應變，可以決定做什麼和不做什麼。

It can change the set of operations that it was planning to do, based on the inputs it's getting from the environment.

它可以根據從環境中獲得的輸入資訊，改變計劃執行的操作集。

In the future, AI-guided robots could enable numerous kinds of manufacturing to take place in space.

未來，人工智能引導的機器人可以在太空中進行多種製造。

A number of private companies have grand ambitions.

一些私營公司雄心勃勃。

This company, Relativity Space, wants to 3D print entire rockets on the surface of Mars.

這家名為 Relativity Space 的公司希望在火星表面 3D 打印整個火箭。

While another, Orbital Composites, is working on 3D printing solar power stations in orbit to test out space-based solar power.

另一家名為 Orbital Composites 的公司正在研究在軌道上 3D 打印太陽能發電站，以測試天基太陽能發電。

It could take decades to launch some of these technologies.

其中一些技術的推出可能需要幾十年的時間。

However, the world's most well-known space agency is on board.

不過，世界上最知名的航天局也加入了進來。

In addition to Artemis, an international effort for persistent presence on the moon, which is really focused on getting the crew on the lunar surface, there are supporting missions to supply the materials, the robots, everything that we need to be able to build that infrastructure, habitat, landing pads, roads, power stations.

除了 "阿耳特彌斯"（Artemis）--一項在月球上持續存在的國際努力，其真正的重點是讓乘員登上月球表面，還有一些輔助任務，以提供材料、機器人，以及我們建設基礎設施、棲息地、著陸坪、道路、發電站所需的一切。

I mean, think about building a small city on the moon.

我的意思是，想想在月球上建造一座小城市吧。

But the moon will also serve as a pathfinder, a testbed, a place for us to learn as we transit to Mars and seek a permanent presence there as well.

但是，月球也將作為一個探路者、一個試驗檯、一個供我們學習的地方，以便我們過渡到火星並在那裡尋求永久存在。

Settling humans on Mars is a regular story in science fiction.

在火星上安置人類是科幻小說中的常見故事。

And many real people today, billionaires and beyond, have dreams to do it too.

今天，許多現實中的億萬富翁甚至更富有的人也有這樣的夢想。

The sophisticated AI and robotics in development today could help to build infrastructure that would make those dreams a reality.

目前正在開發的尖端人工智能和機器人技術可以幫助建設基礎設施，使這些夢想成為現實。

We are treading new ground here.

我們在這裡踏上了新的征程。

We have not asked this much of our robotic systems ever before in the past.

過去，我們從未對機器人系統提出過如此高的要求。

I think one of the earliest applications will probably be in monitoring.

我認為最早的應用之一可能是在監控領域。

So imagine you've got habitats, even when humans aren't there, 24 hours a day, these need to run.

是以，想象一下，即使人類不在那裡，這些棲息地每天 24 小時都需要運行。

So you can imagine systems that are monitoring, doing fault detection, and maybe even prediction.

是以，你可以想象，這些系統可以進行監控、故障檢測，甚至預測。

You could imagine even think about how humans work, handing off objects from one to the other.

你甚至可以想象一下人類是如何工作的，將物品從一個人手中移交到另一個人手中。

All of this will be done robotically with the intelligence of the human brain.

所有這些都將由機器人通過人腦的智能來完成。

The intelligence, AI, that we need for this agency.

我們這個機構需要的智能、人工智能。

AI-guided robotics could be used to construct space hotels for tourists, manufacture semiconductors or drugs in microgravity, and even mine asteroids.

人工智能引導的機器人技術可用於為遊客建造太空酒店，在微重力環境下製造半導體或藥物，甚至開採小行星。

As futuristic as all this sounds, AI and robotics are already being used in space.

儘管這一切聽起來很未來，但人工智能和機器人技術已經在太空中得到了應用。

Liftoff of the Delta rocket with Mars Pathfinder.

德爾塔火箭攜帶火星探路者升空。

NASA's troop of Mars rovers has been trundling over the red planet since 1997.

自 1997 年以來，美國國家航空航天局（NASA）的火星車部隊一直在這顆紅色星球上跋涉。

AI was used to pilot the unmanned Deep Space One after it was launched in 1998 to investigate an asteroid and comet, while free-floating robots, called Astrobee, help astronauts aboard the International Space Station with their routine duties.

1998 年，無人駕駛的 "深空一號 "發射升空，對一顆小行星和彗星進行調查。

However, using AI and robotics to build in space presents plenty of challenges.

然而，利用人工智能和機器人技術在太空中進行建造面臨著許多挑戰。

The robots will need to withstand the harsh conditions of space and operate in different gravity to Earth.

這些機器人需要經受惡劣的太空條件，並在與地球不同的重力環境中工作。

And it won't be easy to call out a mechanic if something goes wrong.

如果出了問題，也不容易請機械師來修理。

Mark Woods is a specialist in autonomous robotics and AI.

馬克-伍茲是自主機器人和人工智能領域的專家。

I think the biggest challenge we have in terms of doing things in space is just hard to get people up there if things go wrong.

我認為，我們在太空中開展工作面臨的最大挑戰是，如果出了問題，很難把人送上去。

The second thing is a lot of the communication we have with robots on planetary bodies is not in real time.

其次，我們與行星體上的機器人之間的許多通信都不是實時的。

So, for example, it can take anything from 3 to 22 and a half minutes to get a signal from Earth to Mars.

是以，舉例來說，從地球向火星發送信號可能需要 3 到 22 分半鐘。

It's just impossible to do what we might call teleoperation or joystick control of things.

不可能實現我們所說的遠程操作或操縱桿控制。

That means that the robots that we have on Mars really have to have some element of agency and autonomy.

這意味著，我們在火星上使用的機器人必須具備一定的代理和自主能力。

The technological and financial hurdles involved in creating such systems are huge, but so too are the possible rewards.

創建此類系統所涉及的技術和資金障礙是巨大的，但可能帶來的回報也是巨大的。

The vehicle has landed.

車輛已著陸。

The global space business could generate revenue of more than $1 trillion by 2040.

到 2040 年，全球太空業務的收入將超過 1 萬億美元。

Enhancing the capability to manufacture in space and to build cities there could bring economic benefits to humans.

提高太空製造能力和在太空建造城市的能力可為人類帶來經濟效益。

Perhaps more significantly, it could help develop humans' understanding of their place in the universe.

也許更重要的是，它可以幫助人類瞭解自己在宇宙中的位置。

Exploration is part of our nature.

探索是我們天性的一部分。

I don't think we're going to sit idly on Earth and just send robots.

我不認為我們會在地球上無所事事，只是派出機器人。

I hope that as humans we can also go there and experience those outer worlds to become a multi-planetary species.

我希望，作為人類，我們也能去那裡體驗那些外部世界，成為一個多行星物種。

Hello, I'm Alok Jha, science and technology editor at The Economist.

大家好，我是《經濟學人》的科技編輯 Alok Jha。

If you'd like to read more about AI's impact on science, then click on the link opposite.

如果您想進一步瞭解人工智能對科學的影響，請點擊對面的鏈接。

And if you'd like to watch more of our Now and Next series, click on the other link.

如果您想觀看更多 "現在和下一步 "系列，請點擊另一個鏈接。

Thanks for watching and please don't forget to subscribe.

感謝觀看，請不要忘記訂閱。