It’s billed as a low-tech solution to a high-tech problem. Dutch police have been testing a new crime fighter in the skies. Eagles are being trained to take down drones that pose a threat to public safety.
这被称为是针对高科技问题的低端技术解决方案。荷兰警察正在试验一种用于空中的新型犯罪“战斗机”。老鹰接受训练，可以抓住并拿下威胁公共安全的无人机。
The trainers say there is no danger to the eagles themselves. 'The birds are naturally protected from bites of prey by scales on their talons.So that’s a natural protection that the eagle has.”Dutch police say they envisage using the eagles against drones that fly into restricted airspace or above a public event.
训练员说，这对鹰本身没有危险。“鸟类的爪子上有鳞片，对被捕食者的撕咬有天然的保护能力。所以这是老鹰具有的天生的保护机制。”荷兰警察说，他们期待将老鹰运用于打击飞入空中禁区或公共活动上空的无人机。
They also fear the technology could be exploited by criminals.“A toy drone could be utilized just to provide fear, regardless of actually instigating some sort of terrorist attack or otherwise. It could be accidentally flown into a crowd of people.” Drone expert Hulsey Smith of U.S.-based Aero Kinetics says one of the biggest dangers is the proliferation of what he calls toy drones.
他们也担心无人机这项技术会被不法分子利用。“玩具无人机可能仅仅是为引发恐慌，更不用说可能会真的煽动起恐怖袭击或者其他事件。它也可能会意外飞入人群之中。”美国航空动力学无人机专家Hulsey Smith说，最大的危险之一是被他称为玩具无人机的扩散。
“In the event of a collision between a toy drone and a helicopter, such as an emergency medical helicopter or otherwise, it would ultimately prove a fatality.As you evaluate the same risk structure to commercial aircraft, if a toy drone was to be ingested into a British Airways flight or an American Airways flight on take off, it would result in a catastrophic engine failure.”
“玩具无人机与急救医疗直升机或其他类型的直升机相撞的事故，会最终导致致命性的后果。在商业飞机方面，也存在同样的风险。如果一个玩具无人机在起飞时撞到一个英航或美航的飞机，会造成灾难性的引擎故障。”
But there is also great potential. At the second annual ‘Drones for Good’ competition in Dubai earlier this month, the focus was on the benefits drone technology can offer. The winner, who took home 250000 dollars, designed a drone that can remotely seal dangerous leaks in oil and gas pipelines.
不过，无人机也有巨大的潜力。 这个月早些时候，在迪拜举行的第二届年度“Drones for Good”比赛，将目光聚焦到无人机技术可以提供的诸多效益上。获胜者设计了一个无人机，可以远程密封危险的油气管道裂缝，因此赢得了25万美元奖金。
'We wanted to take things to the next level, to build not just a drone that search for leaks, but one that can also fix it on the spot and in the process protect the lives of the people.”
我们希望可以将研究提升到更高的水平，使无人机不仅可以搜寻到裂缝，还能当场解决问题。并在此过程中，保护人们的生命安全。”
The potential is huge, says Hulsey Smith.“Imagine being able to move defibrillators to heart attack victims faster than ever before possible.Imagine the ability to keep construction workers from having to climb roofs to be able to do an inspection after a storm or some sort of hurricane. And imagine the ability to find lost children in nature where you couldn’t fly manned aircraft.”
Hulsey Smith说，潜力是巨大的。“想象一下，我们可以比以前更快速地将电震器送到心脏病患者身边。暴风雨或飓风之后，建筑工人不需要爬到房顶进行检查，无人机可以取而代之。无人机还可以在无法使用有人驾驶飞机的自然环境中，找到迷路的儿童。”
That ability is already being tested.
这项功能已经得到测试。
This drone can crash into objects but still continue flying.It’s being deployed in ice caves in Switzerland as a tool for search-and-rescue missions.
这架无人机撞到物体之后仍然可以继续飞行。它被运用于瑞士的冰穴中，作为搜索和救援的工具。
As the industry rapidly expands, experts say the potential benefits – and the possible dangers – are still being understood.
随着这项产业迅速扩大，专家称，潜在效益和可能出现的危险仍有待发现。
