Google's self-driving cars have gone a total of 100,000 miles with no accidents and now the company is working towards making their vehicles even safer.
谷歌的無人駕駛汽車已累計安全行駛10萬英里（約16.1萬公里），未發生任何事故。現在，谷歌正致力于將無人駕駛汽車打造得更加安全。

The software giant recently secured a patent for technology to communicate with pedestrians.
最近，該軟件巨頭獲得了“可與行人溝通”的無人駕駛技術專利。

Screens and/or a speaker system could be used to help the cars and humans coexist safely on the road.
公司為這種汽車安裝了屏幕和（或）揚聲系統，能確保汽車和行人在道路上并行不悖。

The details of the patent reveal the car will be able to sense when a person is standing in front or close to it and will then decide the next step to take.
專利詳情顯示，行人站在汽車前方或靠近汽車時，無人駕駛汽車可感知到這種情況，并決定采取何種策略。

The screens, which could be mounted on the doors or hood could flash alerts like ‘Stop’, ‘Safe Cross’ or a traffic sign that would inform pedestrians about what the car is doing.
此時，安裝在汽車門和引擎蓋上的屏幕會閃現警示信息，比如“停止”、“請安全通過”，或發出相關交通信號，示意行人它將怎樣行駛。

The speaker system could vocalize the text shown on the screens and send out other alerts.
揚聲系統可以念出屏幕上的字，或發出其他警示。

The patent says, ‘the vehicle may include sensors which detect an object such as a pedestrian attempting or about to cross the roadway in front of the vehicle.'
該專利顯示：“無人駕駛汽車可能配有傳感器，用于檢測是否有行人意圖或即將于車前橫穿馬路。”

'The vehicle’s computer may then determine the correct way to respond to the pedestrian.'
“無人駕駛汽車的電腦將因此采取正確的應對方式。”

'The vehicle may then provide a notification to the pedestrian of what the vehicle is going to do or is currently doing.'
“而后，汽車會告知行人它的行進計劃或目前的行駛方向。”

This past Halloween, Google was teaching cars how to recognize children in their costumes, part of a feature that is educating them how to react and act around children.
剛過去的萬圣節期間，谷歌對無人駕駛汽車進行了試驗，讓它們學會辨認兒童的身影。該計劃也是無人汽車兒童適應性的一部分。

And this patent takes this feature one step forward by including all pedestrians.
這項新專利則讓上述性能更進了一步——將所有行人都考慮在內。

There is also an indication of an eye or robotic arm will be added that could notify pedestrians the car has ‘seen’ them.
該專利還顯示，無人駕駛汽車可能會安裝電子眼或機械手臂，知會行人汽車已經“看見”他們了。

The arm could mimic that of a humans, as it ‘sweeps’ for pedestrians to cross, but the message could come across unclear when it’s coming from a robot and not a real person.
機械手臂可以模仿人的動作，向過馬路的行人“揮手”。但由于這個動作并不是出自真人，所以很有可能讓行人一頭霧水。

Currently, no sketches have been released of how the system would work or look, but it appears to be similar to a system Nissan showed off last month.
目前為止，谷歌尚未公布該系統的運行細節或具體樣子。但外界認為，該系統很有可能與尼桑上個月展出的一個相關系統類似。

However, Google applied for their patent back in 2012.
不過，谷歌早在2012年就申請了該專利。

For Nissan’s futuristic vehicles, it envisions an outward-facing display in side of the windshield that tells pedestrians when the car is about to stop or if it wants someone to cross ahead of it.
在尼桑的這一未來汽車構想中，擋風玻璃有朝外的顯示屏，告知行人汽車將要停下，或是讓前方行人先行。

In the company’s video, it shows a driver pushing a button and the steering wheel unravels then recedes back into the dashboard.
尼桑的宣傳視頻顯示，司機按下一個按鈕，方向盤即解體，并縮回儀表盤內。

These new vehicles can only be summoned on a smartphone from a garage to meet the driver and will greet them by name.
這種新型汽車只能通過智能手機從車庫召喚到司機面前，它們還會叫司機的名字，跟他們打招呼。

Vocabulary
self-driving car：無人駕駛汽車
vocalize：以嗓音發出；說出

英文來源：每日郵報
譯者：許楠楠
審校&編輯：杜娟