VOA慢速英语:The Future of Shopping: 3D Printing and Augmented Reality

These days, shopping often involves an Internet connection and a laptop or smartphone.However, businesses are now trying to use new technology, such as 3D printing and augmented reality, to bring customers back into stores.
现在，购物经常包括网络连接、电脑或者智能手机。然而，商店也正在尝试使用新科技，比如3D打印和增强现实技术将顾客们吸引到商店来。

At the National Retail Federation show in New York City, many companies demonstrated these new technologies.One, the computer company Intel, is experimenting with 3D printing. It is using the Mach 2XS commercial printer.
最近，在纽约市举行的美国零售联合会展会上，很多公司都展示了这些新科技。因特尔公司正在试验3D打印技术。该公司采用了Mach 2XS商业打印机。

Instead of printing words on paper, the Mach 2XS prints clothes.For example, it uses thread to print out a sweater.It prints the sweater out row by row, until it is fully formed.
Mach 2XS打印机不在纸上打印，而在布料上打印。比如，它能用丝线打印出毛衣。该打印机将毛衣一行一行地织出来，直到将毛衣织好。

Ryan Parker is the general manager of Responsive Retail at Intel.He says the 3D printers print out clothing, made just for the individual in size and style, in about 45 minutes.
瑞恩·帕克是因特尔响应零售部的总经理。他表示3D打印机可以在45分钟内根据顾客的尺寸生产出顾客心仪款式的毛衣。

More and more consumers shop online. But young people still seem to like going to physical stores.A recent study shows that 67 percent of people between ages 13 to 21 shop in physical stores most of the time. The IBM Institute for Business Value and the National Retail Federation did the study.
越来越多的顾客都选择网购。但年轻人似乎仍然钟爱实体店。最近的研究表明，13至21周岁的人群中，有67%的人大部分时候都选择去实体店。商业价值研究院以及美国零售联合会进行了此项研究。

A London-based company, Ads Reality, is trying to use augmented-reality, or AR technology in stores. Augmented reality is a technology that creates computer-generated images and projects them in a way that they look real.
总部位于伦敦的公司Ads Reality正试图在商店采用增强现实（AR）技术。增强现实技术是指可以实现计算机成像的一种科技，并将图片投影，使之看起来像实物。

“When it’s used in the right way, it’s a very powerful tool to drive mobile engagement and store traffic,” said Richard Corps, managing director.
总经理理查德·科尔普斯表示：“如果合理利用AR技术，那么能够极大地驱动移动体验并增加店铺人流量。”

The company’s latest product is an “AR Window.”It superimposes life-sized augmented-reality characters on big screens in store windows.
公司最新的产品是AR窗口。在商店窗口上添加了与真人大小相等的虚拟角色。

“It looks like these characters are actually inside the store ... it stops people outside the store because they’re amazed to see these characters ...and then it drives them inside the store because they want to have their photograph taken with these characters,” Corps said.
“看起来这些人真的都在商店里，商店外的人看到之后会停下来，因为他们对此会感到吃惊。然后就会进店，因为他们想和这些人合影。”科尔普斯表示。

Customer service robots might also become a common store experience. The New York company Autonomous is experimenting with customer service robots.These wheeled devices include a Wi-Fi connection to a real person who can be seen on the robot’s screen.
为顾客提供专门服务的机器人也会成为一个常见的商店体验。纽约公司Autonomous正在尝试使用机器人为顾客提供服务。这个装有轮子的机器人会通过无线连接和真人联系在一起，而机器人的屏幕上可以显示出真人来。

Robots in a hardware store, for example, could be operated from anywhere by experts in different fields, like plumbing or electrical wiring.
比如，五金店的机器人可以由不同领域的专家们进行操纵，比如水管和电线等领域。

Autonomous chief Duy Huynh says the robots can make the shopping experience personal.
Autonomous的负责人杜伊·哈耐表示机器人会让购物体验更加人性化。

With our technology, when you walk into a store one of our robots will approach you and behind the robot, it’s going to bring someone who knows your shopping habits, who has been helping you for the past six months, who knows what you need, to talk to you.So to us that’s really, really important and that’s the very first time you can actually do personalization offline.”
“有了这门技术，你走进商店之后就会有一个机器人来到你身边，在机器人背后，会有真人了解到你的购物习惯、在过去六个月会一直帮助你、了解你的需求，和你对话。这对我们来说非常重要，这也是首次真正能够做到线下人性化。”

I’m Phil Dierking.
菲尔·德莱金为您报道。