VOA常速英语:从酒店到啤酒厂 日本越来越多地使用机器人

Here at the weird hotel, robots are everywhere from a humanoid greeter to a friendly dinosaur that checks in visitors.“If you want to check in, please press 1. Check-in is all finished.”An automated porter brings luggage to rooms while a robotic arm checks items into a cloakroom.Meanwhile, here at this factory, every minute, 1,500 cans are filled with beer that is packed into boxes.No one is in sight because machines do the work while people oversee the process.

A manager at the plant says, “In terms of motion, robots can move more accurately but they cannot analyze the condition of what is being produced, so that is our job.”Instead of fearing robots will take over jobs, people in Japan are embracing them.That’s because the population is declining due to low birth rates, leading to fears of a labor shortage.So droids are acceptable, explains this labor specialist.

“Japan’s industries call it the harmony of work and machinery where you share work between humans and machines depending on which is better doing what.”This beer company employee is glad he does not have to do factory work by hand.“The only memory I have before robots were introduced is that it was tough.Looking back, it makes me proud that we were able to maintain the quality.”

Robots are also welcome because Japan has a lifetime employment system.If workers’ jobs become obsolete, major companies usually retrain them to do other tasks,leaving room for these helpful droids at the hotel.

Deborah Block, VOA News, Washington.