Talk of the town：Autonomous cars
【明報專訊】The Airport Authority (AA) introduced unmanned patrol vehicles in restricted areas in September. These vehicles patrol a 1.5-kilometer section of the South Runway, covering the areas where many people like to watch the sunset and do Instagram check-ins on holidays.
The chassis (底盤) of the patrol car, equipped with 3 radars, 8 lenses and a global positioning system, was manufactured on the mainland. When a person is detected within 3 meters of the fence of the restricted area, the patrol car issues Cantonese and English warnings as a way to remind passers-by to leave, and images are sent to the control center simultaneously. These patrol cars have a speed of about 10 kilometers per hour. If they detect an obstacle within 10 meters, they automatically apply the brake and ask the obstacle to give way.
In another development showing the increasing popularity of driverless cars, the KMB has announced that it will become a strategic partner with network provider SmarTone and artificial intelligence company Teksbotics to jointly study the introduction of 5G networks in Hong Kong and participate in autonomous driving tests.
◆Grammar booster
Way
Depending on the sense (含意) of the word, ''way'' can be countable or uncountable.
e.g. One way of cooking an egg is to boil it.
e.g. In some countries, drivers are required to give way to pedestrians at crossings.
■ Gear up
1. All the components of the patrol cars are Hong Kong-made.
(True/ False)
2. The KMB has launched a sole effort to participate in autonomous driving tests.
(True/ False)
■ Game
Difficulty: (★★)
Are you familiar with the parts of a car? Put the words in the correct blanks.
(See the picture)
(Answers on next text)
■Glossary
unmanned (adj) 無人駕駛的
restricted (adj) 受限制的
detect (v) 偵測
simultaneously (adv) 同時地
[Smarties' Power English 第328期]
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【明報專訊】So it was true! There were indeed spirits inside the wall genera... 詳情
