The Boots with the Bionic Boost

仿生弹跳器

Back in 1998, we had skateboards and we had rollerblades. Then designer Keahi Seymour planned to put a huge spring in the step of youth crazes. He invented a prototype for energy-saving "Bionic Boots" which, he claimed, enabled the wearer to take 7ft-long strides, floating up to 4ft above the ground. After years spent perfecting the aluminium and fibre glass boots, and the levers and springs that power them, Keahi, 22, from Solihull, West Midlands, headed for California where he hoped the award-winning footwear would be produced commercially. "I had the idea when I was 12 from watching a program about kangaroos and the way they store energy in their Achilles tendons. I wanted to replicate that in humans," he said. "I get some very funny looks when I'm testing them in the street, but it's great fun."

我们退回到1998年，那时已经有了滑板和轮滑。后来，一名叫凯西•塞穆尔的设计师计划在一些疯狂的年轻人脚上装一只巨大的弹簧。他设计了一个能节省能量的“仿生弹跳靴”的样品，并声称穿上这种靴子的人一步可以走7英尺，跳离地面4英尺高。这种用铝和玻璃纤维作为材料、用杠杆装置和弹簧来提供动力的靴子经过几年的完善后，22岁的凯西从西米德兰的索利赫尔向加里弗尼亚进发，他希望将他获奖的弹跳靴在那里进行商业化生产。他说：“我十二岁的时候在看一个关于袋鼠的电视节目,于是便有了这个想法。袋鼠将能量储蓄在腿部的肌腱上。我想将这点转用到人类身上。我在大街上试验的时候闹了些笑话，不过的确很有趣。”

The original Bionic Boots were basically strap-on animal legs for people. They featured enlarged "Achilles tendons" inspired by those of a kangaroo, a pronounced toe but no heel (like the leg of a dog), and tripodal ostrich-like feet, the combination of which made you stand a foot and-a-half taller.

最初的仿生弹跳器是给人绑上动物的腿。他们受到了袋鼠腿部肌腱的启发，将一个有脚趾但没有脚后跟的腿（类似于狗的腿）加上一种和鸵鸟一样三个脚趾的脚，这样的组合就可以使你站起来比以前高出1.5英尺。

The Bionic Boot worked through the same impact tension that gives us bad knees and a chronic need for new running shoes; it simply reversed this tension via springs and elastic to create propulsion back up in the air. The Bionic Boot allegedly allowed humans to run an easy twenty-five miles per hour, jump seven feet across, or spring four feet up in the air. Seymour, the Bionic Boot's inventor, estimated that future, lighter, versions of the device would allow humans to make leaps of nearly twenty feet, and run almost as fast as a car.

仿生弹跳器同样是利用冲击力的原理来工作的，这种冲击力对我们的膝盖是有害的，因此强烈地需要一种新型跑鞋；它直接将这种冲击的压力通过弹簧的弹性来改变力的方向从而产生一种向上的推力。据说这种弹跳器可以轻而易举地让人每小时跑25英里，跳7英尺远4英尺高。仿生弹跳器的发明人塞穆尔预计，将来这种设备的更轻便版本将会让人们跳到将近20英尺远，跑起来和汽车不相上下。

"It feels like you're running like an animal," he said, "You feel the energy coming back with each step. Your stride length is enormous, and it gives you this animalistic, loping gait, since you're always on your tiptoes. Really, the only hard part is standing still."

他说：“这让你感觉跑起来像个动物，你每走一步都会觉得能量重新返回到你身上。你的步幅大得惊人，因为你经常用脚尖着地所以会让你有一种类似动物奔跑的步态。不过说真的，最难的部分就是站立不动了。”

Potential uses for the Bionic Boot clearly seemed to exceed that of a toy. "Couriers could use it," Seymour said. "And police. It can go places a car or a bike can't. Also, elderly or injured people could use it to exercise, because it protects joints. And even short kids will be able to slam dunk!" But did the excited inventor's predictions turn out to be correct?

很明显，仿生弹跳器的潜在使用领域早已超出一种玩具了。塞穆尔说：“导游可以用，警察也可以，它能去汽车和自行车不能去的地方。同样，老年人和受过伤的人可以用它来锻炼，因为它有保护关节的作用。就连个子矮的孩子都能灌篮！”然而，这位兴奋的发明者的预言是正确的吗？