Engineers are working to make white vans and ambulances clogging up Britain's roads a thing of the past by replacing them with swarms of drones buzzing through our skies.

工程师们正致力于让拥堵在英国道路上的白色厢式货车和救护车成为过去，取而代之的是嗡嗡作响、成群结队飞越我们天空的无人机群。

BAE, western Europe's biggest drone manufacturer, says this is just the beginning. As in warfare, drone technology is paving the way for a revolution in retail, logistics and emergency services. As costs come down and technology advances, they may even start to replace helicopters and satellites.

西欧最大的无人机制造商 BAE 表示，这仅仅是个开始。 正如在战争中一样，无人机技术正在为零售、物流和紧急服务领域的革命铺平道路。 随着成本下降和技术进步，它们甚至可能开始取代直升机和卫星。

Dave Holmes, managing director of Falcon Works, BAE's air research division, said: "Imagine having your online food shopping delivered in a refrigerated, reusable package, in your garden or on your drive. Imagine taking the white van off public highways for doing sequential drops."

BAE 空中研究部门 Falcon Works 的总经理戴夫·霍姆斯表示： “想象一下，你网购的食品杂货被一个可重复使用的冷藏包裹投递到你的花园或车道上。 想象一下，让白色的货车从公路上消失，不再用它来逐点投递。”

The technology has already been built. BAE's T-series heavy-lift drone — described as the "Land Rover of the sky" — was used last year by the Royal Navy's carrier strike group to ferry supplies between ships. "Why use a helicopter if all you are doing is taking a box from this ship to that ship?" Holmes said. "You don't need a helicopter pilot; you aren't taking months and months to train someone to fly them."

这项技术已经研发出来。 BAE 的 T 系列重型无人机——被描述为“天空中的路虎” ——去年曾被英国皇家海军的航母打击群用于舰艇之间的物资运输。 “如果你只是把一个箱子从这艘船运到那艘船，为什么要用直升机呢？”霍姆斯说， “你不需要直升机飞行员；你也不用花费数月数月的时间来培训人来驾驶它们。”

He said one of his teams was in the Gulf of Mexico training oil companies to use drones for "rig-to-rig logistics movements — the cost per operating hour is a fraction of using a helicopter".

他说，他的一支团队正在墨西哥湾培训石油公司使用无人机进行“钻井平台间的物流运输——每运行小时的成本仅为使用直升机的零头”。

These drones are also attack aircraft in their own right. The biggest models are strong enough to carry a submarine-busting torpedo, recent Nato tests have shown, and smaller versions have been tested with lightweight laser-guided missiles that can take down an enemy drone in the sky or a vehicle on the ground.

这些无人机本身也是攻击性飞行器。 最近的北约测试显示，最大的机型足够强大，可以携带反潜鱼雷， 而较小的版本已经测试了轻型激光制导导弹，可以击落空中的敌方无人机或地面上的车辆。

The T-650 model, which can carry 300kg, can be fitted with a patient-carrying capsule in which an injured casualty can be loaded.

T-650 机型可承载 300 公斤，可以安装一个可搭载伤员的运输舱，用于装载受伤人员。

Holmes said: "Our experience from working with armed forces globally is, regrettably, if a person becomes injured, you put a significant number of people at risk in terms of getting them out. And of course, the 'golden hour' is really important in terms of how quickly you can administer aid."

霍姆斯说：“遗憾的是，根据我们与全球武装部队合作的经验，一旦有人受伤， 为了把他们救出来，你会让大量人员陷入险境。 当然，就你能多快提供援助而言，‘黄金一小时’至关重要。”

This will not just help in warzones. "Imagine there's an accident on the motorway — the first responder gets on a motorbike and whizzes through the traffic," Holmes said. Meanwhile, with a few swipes on a smartphone, a drone would be on the way. The first responder would prepare the casualty until the drone lands. The casualty would then be loaded in and the drone takes off.

这不仅会在战区发挥作用。 “想象一下高速公路上发生事故——第一批急救人员骑上摩托车，在车流中疾驰，”霍姆斯说。 与此同时，只需在智能手机上滑动几下，一架无人机就会上路。 急救人员会准备救护伤员，直到无人机降落。 然后伤员被装载进去，无人机起飞。

Holmes added: "What if we stationed these with all mountain rescue organisations around the UK? Imagine you can get somebody up to help somebody, but it's really hard to be able to get a stretcher and safely recover them. So you send one of these up. And you use another one to drop off your blood and medical supplies."

霍姆斯补充说：“如果我们把这些无人机部署在英国各地的所有山地救援组织呢？ 想象一下，你可以派人上去帮忙，但要拿到担架并安全地把他们救下来非常困难。 所以你送一个这样的上去。 再用另一个运送你的血液和医疗用品。”

The Welsh ambulance service is experimenting with defibrillator drones, which it wants to send to emergencies in remote countryside. A trial last year confirmed they could be dispatched remotely to bystanders, who successfully "resuscitated" dummy patients.

威尔士救护车服务正在试验除颤器无人机，希望将其派往偏远乡村的紧急情况现场。 去年的一项试验证实，它们可以被远程调度到旁观者那里，旁观者成功地“复苏”了模拟病人。

The next step is overcoming red tape. Britain's laws prevent drone pilots from operating their craft outside their line of sight. Countries such as Denmark and Sweden permit defibrillator drones to be flown at up to 55mph to remote locations.

下一步是克服繁琐的程序。 英国法律禁止无人机飞行员在其视线之外操作飞行器。 丹麦和瑞典等国家允许除颤器无人机以高达 55 英里/小时的速度飞往偏远地区。

The University of Lancashire, which is working with BAE, is researching ways the regulations can be safely changed by the Civil Aviation Authority to allow drones to be flown remotely.

与 BAE 合作的兰开夏大学 正在研究如何让民航局安全地修改法规，以允许无人机被远程操作。

本文来自公众微信号：爱语吧英语