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We can express thoughts and feelings and send sounds and pictures on our smartphones today. We also communicate using programs like Skype and Face Time. We can't send tastes, smells or touch, of course. But scientists in Britain are trying to develop a way for smartphones to do just that.
如今我们可以在我们的手机上表达思想感情和发送声音图片。我们也能通过Skype和Face Time之类的软件沟通。我们不能发送味道、气味和触感。但英国的科学家正在试图开发一种途径让智能手机实现这点。
Adrian David Cheok is a professor at City University in London. He wants people to experience communication using all of their senses.
阿德里安·戴维·切克（Adrian David Cheok）是伦敦城市大学的一名教授。他希望人们能够利用各种感官来进行沟通。
"In the real world, we can open up the glass, open the window. We can touch, we can taste, we can smell in the real world."
他说，“在现实世界中，我们可以打开杯子，打开窗户。我们可以触摸物品、品尝美味和闻到气味。”
To give users a sense of taste, researchers designed two electrodes that are placed on the tongue. A chemical process creates different tastes through molecules on the surface of the tongue. This chemical process sends electrical signals that convince the brain that a person is tasting something. They have already created sour, salty, sweet and bitter tastes.
为了给用户带来味觉，研究人员设计了两个放置在舌头上的电极。通过舌头表面分子的化学过程产生各种不同的味道。这个化学过程会发送电信号使大脑相信自己是在品尝美味。他们已经创造了酸、咸、甜和苦的味道。
"You put these two silver electrodes in your mouth, you put your tongue in between and then it stimulates electrically your tongue and you get a virtual taste perception in your brain."
“把这两个银电极放入嘴中，再把舌头放到它们之间。然后它就会用电刺激舌头，从而在大脑中就会获得一种虚拟味觉。”
A device called "Scentee" permits users to have the sense of smell. Scentee plugs into a smartphone and can spray tiny clouds of fragrances, including flowers, fruits and coffee. Professor Cheok says the person speaking can activate the device.
一种名为“Scentee”的设备让用户获得嗅觉。Scentee插入到智能手机中，它可以喷洒包括鲜花、水果和咖啡在内的香雾。切克教授表示，说话就能激活这一设备。
"Basically what happens, we have an app, it connects to the Internet and then this will release a scent from your mobile phone."
“基本过程就是，我们有一个应用程序，它连上网，然后就会从你的手机释放香味。”
Scentee holds a container with about 100 different smells. The container must be replaced when all the scents run out.
Scentee有一个包含了大约100种不同气味的容器。当所有气味都用完了这个容器就必须更换。
The sense of touch comes from a ring-like device. It is connected wirelessly to the smartphone. The device sends a soft, electrical squeeze when a person on the other end of a telephone conversation does the same. Professor Cheok says this permits a kind of wireless touch communication.
触觉来自于一个环状装置。它通过无线连接到智能手机。这个装置会发送一个轻柔的电挤压，跟电话另一头的通话者的动作一致。切克教授表示，这使得无线触觉沟通成为可能。
"I can be in London and my friend can be in Tokyo, and I can squeeze my finger and then they'll get a squeeze on their finger through the Internet. It's a way of touch communication with small mobile devices."
“我在伦敦而我的朋友在东京。我捏我的手指，通过互联网他们的手指也受到挤压。这是一种通过小型移动设备实现的触觉沟通。”
Professor Cheok says he hopes devices like these will someday be added to houses. He says they may change the future of long-distance communication.
切克教授表示，他希望有一天这类设备被加入到房子中。他说它们可能会改变远距离沟通的未来。
I'm Jonathan Evans.
我是乔纳森·埃文斯（Jonathan Evans）。
本栏目视频字幕与文本并不完全对应，且视频播放缓冲时间较长，敬请谅解！
