中国正在研制一支无人驾驶潜艇舰队 [美国媒体]

'The AI has no soul': China isworking on a fleet of drone submarines to launch a new era of sea power

“人工智能没有灵魂”：中国正在研制一支无人驾驶潜艇舰队，以开创一个海上力量的新时代。

A Chinese submarine atthe Ngong Shuen Chau Naval Base in Hong Kong.

HK昂船洲海军基地的一艘中国潜艇。



China is developing large, smart and relativelylow-cost unmanned submarines that can roam the world's oceans to perform a widerange of missions, from reconnaissance to mine placement to even suicideattacks against enemy vessels, according to scientists involved in theseartificial intelligence (AI) projects.

据参与人工智能项目的科学家称，中国正在开发大型、智能和相对低成本的无人潜水艇，它们可以在全球海洋中漫游，执行广泛的任务，从侦察到布雷，甚至是针对敌方船只的自杀式袭击。

The autonomous robotic submarines are expectedto be deployed in the early 2020s. While not intended to entirely replacehuman-operated submarines, they will challenge the advantageous positionestablished by Western naval powers after the second world war. The roboticsubs are aimed particularly at the United States forces in strategic waters likethe South China Sea and western Pacific Ocean, the researchers said.

这些自主机器人潜艇预计将在2020年代初部署。虽然不打算完全取代人工操作的潜艇，但它们将挑战二战后西方海军强国确立的有利地位。研究人员说，机器人潜艇的目标特别是在南海和西太平洋等战略水域的美国军队。

The project is part of the government'sambitious plan to boost the country's naval power with AI technology. China hasbuilt the world's largest testing facility for surface drone boats in Zhuhai,Guangdong province. Military researchers are also developing an AI-assistedsupport system for submarine commanders. As the South China Morning Postreported earlier this year, that system will help captains make faster, moreaccurate judgments in the heat of combat situations.

该项目是政府雄心勃勃的计划的一部分，该计划旨在利用人工智能技术来提升中国海军的实力。中国在广东省珠海建造了世界上最大的水面无人驾驶艇测试设施。军事研究人员还在为潜艇指挥官开发人工智能辅助支援系统。正如“南华早报”今年早些时候报道的那样，该系统将帮助船长在激烈的战斗形势下做出更快、更准确的判断。

The new class of unmanned submarines will jointhe other autonomous or manned military systems on water, land and orbit tocarry out missions in coordinated efforts, according to the researchers.

研究人员称，这种新型无人潜艇将加入水、陆地和轨道上的其他自主或载人军事系统，以协调一致的方式执行任务。



Now underdevelopment, the AI-powered subs are "giants" compared to the normalUUVs, according to the researchers. They station in dock as conventionalsubmarines. Their cargo bay is reconfigurable and large enough to accommodate awide range of freight, from powerful surveillance equipment to missiles ortorpedoes. Their energy supply comes from diesel-electric engines or otherpower sources that ensure continuous operation for months.

研究人员称，目前正在开发中的人工智能（AI）动力潜艇与普通水下无人航行器（UUVs）相比是“巨人”。它们作为常规潜艇停靠在码头上。它们的货舱是可重构的，大到足以容纳各种货物，从强大的监视设备，导弹或鱼雷。它们的能源供应来自柴油电动发动机或其它确保连续运行数月的动力源。

The robotic submarines rely heavily on artificial intelligence to dealwith the sea's complex environment. They must make decisions constantly ontheir own: changing course and depth to avoid detection; distinguishingcivilian from military vessels; choosing the best approach to reach adesignated position.

机器人潜艇在很大程度上依赖于人工智能来应对海洋复杂的环境。他们必须自己不断地作出决定：改变航向和深度以避免被发现；区分民用和军用船只；选择达到指定位置的最佳途径。

They can gather intelligence, deploy mines or station themselves atgeographical "chockpoints" where armed forces are bound to pass toambush enemy targets. They can work with manned submarines as a scout or decoy todraw fire and expose the position of the adversary. If necessary, they can raminto a high-value target.

它们可以收集情报，布设水雷，或者在地理上的“阻塞点”部署自己，必须通过这些地方来伏击敌方目标。它们可以和载人潜水艇一起充当侦察舰或诱饵，以吸引火力和暴露对手的位置。如果有必要，可以撞上一个高价值的目标。

Lin Yang, marine technology equipment director at the Shenyang Instituteof Automation, Chinese Academy of Sciences, confirmed to the South ChinaMorning Post this month that China is developing a series of extra-largeunmanned underwater vehicles, or XLUUVs.

中国科学院沈阳自动化研究所海洋技术设备主任杨林（音译）本月向《南华早报》证实，中国正在开发一系列超大型无人水下航行器(XLUUV)。

"Yes, we are doing it," he said.

“是的，我们正在做，”他说。

The institute, in China's northeast Liaoning province, is a majorproducer of underwater robots to the Chinese military. Lin developed China'sfirst autonomous underwater vehicle with operational depth beyond 6km. He isnow chief scientist of the 912 Project, a classified programme to developnew-generation military underwater robots in time for the 100-year anniversaryof the Chinese Communist Party in 2021.

该研究所位于中国东北辽宁省，是中国军方水下机器人的主要生产商。杨林开发了中国第一台运行深度超过6公里的自主水下航行器。他现在是912项目的首席科学家。912计划是一项保密计划，目的是在2021年ZGGCD成立100周年之际开发出新一代军用水下机器人。

Lin called China's unmanned submarine programme a countermeasure againstsimilar weapons now under intensive development in the United States. Hedeclined to elaborate on technical specifications because the information was"sensitive."

杨林称中国的无人潜艇计划是针对美国现在密集发展的类似武器的一种对策。他拒绝详细说明技术规格，因为这些信息是“敏感的”。

"It will be announced sooner or later, but not ow," he added.

“它迟早会宣布，但不是现在，”他补充说。



Technical details on Orca, like its size or operational endurance, arenot available. The company did not respond to the Post's queries.

关于Orca的技术细节，如其大小或操作耐力，目前尚不清楚。该公司没有回应“邮报”的询问。

Boeing is developing the other prototype, basing it on its Echo Voyager,a 50-ton autonomous submarine first developed for commercial uses like themapping of the sea floor.

波音公司正在开发另一种原型，它的基础是“回声旅行者”（Echo Voyager），这是一艘50吨重的自主潜艇，最初是为海底测绘等商业用途而开发的。

The Echo Voyager is more than 15 metres long and 2.6 metres in diameter,according to Boeing. It can operate for months over a range of 12,000km, morethan enough to sail from San Francisco to Shanghai. Its maximum speed reaches15km an hour.

波音公司称，回声航行者直径超过15米，直径2.6米。它可以在12000公里范围内运行数个月，足以从旧金山航行到上海。它的最大速度达到每小时15公里。

The vessel needs to surface periodically as its batteries need to berecharged by air-breathing diesel engines. It can dive to 3km while carrying upto eight tons of cargo, Boeing said.

由于需要通过吸气式柴油发动机对电池进行充电，因此船舶需要定期浮出水面。波音说，它可以荷载8吨货物情况下运行3公里。

Russia has reportedly built a large underwater drone capable to carry anuclear weapon. The Status-6 autonomous torpedo could cruise across largedistances between continents at high speed and deliver a 100-megaton warhead,according to news accounts.

据新闻报道，俄罗斯已经建造了一艘能够携带核武器的大型水下无人航行器。 Status-6核水雷系统（译注：俄罗斯总统普京于2015年11月9日与军官在索契举行会议期间拍摄，于11月10日播出，俄罗斯电视台NTV和Channel One播出片段显示，一名军官正在观看机密文件，当中包含名为Status-6武器系统的草图和数据，清晰显示文件上标示Status-6，后因被指泄密，视频遭删除。）可以大距离、高速巡航于各大洲之间，并携带100兆吨的弹头。

The Chinese unmanned submarine would not be nuclear-armed, according toa researcher involved in a separate programme in China.

据参与中国另外一项计划的研究人员称，中国无人潜水艇不会携带核武器。
据参与中国另外一项计划的研究人员称，中国无人潜艇不会是核武器。

The main advantage of the AI subs is that they can be produced andoperated on a large scale at a relatively low cost, said the researcher, whorequested anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue.

由于问题的敏感性，以为要求匿名的研究人员表示，人工智能（AI）潜艇的主要优势是，它们可以相对较低的成本大规模生产和运营。

Traditional submarines must attain a high level of stealth to increasethe chance of survival. The design has to consider other things includingsafety, comfort and the mental health of the crew to ensure human safety. Allthese elements add costs.

传统潜艇必须达到高水平的隐身，以增加生存的机会。设计必须考虑到其他因素，包括安全、舒适和船员的心理健康，以确保人类安全。所有这些因素都会增加成本。

In the 1990s, an Ohio-class submarine for the US Navy cost US$2 billion.The research, development and purchase of the first 12 of its newColumbia-class submarines, scheduled for delivery in the early 2020s, is morethan US$120 billion.

在20世纪90年代，美国海军的俄亥俄级潜艇耗资20亿美元。 计划于21世纪20年代初交付的前12艘新型哥伦比亚级潜艇的研究，开发和购买已耗资超过1,200亿美元。

In contrast, the budget of the entire Orca programme is about US$40million, according to Lockheed Martin.

相比之下，洛克希德·马丁公司的数据显示，整个Orca项目的预算约为4，000万美元。



AI submarines are still at an early stage, Luo noted, and many technicaland engineering hurdles remain before they can be deployed in open water.

罗说，人工智能潜艇还处于初级阶段，在开放水域部署之前，仍存在许多技术和工程障碍。

Hardware on board, for instance, must meet high standards of quality andreliability, since no mechanics will be on board to fix a broken engine, repairleaking pipes or tighten a screw, he said.

他说，船上的硬件必须符合高质量和可靠性标准，因为船上不会有任何机械装置来修理损坏的发动机、修理漏水的管道或拧紧螺丝。

The missions of unmanned submarines will also likely be limited tospecific, relatively simple tasks, Luo said.
罗说，无人潜艇的任务也可能仅限于特定的、相对简单的任务。

"AI will not replace humans. The situation under water can getquite sophisticated. I don't think a robot can understand or handle all thechallenges," he added.

他补充说。“人工智能不会取代人类。水下的情况会变得相当复杂。我不认为一个机器人能够理解或处理所有的挑战。”