美國VR校車 帶孩子們體驗火星之旅

American aerospace company Lockheed Martin has found a really cool way to inspire the young minds of today to pursue careers in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM).

爲了激發青少年對科技、工程和數學的興趣，美國航天公司“洛克希德馬丁”開發出了一個新奇有趣的方式。

It may look like a regular yellow bus, but that's because all the magic happens once you get inside. Meet the "Mars Experience Bus," part of Lockheed Martin's new "Generation Beyond" national education program to get the kids involved in studying what goes on outside of our home planet. The bus offers an immersive virtual reality experience making the youngsters feel like they are driving on Mars.

它外表看起來和普通黃色校車沒什麼兩樣，不過，當你坐進去纔是見證奇蹟的時刻——它是一輛“火星體驗車”，源自洛克希德馬丁公司最新的“劃時代”國家教育項目，能讓孩子們探索地球家園之外的世界。這輛車提供浸入式虛擬現實場景，孩子們彷彿身臨其境飛馳於火星表面。

The VR experience was developed by taking advantage of software created for today's “most advanced video games,” so you can imagine the quality of the picture is top notch. The kids do seem really excited to see the bus take a virtual trip on the red planet and explore unknown territory. It's certainly a great method to spark their curiosity about the universe via virtual reality implemented on an ordinary bus.

這種虛擬現實場景是基於現有軟件研發的——該軟件原本用於開發當今世界“最先進的視頻遊戲”，所以不難想象，其視覺效果一定是頂級的。看得出來，參與穿越火星虛擬之旅、探索未知世界的孩子們，很享受那個刺激的過程。

The Lockheed Martin's vehicle will embark on a tour in the United States to allow kids from different parts of the country to take a ride in it. The Generation Beyond project also includes a neat smartphone app for iOS and Android devices providing real-time information concerning weather reports from Mars. In addition, middle school teachers have access to a free deep space curriculum.

洛克希德馬丁公司的火星體驗車將環遊美國，讓各地的孩子們都有機會體驗火星之旅。“劃時代”項目也發佈了一款簡單易用的智能手機應用，分爲iOS和安卓版，上面提供實時的火星天氣預報。此外，中學教師還有機會參與一項免費的深度空間課程。