《回到未來》預言成真：德國發明自動鞋帶

A team of scientists from University of Freiburg in Germany are developing a shoe with a sensor to automatically tie its laces that could be taken off when users click their heels together.

德國弗萊堡大學（University of Freiburg）的一個科學團隊正在研究一種可利用傳感器自動繫鞋帶的鞋，當使用者碰撞鞋跟時，鞋帶就能自動解開。

It’s been 26 years since we saw them magically tightening Marty McFly’s Nike boots in Back to The Future.

在電影《回到未來》（Back to The Future）裏，我們看到馬丁·麥克弗萊（Marty McFly）耐克鞋自動繫鞋帶的神奇情景，已經有26年了。

Now, self-tying shoelaces could actually become a reality this year, proving right one of the film’s fantastical predictions for what 2015 would be like.

如今，假如電影中對2015年的虛構預言有一個能成真的話，自動鞋帶今年可能真會成爲現實。

Engineers have designed a shoe that can automatically lace up, adjusting itself to the shape of your foot.

工程師們設計出一款鞋可以自動繫鞋帶，並可根據腳型自動調節。

Simply slip the trainer on and pressure sensors will tell the ‘smart shoe’ when your foot is in position, triggering a tiny motor in the heel that pulls the laces tight.

只需滑動控制器，腳穿進去時，壓力傳感器就會告知“智能鞋”，觸發鞋跟的小發動機，將鞋帶繫緊。

When you want to take off the shoes, you click your heels together twice and the motor will release a spring in the shoe’s tongue, which loosens the laces enough for you to slip them off.

當你想要脫鞋時，碰撞鞋跟兩次，發動機就會釋放鞋舌部位的彈簧，鬆開鞋帶讓你脫鞋。

And the ingenious invention doesn’t even need to be plugged in to charge or have its battery replaced because it runs on power generated by the swing of your foot as you walk.

這項獨創性的發明甚至無需充電或更換電池，因爲它僅靠你走路時雙腳的擺動來發電。

Engineer Klevis Ylli, of the Institute for Micromachining and Information Technology in southern Germany, said the shoes could help a variety of different people.

德國南部微加工和信息技術研究所（The Institute for Micromachining and Information Technology）工程師克賴維斯·伊利（Klevis Ylli）表示，這種鞋可以幫助不同的人。

"One focus is that it could be used in shoes for elderly people who have mobility problems," he said. "But it could also work for children, or as a lifestyle product."

他說：“值得注意的是，這種鞋帶可供行動不便的老年人使用，也可以供孩子使用，或者作爲一種生活產品。”

The design, which is still in a prototype phase, cleverly captures the energy of the foot's swing when opposing magnets in each shoe move past each other.

目前，這項設計還是雛形。當兩隻鞋中極性相反的磁鐵互相移動時，設計師能巧妙地獲得能量。

It then uses that power to charge a battery. An hour of walking is enough to tighten the laces once, and it requires no energy to undo the shoes because that relies on the spring alone.

然後將這些能量給電池充電，走一個小時的路，產生的電量足以繫緊一次鞋帶，而解鞋帶時只需依靠彈簧，因此無需能量。

Vocabulary

magically: 如魔法般的

lace: 繫帶子

ingenious: 有獨創性的

mobility: 移動性

magnet: 磁鐵

spring: 彈簧