Impossible Metals稱已成功測試AI海底採礦機器人

路透11月9日電——深海採礦公司 Impossible Metals 週一表示，該公司已成功測試一款自主機器人，這款機器人使用 AI，在太平洋超過4,000公尺（13,123英尺）深處選擇性採取關鍵礦物。Nov 9 (Reuters) - Deep-sea mining firm Impossible Metals said on Monday it has successfully tested an autonomous robot that uses AI to selectively retrieve critical minerals at depths of more than 4,000 meters (13,123 feet) in the Pacific Ocean.

海床部分區域含有形似馬鈴薯的岩石，稱為多金屬結核，內含銅、鎳及其他用於電動車和電子產品的礦物。Parts of the ocean seabed contain potato-shaped rocks known as polymetallic nodules filled with copper, nickel and other minerals used in electric vehicles and electronics.

這個新興產業中的許多公司計畫使用類似吸塵器的裝置採取這些結核，引發環保人士爭議。Many companies in the nascent industry plan to use a vacuum-like device to retrieve those nodules, sparking controversy from environmentalists.

Impossible Metals 獲得新創加速器 Y Combinator 支持，已開發出一款配備大型爪具的機器人；該公司表示，這款機器人使用人工智慧避開水生生物，並降低環境影響。Impossible Metals, which is backed by Y Combinator, has developed a robot with a large claw that it says uses artificial intelligence to avoid aquatic life and reduce environmental impacts.

這項測試是9月一場科學考察的一部分。機器人自行前往海床，採取約450克（1磅）的結核，然後返回海面。The test was part of a scientific expedition in September. The robot directed itself to the seabed, retrieved about 450 grams (1 pound) of nodules and then returned to the surface.

測試結果將用於開發較大型版本的機器人。該公司仍需取得國際海底管理局（International Seabed Authority）或美國政府的監管核准。Results from the test will be used to develop a larger version of the robot. The company still needs regulatory approval from the International Seabed Authority or the US government.

另外，Impossible Metals 表示，FedEx 創辦人弗雷德・史密斯（Fred Smith）的家族參與了該公司的 A 輪融資，這輪融資已於今年稍早完成。Separately, Impossible Metals said that the family of FedEx founder Fred Smith had participated in the company's Series A funding round, which closed earlier this year.

該公司拒絕提供這輪融資的金額，但媒體報導稱，金額接近2,500萬美元，這使該公司估值約為1.1億美元。The company declined to provide the value of the round, but media reports put it near $25 million, an amount that values the company at roughly $110 million.

FedEx 高階主管、史密斯家族辦公室 FWS Enterprises 副董事長理查・史密斯（Richard Smith）表示，吸引他的是 Impossible 的技術。Richard Smith, a FedEx executive and vice chairman of FWS Enterprises, the Smith family office, said it was Impossible's technology that drew him in.

史密斯說：「它以非常負責任、對生態友善的方式下到那裡，把這些結核從海床上摘取下來，而不會擾動環境。」他拒絕透露投資金額，但表示金額「可觀」。"It very responsibly, in an ecologically friendly way, goes down there and plucks these nodules off the seabed floor without disturbing the environment," said Smith, who declined to provide the value of the investment but said it was "substantial."

史密斯家族如今是 Impossible 第二大股東。The Smith family is now Impossible's second-largest shareholder.

（休士頓 Ernest Scheyder 報導；Bill Berkrot 編輯）(Reporting by Ernest Scheyder in Houston; Editing by Bill Berkrot)