We all know that panic-stricken moment. You drop your mobile and watch, aghast, as it plunges towards the floor, fearing it will land screen-side down – with shattering consequences.
　　手机或手表不小心从手中滑落、摔在地板上的时候，我们总会一边担心地目睹着这一瞬间一边祈祷着千万不要屏幕朝地。估计每个人都经历过这样惊慌失措的一刻。
But now Apple plans to spare you that agony, with an invention that will stop your iPhone hitting the ground face-first.
　不过现在苹果公司的一项新技术能帮我们免除这样的担心。这项技术能使手机在掉落瞬间自动翻转以防止屏幕着地。
The technology giant was granted a patent last week on an invention that can detect when a handset is falling – and flips it to ensure the screen doesn’t hit the ground. The idea could also work with iPads and other devices.
　　作为科技巨头，苹果公司的这项新专利在上周获得通过。该项专利使得手机掉落时，系统通过自动识别和翻转以避免手机屏幕着地。这项技术同样能够应用在iPad及其他设备上。
Apple’s design features on-board sensors that measure the speed that the phone is falling and predict when it will land and which side of the device will hit the floor.
　苹果这项新专利的特点在于一系列的机载感应器，这些感应器能够测量手机掉落的速度并预测手机何时落地及哪一面触地。
If sensors calculate a delicate component, such as the screen or camera, will hit the ground, a motor is instantly activated within the phone. This moves an internal weight fast enough to affect the ‘rotational velocity’ of the device and spin it around as it falls, so that it lands on a reinforced area.
　如果感应器判断出易碎的装置如屏幕或摄像头触地的话，手机内的发动机器会立即被激活。从而使手机迅速调整中心、自动旋转，以保证手机更坚固的一面触地。

The effect is similar to how a falling cat always manages to land on its feet.
这和猫从高处落下时永远都能四脚着地差不多。
And that’s not all. The patent even includes a system that would eject the headphone cord to avoid damage to the connector.
　　除此之外，该项专利还包括一个智能系统，能在手机掉落瞬间让耳机线弹出以避免损坏手机的连接装置。
Victor Seidel, a lecturer in science entrepreneurship at Oxford University, said: ‘This does what a lot of successful innovations do: combines ideas in a way others had not considered, such as adding gyroscopic action within a smartphone.
　牛津大学科技企业课程的讲授者维克托·塞德尔说：“这项专利包含了很多很成功的创新点，并以一种大家意想不到的方式整合了这些不同的想法，比如在智能手机里安装回转装置。”
‘But integrating this idea into current slimline designs may be a challenge. Of course, no one will really know the possible benefits and limitations until Apple gets prototypes into the hands of users – hands that are indeed sometimes clumsy.’
　　“不过这项技术如何应用于越来越薄的智能手机中还是个挑战。当然，除非苹果公司制作出原型交到用户笨拙的手中，否则没有人能确定这项技术的优缺点。”
Industry insiders say an iPhone featuring the new technology may appear within three years.
　业内人士称，这项技术有可能在三年之内应用于iPhone中。

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