大疆又申请新专利，这回是地上跑的无人机

DJI is easily the leading brand when it comes to camera drones, but few companies have even attempted a ground-based mobile camera platform. The company may be moving in that direction, though, if this patent for a small off-road vehicle with a stabilized camera is any indication.

谈到航拍无人机，DJI无疑是领军品牌。但是很少有公司尝试过移动陆上相机平台。如果说这项装有稳定摄像头的小型越野车能算作某种迹象的话，这家公司可能在朝这个方向发展。

The Chinese patent, first noted by DroneDJ, shows a rather serious-looking vehicle platform with chunky tires and a stabilized camera gimbal. As you can see in the image above, the camera mount is protected against shock by springs and pneumatics, which would no doubt react actively to sudden movements.

DroneDJ网首先注意到了这项中国专利，专利展示了一个看起来很严肃的车辆平台，装有厚实的轮胎和稳定的相机支架。你从上面的图片里可以看到，弹簧和气垫保护着相机架，使其防震动，这些装置在面对突然移动时毫无疑问会有积极作用。

The image is no simple sketch like those you sometimes see of notional products and “just in case” patents — this looks like a fleshed-out mechanical drawing of a real device. Of course, that doesn’t mean it’s coming to market at all, let alone any time soon. But it does suggest that DJI’s engineers have dedicated real time and effort to making this thing a reality.

图片不是你有时看见的概念产品的那种简单素描，不是“以防万一”的专利，看起来像很具体的真正设备的机械制图。当然，这并不意味着产品即将上市，更不用说最近会上市了。但是图片确实表明，DJI的工程师真的费时费力，让该产品成为现实。

Why have a “drone” on the ground when there are perfectly good ones for the air? Battery life, for one. Drones can only be airborne for a short time, even less when they’re carrying decent cameras and lenses. A ground-based drone could operate for far longer — though naturally from a rather lower vantage.

已经有超棒的空中无人机了，为什么还要陆上的“无人机”呢？一个原因是电池寿命。无人机只能在空中飞很短一段时间，装载像样的相机和镜头时，飞行时间就更少了。而陆上无人机的工作时间要长得多--不过自然，位置要更低。

Perhaps more importantly, however, a wheeled drone makes sense in places where an aerial one doesn’t. Do you really want to fly a drone through narrow hallways in security sweeps, or in your own home? And what about areas where you might encounter people? It would be better not to have to land and take off constantly for safety’s sake.

然而，也许更重要的是，有些地方适合用装轮子的无人机，而空中无人机则不行。你真的想让无人机飞过安检的狭窄过道，或者在家里飞吗？在那些可能遇见人的地方又怎样呢？安全起见，不让无人机频繁起飞降落会更好。