無人機或成自拍新神器
From Papal visits to the Oscars, it seems no event is now complete without a “selfie” to document the day. But the ubiquitous trend for the self-portrait photographs, taken on a smartphone at arm’s length, could now be usurped by the “dronie” – or photos taken by a drone.
從教皇出訪到奧斯卡頒獎禮現場，似乎每件大事中都少不了“自拍留念”的環節。但伸長手臂用智能手機自拍的流行趨勢，或將被“無人機自拍”所取代。
According to French drone manufacturer Parrot, the burgeoning popularity of the remote-controlled miniature aircraft is being fuelled by “narcissism” as people buy drones fitted with cameras in order to film themselves.
法國無人機制造廠商帕羅表示，因爲“自拍黨”們熱衷購買裝有攝像頭的無人機，所以微型遙控飛機開始廣爲流行。
Unlike the selfie, which often results in the photograph’s subjects appearing squashed in at an awkward angle, the company claims the trend will result in high-quality footage. Drones of the future will be able to pilot themselves, following the subject around automatically, he said.
該公司表示，自拍照的主角通常看上去就從一個奇怪的角度塞進照片的，但無人機航拍會帶來高質量的影像。他聲稱今後無人機能自動駕駛並自動跟隨拍攝主體移動。
“It would be like having a full TV crew with you when you went snowboarding or mountain climbing,” Henri Seydoux, Parrot’s chief executive, told the Financial Times.
帕羅的首席執行官亨利·賽杜告訴《金融時報》記者，“當你去滑雪或者登山時，無人機的航拍過程就像一個電視攝製組在全方位跟拍。”
Parrot says sales of drones jumped by 130 per cent in the third quarter of the year, taking even the company itself by surprise.
帕羅指出，無人機的銷售量在今年第三季度躍升了130%，連公司自身都感到意外。
“It turned out that in reality people bought the drones because of narcissism. People want to put pictures on YouTube of them looking strong and talented, and that is why people want the cameras,” Mr Seydoux said.
“事實證明，人們因爲自戀而購買無人機。‘自拍黨’總想把他們丰神俊朗的照片發佈到視頻網站（YouTube），這就是他們想要攝像頭的原因。”賽杜先生說。
Drones, or “unmanned aerial vehicles”, were once the preserve of technology specialists but have soared in popularity with models on sale for as little as £40 featuring on many must-have gift lists this Christmas.
無人機，又稱“無人駕駛飛行器”，它曾是技術專家的專利，但今年聖誕節，各種型號價格低至僅40英鎊（約388人民幣）的無人機人氣不斷飆升，更成爲今年聖誕節的必備禮物之一。
Their increasing mass-market appeal has however led to fears over privacy and safety. It recently emerged that a drone had come close to colliding with a passenger plane at Heathrow this summer.
然而，無人機行業的興起也帶來了隱私和安全隱患。今年夏天，一架無人機和一架客機在英國希羅斯機場上空險些相撞。
