Now technology is also taking off outside Paris this week as the French simulation show gets under way, 本週，隨著模擬器大展在巴黎市郊舉行，科技也在此大顯身手。
but it's not all fun and games for those getting behind the controls, as Jim Bittermann found out. 不過，吉姆‧比特曼發現，坐在控制台前的那些人可不是沒事玩玩而已。
So, there they were, hundreds of perfectly serious adults getting their kicks out of 你看他們，好幾百名正經八百的成人，興致盎然地操作著這些機台，
what at first blush might look like nothing more than sophisticated computer games, but at this show gaming gets real. 乍看之下只不過是精密複雜的電腦遊戲，可是在這場展覽上，遊戲可是玩真的。
It's the fifth annual simulator exhibition at the Air and Space Museum outside Paris. 這是巴黎市郊的航太博物館所舉辦的第五屆年度模擬器大展。
And while on one level these are games, on another, in order to be here, they have to have a purpose; 但就另一個層面而言，就某個層面而言，這些機台都只是遊戲；這些機台要能夠在這裡展出，就必須具有實用目的，
virtual reality with real application. 必須是具備實際應用價值的虛擬實境設備。
Alain Renier, for instance, was demonstrating a stripped-down version of a ship's bridge 舉例而言，亞蘭‧瑞尼耶正在示範一座簡化版的艦橋，
used to teach future ship captains how to run everything from a supertanker to a tugboat. 這可用來教導將來的船長如何駕駛各種船隻，從超級油輪到小型拖船。
Who knows how many petroleum barges could be saved from destruction by keeping unskilled hands off the tiller until they've had a little practice on a simulator? 讓生手在模擬器上稍事練習之後再操作舵柄，誰知道有多少石油駁船可能因此免於沉船的命運？
Of course, the most familiar simulators are those used to train pilots. 當然，一般人最熟悉的模擬器，就是用於訓練飛行員的那些。
And while virtual flying is a lot cheaper than real flying, 虛擬飛行雖然比實際駕駛飛機便宜得多，
a former Air France captain says the real value is in safely learning to confront dangerous conditions. 但一名前法國航空機長表示，模擬器的真正價值在於能夠讓人在安全的環境下學習如何因應危險狀況。
It's extremely important because you can have a situation which is near the crash. 這點非常重要，因為你可能遭遇幾乎墜機的狀況。
So, it gives the chance to sort of push the limits of the airplane? 所以，模擬器可以讓人有機會將飛機的性能推到極限？
Yeah. 沒錯。
But these days, simulators are not limited to just aviation. 不過，現在模擬器已不僅限於航空領域，
Increasingly, they are being developed for training use just about everywhere. 而是逐漸發展做為各種領域的訓練之用。
French police say motorcycle drivers with simulator training have far fewer accidents and are, 法國警方表示，受過模擬器訓練的機車騎士比較不會發生車禍，
in general, safer drivers than those who don't have it. 整體的駕駛習慣也比未受模擬器訓練者來得安全。
And diving instructors say it's much easier to reduce fear about descending into the depths 潛水教練也說，這也比較容易降低潛入深處的恐懼，
by first taking students into a swimming pool with a scuba diving simulator designed to recreate the sights and sounds of the open ocean. 先讓學員在游泳池裡使用重現大海景色與音效的水肺潛水模擬器。
But the more complex simulators aren't cheap. 然而，比較複雜的模擬器可不便宜。
Machines that come the closest to imitating flying, for example, can cost as much as a quarter of what operating a real aircraft might cost. 舉例來說，模擬飛行最逼真的機器造價可能高達駕駛真正飛機的成本的四分之一。
That's why there was much attention paid at this year's gathering to the less expensive but still very real simulators which have dual use. 這也是為什麼在今年的展覽會上，眾人的注意力大都放在造價較低、具有雙重用途但仍然非常真實的模擬器。
At least part of this exposition is a conference called Serious Gaming, 這場展覽至少有一部分是一場稱為「嚴肅遊戲」的研討會，
intended to draw a distinction between things that might be used just for fun and simulators that could be used professionally. 目的在於劃分專供玩樂使用的遊戲，以及可供專業使用的模擬器。
And this chair represents a crossover, a kind of thing that's happening more and more -- 這張椅子代表一種跨界產品，而且這種產品現在愈來愈多了——
a device that could be used for entertainment in the living room, but could also be used professionally to train pilots. 這種器材可以放在客廳裡供娛樂之用，但也可以用於專業訓練飛行員。
On the other hand, priced at around 8,000 each, it might take a special buyer who'd want one for home use, 另一方面，這美台要價八千美元左右，所以恐怕只有特殊買家才會想要一台在家裡用。
but prices are coming down. 不過，價格已經開始下降了。
Our target price point within a year or two is about half of that, 我們在一、兩年內的目標價格是目前的一半，
at which point we're arriving at the price point that people will pay for a flat-screen TV or for a high-powered PC for their gaming. 達到相當於一般人願意為了玩遊戲而購買平面電視或高效能電腦的價錢。
Gaming that's becoming more and more serious as simulation gets closer to reality. 隨著模擬的逼真度愈來愈高，玩遊戲也變成愈來愈認真了。