At the end of every year in recent memory, it seems, high-tech optimists have predicted the next year as the one when robots will finally lift from our shoulders the burden of dreary domestic tasks.总结近些年，或许每当相似年终之时，那些拥戴高科技的乐观主义者就不会预测，在未来一年里，机器人必将挑动我们肩上的家务重任。Think washing floors, scrubbing the grill, cutting the lawn, watering plants, changing cat litter, vacuuming the carpet — and, for good measure, pacifying the baby and entertaining the older children.想想看，那些洗手地板、擦洗烧烤架、遮荫草坪、给植物施肥、换猫砂和吸地毯的家务活儿——更妙的是，还能哄哄小婴儿，逗逗大孩子。That was certainly the case at the close of 2013, said Dan Kara, a robotics analyst with ABI Research. “This was supposed to be the year where everything was going to be different,” Mr. Kara said. “Again.”这显然就是2013年完结前的情况，一家市场调研公司ABI Rearch的机器人科技分析师丹·卡拉(Dan Kara)说道。

“应当就在今年，不会再次发生翻天覆地的变化，”卡拉说道，“再行一次。”And while that home-robotics revolution didn’t exactly come to fruition this year, Mr. Kara said a handful of interesting robotic debuts in 2014 brought consumers one step closer to the chore-free home of the future.虽然在这一年里，家用机器人的革命没实实在在地开花结果什么浆果，但卡拉说道，有十多款于2014年首度亮相的趣味机器人，让消费者们向没家务活儿的未来又迈近了一步。That sentiment was echoed by two others who closely follow the consumer robotics industry: Erico Guizzo, editor of the Automaton blog of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, and Andra Keay, managing director of Silicon Valley Robotics, an industry group. Based on recommendations from these specialists, as well as some firsthand tests, here are 10 notable robots that made their debut this year.这种点子还获得了另外两个人的对此，他们都是消费型机器人行业的紧密追踪者：一位是电子与电气工程师协会(Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers)“机器人”(Automaton)博客的编辑埃里克·圭佐(Erico Guizzo)，另一位是该行业中一个取名为“硅谷机器人(Silicon Valley Robotics)”的商业团体的主管福德拉·凯伊(Andra Keay)。根据这几位专家的引荐和某些一手项目管理，这里给大家讲解十款今年首次亮相的超棒机器人。

Neato Botvac Vacuums constitute the biggest and most competitive consumer-robotics category in the marketplace, and they’re getting better. The earliest models were criticized for their over-reliance on humans to maintain them. (“I had to constantly clean my cleaning robot,” Mr. Guizzo said.) Owners also had to drag the bots to their charging stations when the batteries died, and move furniture that the robots couldn’t squeeze beneath. The Neato Botvac ($480 to $600) requires less cleaning than the earliest robotic vacuums, and it features good pickup power and a low profile that helps it sneak under couches. My favorite feature: When the battery is low, the Botvac returns to its charging station. When Dyson’s much-anticipated robot appears next year, watch for similar features.吸尘机器人(Neato Botvac) 真空吸尘器是市场上规模仅次于、也最有竞争力的一类消费型机器人，而且设计得更加好。这类机器人最先的型号，因为过度倚赖人类的确保而受到了一些谴责（“我得经常清扫我的洗手机器人。”圭佐说道）。

主人还得把它在电池消耗后搬充电器旁，或者把它无法铁环下去清理的那些家具挪开。而这台售价在480美元（约合人民币2979元）至600美元（约合人民币3724元）的Neato Botvac机器人所需的确保工作，则比早期的机器人吸尘器较少得多。这款机器人的特点是导电能力强劲，且扁平的外形有助它钻进沙发下面。

我最喜欢的一个特点是：一旦转入低电量状态，Botvac机器人就不会返回自己的充电站。等明年戴森公司(Dyson)那款众望所归的机器人上市时，我们再行来想到它的类似于功能吧。

Grillbot It’s a small, nasty job that’s too often forgotten until the food is ready to throw on the barbecue, but cleaning a grill can be a pleasure — as long as someone else is doing it. The $130 Grillbot works like a miniature Roomba, but with more fearsome metal bristles. On a hot or cold grill, start the bot, close the lid and 10 to 30 minutes later, the grate is clean enough to cook on. Some users have noted the bot’s tendency to shed bristles, but Ethan Woods, the company’s chief executive, said a new design has addressed the issue. Forgetful types will appreciate the device’s alarm, which sounds when the bot is left in a hot grill for too long.烤架机器人(Grillbot) 洗手烤架是项肥肉繁复的工作，一般来说人们直到食物早已要下架油炸了，才不会回想架子还没擦。但清除烤架也可以是一种体验，只要挣钱的人不是自己。这台售价130美元（约合人民币807元）的烤架机器人，工作一起就像一台迷你的Roomba吸尘器，只是多了些可怕的金属鬃毛。在一台灼热或冰冷的烤架上启动这台机器人，分立上盖子，经过10至30分钟，格栅就洁净新，可以开始小食了。

有些用户早已注意到，这款机器人有开裂鬃毛的趋势，但该公司的首席执行官伊桑·伍兹(Ethan Woods)说道，目前新的设计的机器人早已解决问题了这一问题。有健忘症的人还不会讨厌该设备的闹钟设计，如果机器人被岂在一个加热的烤架上，时间一宽就不会铃声大作。Soloshot2 Filming oneself, for fun or work, is easy enough if you stand still. But for less-static pursuits — like sports, dance or just even romping in the yard with your toddler — filming and doing are mutually exclusive. The Soloshot2 is a $400 system made up of a robotic camera harness and a separate sensor that attaches to whatever you want to film. The harness points the camera in the direction of the sensor. With a range of 2,000 feet and a battery life of eight hours for the base and four hours for the sensor, the Soloshot2 can be used to videotape any activity, even your next synchronized swimming session (the sensor is waterproof). The only thing you need worry about is someone stealing your camera while you’re playing in the pool.自拍电影机器人(Soloshot2) 不管是拍着玩游戏还是专门从事摄影工作，站着不动的自拍更容易得很。

但要摄制不那么静态的画面——比如运动、唱歌，或者只是在院子里和你跟着学步的孩子嬉闹，这时候摄制和被拍电影就总无法顾及了。这台Soloshot2是一套价值400美元（约合人民币2482元）的系统，由机器人摄像机架与一个吸附在摄制对象上的独立国家感应器构成。

该设备的摄制距离为2000英尺（大约610米），基座电池寿命8小时，感应器4小时，因而可以用来录音任何活动，甚至是你的下一次花样游泳演出（感应器是透气的）。你唯一必须担忧的是在泳池里嬉戏时，有人拿走你的摄影机。Litter-Robot Changing cat litter is the most dreaded entry on my children’s list of chores. The Litter-Robot may change that. It’s built with a sensor that knows when your cat has visited, and afterward the unit rotates like a giant cement mixer, to sift and deposit clumps into a waste tray. There are downsides: The Litter-Robot is fairly big — about 29 inches high and roughly 25 inches from front to back — so it may not fit easily in smaller apartments. At $389, it’s not cheap. And you need to keep it stocked with carbon filters and waste-tray liners.猫厕机器人(Litter-Robot) 在我家孩子们的家务表格上，换猫砂是最无趣的一件事。

现在，这台猫厕机器人可能会带给些转变。该设备装有了一个感应器，可以告诉你的猫何时来过，然后这台机器就不会转动一起，像一台极大的水泥搅拌机，把块状物都过滤器下来，推倒入一个垃圾盘里。

但它也有些缺点：这台机器人过于大了——低大约29英寸（大约74厘米），前后长约25英寸（大约64厘米）。所以，面积较小的公寓有可能不过于适合。而且389美元（约合人民币2414元）的售价也不低廉。

你还得为它装有好活性炭过滤器及废物盘内的衬垫。rockaRoo A company based in Pittsburgh, 4moms, built the rockaRoo to track a baby’s weight and seat position hundreds of times per second, and replicate the rocking motion with a seat that pivots at the bottom. The motion includes “falling at the speed of gravity,” the company said, and the motor is quiet enough to allow napping or for the baby to hear whatever music parents wish to play over the device’s internal speakers. For parents of colicky or otherwise sleepless babies, this particular bot may be worth the $180 price. For this parent of older kids, it arrived around 12 years too late.弹跳机器人(rockaRoo) 总部另设于匹兹堡(Pittsburgh)的公司4moms修建了弹跳机器人rockaRoo，该设备可以感应器婴儿的体重，每秒钟数百次地跟踪婴儿的坐姿，并可通过一个底部活动的座椅重复摆动。该公司称之为，这个摆动的动作还包括“以重力的速度行踪”；而且座椅的马达安静得不足以让婴儿入眠，还能让宝宝听见座椅内置音箱中的音乐，父母想要通过它播出什么都可以。对于家中宝宝不睡或爱人哭闹的父母而言，这台售价180美元（约合人民币117元）的独有机器人或许物有所值。

而对孩子年龄更大一些的父母来说，这台机器人大约发明者玩游戏了12年吧。Scooba 450 No company has done more to popularize home robotics than iRobot, the maker of the Roomba vacuum, the Looj gutter cleaner, the Mirra pool cleaner and, this year, the Scooba 450 floor scrubber. The $600 device soaks the floor, spreads cleaner and scrubs and vacuums the dirty water before a final pass with a squeegee. One hiccup we had during our otherwise successful testing: The “Virtual Wall” accessory, which creates an infrared barrier to keep the Scooba out of specific areas, cast so much infrared light that in smaller spaces the robot was hesitant to scrub anywhere.浸地机器人(Scooba 450) 论述家用机器人的普及化，哪家公司都比不过iRobot。

这家制造商生产了除尘者Romba、清沟者Looj、清池者Mirra，以及今年（2014年——学术著作）发售的洗地机器人Scooba450。这台售价600美元（约合人民币3724元）的设备可以把地板打湿、倾倒清洁剂，涂抹后再行吸去脏水，最后用一把橡胶扫帚洗手一遍。这款产品本可以通过我们的项目管理，但中途出有了个小岔子：为了让Scooba跨过某些特定的区域，我们用“虚拟世界墙壁”设备释放出来一些红外线作为屏障，但它获释的红外线过于多了，以至于在面积较小的地方，这台机器人竟然无所适从，知道该去哪儿清扫。

Robomow RS Most household tasks can be blown off with few consequences. Drag your feet on lawn-mowing duties, though, and you pay dearly. Robomow’s RS ($1,100 to $2,000) is among the latest entries in a category that’s attracting competition from established brands and start-ups. Setting up the mower can be a chore, as you must map out your yard with wires to define the Robomow’s boundaries. Once that’s done, though, the bot cuts as often as you like and returns to its charging dock when low on power. It’s electric, so noise is less of a problem than with conventional mowers. For American consumers, one big question for Robomow and its competitors is long-term reliability. But analysts give the latest generation of robotic mowers good marks for reliability, and electric mowers generally require none of the annual maintenance faced by owners of gas-powered mowers.剪成草坪机器人(Robomow RS) 大多数家务活儿都可以扯上一拖，后果并不相当严重；但你如果拖拖拉拉地不剪成草坪，那代价可就大了。Robomow公司的RS机器人（售价1100美元[约合人民币6837元]至2000美元[约合人民币12412元]），是剪成草坪机器人中新的发售的几款产品之一，目前，这类产品于是以更有着来自成熟期品牌与新兴公司的竞争。

落成这台割草机的工作有可能十分繁复，因为你要用铁丝在草坪上区分出有Robomow机器人的工作范围。不过，一旦这项工作已完成，这款机器人之后可让你随心所欲地剪成草坪，想要剪成几次就剪成几次了。

中用电量较低时，它就不会自动回到电池平台。由于这台机器是电动的，所以相比传统的割草机，它的噪音基本不成问题。而对美国消费者而言，Robomow剪草机及其市场竞争者都面对着长年可靠性的问题。不过分析家们都给新一代机器人剪草机的可靠性评选了高分。

此外，电动剪草机需要每年确保，而燃气割草机的用户则要面临这一问题。Kibo The toy market is cluttered with robots that dance and make noise and then, if my children are any indication, collect dust once a child has grown bored with the toy’s schtick. Kibo is a different breed of bot, having emerged from a children’s technology lab at Tufts University. Designed for ages 4 to 7, it’s a learning tool disguised as a toy: Kids program the $230 robot using wooden blocks that form different commands. Kibo scans the sequence of the blocks and executes the commands, while also reacting to sounds, light and obstacles. Its components are so intuitively designed that a child (or adult) can operate it without reading directions. The idea isn’t so much to get kids to understand programming, but rather to use a self-programmed device to enhance playtime activities like storytelling and role playing.玩具机器人(Kibo) 玩具市场上弥漫着许多机器人，它们可以唱歌、可以发出声音，若以我家孩子的情况不作参照，一旦他们的新鲜劲儿过了，这种机器人还可以搜集灰尘。但Kibo是一种与众不同的机器人，它由塔夫茨大学(Tufts University)的一间儿童应用于技术实验室生产，专门为4至7岁的儿童设计，是一个伪装成玩具的自学工具：孩子们利用可构成有所不同命令的木块，来给这个售价230美元（约合人民币1427元）的机器人设置程序。Kibo机器人再行扫瞄这些木块的顺序，然后继续执行这些命令，并对声音、光线和障碍物作出反应。

该机器人的零部件设计得十分直观，使得孩子（或成人）不必读书说明书也能操作者。该产品的设计理念，并不是要让孩子们解读编程；而是用这种可自行编程的设备，增强诸如讲故事和角色扮演等游戏活动的体验。Robotis Mini Robotis generated much attention for its Robotis-OP humanoid robot, which was praised for its sophistication and versatility, but which carries a $12,000 price tag. This year the company released a miniature version of that device, which loses some of the versatility and durability of its bigger sibling but remains a technological wonder. Unlike the humanoid robot toys on the market, the $500 Mini is programmable and responds to touch, gesture and voice commands with fluidity and precision. Some owners have complained that putting the robot together is unduly difficult, and the company tacitly acknowledged as much with video tutorials intended to help users through the hourslong assembly process. Another significant drawback, for now, is that you need an Android mobile device running Android software version 4.0 to control the Mini. The cheapest of these are around $150. An Apple version is in the works, the company said.Robotis迷你机器人(Robotis Mini) Robotis公司由于生产出有了Robotis-OP人形机器人而倍受注目，这款机器人因设计精美、功能多样而受到好评。

但它贴满一个12000美元（约合人民币74474元）的价签。今年，该公司公布了这款机器人的迷你版。虽然在多功能与持久性方面，它比自家的原版兄弟稍逊一筹，但在技术上仍是个奇迹。

与市场上的人形机器人玩具有所不同，这款售价500美元（约合人民币3103元）的迷你机器人使用了程控设计，可以简洁精准地对触碰、手势和声音命令作出反应。但一些买家曾责怪，把这款机器人装配一起觉得太难了，该公司也坦诚配置文件，发售了视屏教程，意图协助用户已完成这个历时数小时的装配过程。从目前来看，该产品的另一个根本性缺点是，你必须一个安卓(Android)系统的移动设备来运营4.0版的安卓软件，才能掌控这台迷你机器人。这样一套配备，最低廉的价格大约为150美元（约合人民币931元）。

据该公司说道，该产品的苹果版配备尚能在研发中。Droplet Gardeners with day jobs and cluttered lives understand that watering plants is a classic problem. You want precise and regular watering; you’re more apt to deliver a massive dousing after work and before dinner, and only after the plants have begun tilting earthward for lack of moisture. At $300, Droplet is a pricey but reliable solution to the problem. Set the sprinkler in place, program the system on a computer or mobile device and connect it to your home’s Wi-Fi router, and the system takes over from there. Droplet checks weather data and points the sprinkler to specific pockets of your garden to deliver water where and when it’s needed. With a range of 30 feet in all directions, the units can manage bigger gardens and entire swaths of lawn with less wasted water.施肥机器人(Droplet) 那些白天要下班、生活一团乱的养花人都告诉，给植物施肥是个大问题。你总想如期按量地施肥；但在上班后、晚餐前，或只是在植物们因缺水萎蔫之后，你倒入着倒入着就倒入多了。

对于这个问题，这款售价300美元（约合人民币1862元）的施肥机器人是个虽然便宜却切实可行的解决方案。请求把灭火器加装做到，然后在一台计算机或移动设备上为该系统原作程序，再行将系统连上你家的无线网络路由器，它就可以接管你家花园里的工作了。施肥机器人不会首先检查涉及的天气数据，然后在适合的时间跟地点，将灭火器对准花园里的特定方位施肥。

该设备可以在30英尺的范围内全方位地施肥，因而可以管理较小面积的花园与各处草坪，而且用水量也浪费得较少。

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