会生蛋的企鹅机器人

    公司名称：波萨诺瓦机器人公司

    所在地：匹兹堡市

    价格：Skylee：59.55美元；Mechatars：39.99美元

    适用年龄：Skylee：4岁及以上；Mechatars：6岁及以上

    千万不要被这家公司的名字唬住了。波萨诺瓦机器人公司（Bossa Nova Robotics）实际上是一家玩具制造公司。

    这家公司是萨众恩•斯卡夫与两名同事一起创立的。当时斯卡夫正在卡耐基梅隆大学（Carnegie Mellon University）攻读机器人博士学位，并且正在为美国国防部制造机器人。后来他想道，是否可以把这项技术用来制造消费性产品，具体来说就是玩具。

    2005年，斯卡夫与同事一起创立了波萨诺瓦机器人公司，成为卡耐基梅隆大学机器人研究院（Carnegie Mellon Robotics Institute）的一个衍生机构。不过当时斯卡夫并不急着进军玩具业，而是到中国去住了两年，对玩具制造业进行悉心调研，以便为他的玩具找到最好的代工厂家。2009年，斯卡夫的公司发布了一款名叫Penbo的企鹅玩具，它所使用的技术与斯卡夫为国防部研究的机器人技术是一样的。

    斯卡夫介绍道：“Penbo会像真的企鹅一样摇摇摆摆地走路，而且它还会通过红外线技术和接触式传感器与孩子进行互动。”此外，Penbo的身上还怀着一个蛋，能够自动孵出一个小企鹅。“凭借我们的机器人技术，我们建立了一种真实的母女互动。Penbo会对她的孩子说话，甚至和它玩捉迷藏，”斯卡夫说。

    今年，波萨诺瓦机器人公司又在“Penbo和它的朋友”（Penbo & Friends）产品线里加入了一个名叫Skylee的新角色。Skylee是一条可爱的小龙，具有互动能力，会唱歌、跳舞，还会与它的龙宝宝玩捉迷藏。

    另外，这两年来，斯卡夫和他的团队还一直在研发一款名叫Mechatar的玩具机器人。Mechatar的神奇之处在于，一个孩子和它玩得越久，它就会变得越聪明。斯卡夫称，孩子们既可以在现实世界中玩Mechatar，也可以把它与电脑进行连接。这样一来，孩子们会看到他们的机器人变得活了起来，而且可以在电脑上继续玩。斯卡夫说：“这是现实与虚拟的某种结合。”

    Skylee和Mechatar刚刚登陆全国的塔吉特百货（Target）、亚马逊（Amazon）和玩具反斗城（Toys R Us）门店。

    波萨诺瓦机器人公司的共同创始人马丁•希奇称：“我们都是机器人的狂热爱好者。我们也花了很多时间来了解孩子和他们的玩耍方式。我们生产的玩具都非常有创意，而且它们的价格也让家长们能够接受。”

Skylee and Mechatars

    Company: Bossa Nova Robotics

    Location: Pittsburgh

    Price: Skylee: $59.99; Mechatars: $39.99

    Age: Skylee: 4 and up; Mechatars: 6 and up

    Don't let the name fool you. Bossa Nova Robotics is actually a toymaker.

    Sarjoun Skaff, who founded the company with two other colleagues, was working on his Ph.D. in robotics at Carnegie Mellon University. He was building a robot for the defense department when he started to think about how he could translate that same technology to create consumer products, specifically toys.

    In 2005, Skaff cofounded Bossa Nova Robotics, an offshoot of Carnegie Mellon Robotics Institute. But he wasn't in a rush to invade the toy industry. Instead, he went to China and lived there for two years, doing research on toy manufacturing in a bid to find the best maker for his toys. In 2009, the company launched Penbo, a penguin built on similar robotics technology that Skaff worked on for the defense department.

    "Penbo waddles. Penbo also interacts with kids through infrared technology and touch sensors," said Skaff. What's more, Penbo carries an egg that opens up into a baby penguin. "With our technology, we created a realistic mother-daughter interaction. And Penbo would talk to her baby and even play hide-and-seek with her," said Skaff.

    This year, Bossa Nova Robotics added a new character to the Penbo & Friends line called Skylee, an adorable interactive dragon. Skylee sings, dances, and plays hide-and-seek with her own dragon baby.

    There's more. For two years, Skaff and his team have worked on Mechatars, toy robots that become smarter the more often a child plays with them. Skaff said kids can play with Mechatars offline or connect Mechatars to their computer and watch the robotic characters come alive online and play there. "It's a form of blended reality," he said.

    Both Skylee and Mechatars just launched at Target, Amazon and Toys R Us nationwide.

    "We are robot enthusiasts. We also spend a lot of time understanding kids and how they are playing," said Bossa Nova Robotics cofounder Martin Hitch. "We are creating toys that are truly innovative at prices that parents feel good about."