????亨利?索恩曾負(fù)責(zé)編程控制笨重的機(jī)器人，以焊接通用汽車（General Motors）裝配線上的別克（Buick）君威（Regals），龐蒂克（Pontiac）Grand Prixs和雪佛蘭（Chevy）Cutlass Supremes的框架。距底特律6英里有一個火花四濺的汽車研發(fā)工廠，而他就曾經(jīng)是它的核心智囊之一，而那里已成為底特律自動化技術(shù)的象征。

????現(xiàn)年53歲的索恩開始為更小的、搭載更可愛“貨物”的車輛設(shè)計機(jī)器人。他是全球唯一一款自動折疊嬰兒車Origami的設(shè)計領(lǐng)袖。由匹茲堡的4Moms公司設(shè)計的Origami擁有按鈕式的折疊和展開裝置，車身配備了遙控?zé)艄狻⑹謾C(jī)充電器、里程表、液晶儀表盤、輪子上的自動充電發(fā)電機(jī)和其他一些特色裝置，專為某些家長量身打造。他們不介意花上800美元，購買這輛配備齊全的嬰兒車。

????4Moms是機(jī)器人嬰兒產(chǎn)品的先驅(qū)，目前市場上也沒有模仿Origami嬰兒車的其他產(chǎn)品。芝加哥的兒童用品評論網(wǎng)站Baby Gizmo的創(chuàng)始人和CEO霍莉?舒爾茨說：“在機(jī)器人嬰兒產(chǎn)品上，他們已經(jīng)完全占領(lǐng)了市場?！?/p>

????索恩的機(jī)器人技術(shù)幫助4Moms成功打入估值80億美元的美國嬰兒用品市場。公司2011年銷售額達(dá)到近1.7億美元，產(chǎn)品擺上了塔吉特（Target）、諾德斯特姆（Nordstrom）和Babies 'R Us的貨架。他們的產(chǎn)品與明星珍妮弗?加納、考特尼?卡戴珊和埃爾頓?約翰的孩子們一同出鏡。4Moms的成功也吸引了許多新的投資者，包括波士頓的貝恩資本風(fēng)險投資公司（Bain Capital Ventures）近期也對其投資了2000萬美元。

????除去Origami之外，這家擁有67名員工的公司的杰作還包括：機(jī)器人驅(qū)動、模仿人類父母動作的嬰兒座椅mamaRoo；能控制水溫，讓清潔的水持續(xù)流動的Cleanwater嬰兒澡盆；還有能一步到位，打開或折疊的嬰兒床Breeze。

????從汽車裝配線到Babies 'R Us，這是一條漫長的路，但對于索恩來說這是情理之中的進(jìn)步。他說：“這些微型機(jī)器人比起裝配線上的機(jī)器人要復(fù)雜得多?！?/p>

????體積是索恩和4Moms設(shè)計中的主要瓶頸。所有的電子設(shè)備和軟件都需要裝進(jìn)一個小球中，并巧妙地安置在Origami的座椅下面。索恩說：“如果這個球比現(xiàn)在的大一倍，那就沒人會買了。這個產(chǎn)品就從了不起的杰作降格為丑陋粗劣的次品。”

????由父所創(chuàng)，為母所用？

????4Moms有個充滿母性的名字，不過它卻出自兩位父親之手——索恩有兩個孩子，分別是20歲和22歲；而另一位創(chuàng)始人42歲的羅伯特?戴利也有10歲和6歲的孩子。2005年創(chuàng)建公司之后，他們倆與戴利的妻子簡和她的朋友組成了焦點小組，討論顏色、構(gòu)思和其他特色，之后就有了4Moms。

????Henry Thorne once programmed hulking robots to weld the frames of Buick Regals, Pontiac Grand Prixs, and Chevy Cutlass Supremes on a General Motors (GM) assembly line. He was one of the key brains behind a six-mile, spark-throwing spectacle that became a symbol of Detroit automation.

????Today, Thorne, 53, designs robots for much smaller vehicles that carry much cuter cargo. He's the engineering brains behind the Origami, the world's only power-folding stroller.

????Created by the Pittsburgh-based firm 4Moms, the Origami has a push-button folding and unfolding mechanism, remote-control lights, a cell phone charger, a speedometer, an LCD dashboard, self-charging generators in its wheels, and other features for parents who don't mind dropping a cool $800 on a fully loaded model.

????4Moms is a pioneer when it comes to robotic baby products, with no imitations of the Origami stroller currently out on the market. "They own the market when it comes to robotics in baby gear," says Hollie Schultz, founder and CEO of Baby Gizmo, a Chicago-based baby products review site.

????Thorne's robotics expertise has helped turn 4Moms into a player in the estimated $8 billion U.S. baby products industry. The company posted sales of almost $17 million in 2011 and placed its products on the shelves of Target (TGT), Nordstrom (JWN), and Babies 'R Us. The babies of Jennifer Garner, Courtney Kardashian, and Elton John have been photographed with their products. 4Moms' success also has attracted new investors, including a recent $20 million infusion from Bain Capital Ventures of Boston.

????In addition to the Origami, the 67-employee company also makes the robot-propelled mamaRoo, an infant seat that mimics human parents' movements; the Cleanwater Infant Tub, which controls temperature and circulates clean water continually; and the Breeze, a playard that opens or folds in a single step.

????It's a long way from the automotive assembly line to Babies 'R Us, but it's a logical progression to Thorne. "These mini-robots are more complex than the robots used in assembly lines," he says.

????Scale is a major design constraint for Thorne and 4Moms. All electronics and software had to be streamlined into a small ball that fit neatly below the Origami's seat. "If the ball were twice as big, no one would buy it," Thorne says. "It would go from awesome to ugly and inelegant."

????For moms, by dads?

????Despite its maternal name, 4Moms' products are actually the invention of two dads -- Thorne has two children, aged 20 and 22, while his co-founder Robert Daley, 42, has a 10-year-old and a 6-year-old. After starting their company in 2005, the partners held focus groups with Daley's wife Jenn and her friends to discuss colors, design, and other features; hence the name 4Moms.