The US government just banned Roombas
The US government just banned Roombas
美国政府刚刚封禁了 Roomba 扫地机器人
When the Trump administration announced yesterday that it was banning “advanced robotic devices” from entering the United States, the headlines were all about humanoids. But spying doesn’t require legs — and neither does the FCC’s robot ban. 当特朗普政府昨天宣布禁止“先进机器人设备”进入美国时，各大头条新闻都聚焦在人形机器人上。但间谍活动并不需要双腿——美国联邦通信委员会（FCC）的机器人禁令也不需要。
The robot ban will sweep up robot vacuum cleaners too, FCC media relations director Katie Gorscak confirms to The Verge. FCC 媒体关系总监 Katie Gorscak 向《The Verge》证实，这项机器人禁令也将波及扫地机器人。
It’s not coming for your existing Roomba, and companies can keep importing and selling already approved ones. But the government claims that future foreign robots pose a national security risk, and even robovac companies are suddenly being asked to commit to US manufacturing. 该禁令不会针对你现有的 Roomba，企业也可以继续进口和销售已经获批的产品。但政府声称，未来的外国机器人构成国家安全风险，甚至连扫地机器人公司也突然被要求承诺在美国进行生产。
While the government did include “humanoid robots” and “quadrupeds” among the bots it wants to ban, the ban is far broader than that. It covers almost any new software-controlled robot that travels over the ground, weighs more than 4.4 pounds (including any dock), can perceive its environment, and has wireless connectivity. 虽然政府确实将“人形机器人”和“四足机器人”列入了禁令范围，但该禁令的覆盖面远不止于此。它几乎涵盖了所有新型软件控制的地面移动机器人，只要其重量超过 4.4 磅（含充电座）、具备环境感知能力并拥有无线连接功能。
By that definition, the FCC is banning future robot lawnmowers, sidewalk delivery robots, and the robots that crate around packages at your local Amazon warehouse, too. 按照这个定义，FCC 实际上也封禁了未来的割草机器人、人行道配送机器人，以及在你当地亚马逊仓库里搬运包裹的机器人。
It was already clear from the government’s ban announcement that it was thinking about robot vacuums. In the National Security Determination that the FCC is using to justify the ban, the government explicitly calls out my reporting on the incredibly poor security that let one man access 7,000 DJI robovacs around the world. 从政府的禁令公告中可以明显看出，他们已经考虑到了扫地机器人。在 FCC 用于证明禁令合理性的《国家安全认定》中，政府明确提到了我的报道——即关于极其糟糕的安全性导致一人能够访问全球 7,000 台大疆（DJI）扫地机器人的事件。
But like the consumer router ban, the FCC isn’t actually targeting companies with poor security. It’s targeting basically every robovac company, regardless of their security practices — because basically every robovac is manufactured outside the US. 但就像针对消费级路由器的禁令一样，FCC 实际上并不是在针对那些安全性差的公司。它针对的是几乎所有的扫地机器人公司，无论其安全实践如何——因为基本上所有的扫地机器人都是在美国境外制造的。
Even before the US-based maker of the Roomba went bankrupt, its robots were built by a Chinese company. Just like Apple and Google and most every other gadget brand, these things are not produced domestically. 甚至在 Roomba 的美国制造商破产之前，其机器人就是由一家中国公司制造的。就像苹果、谷歌以及几乎所有其他电子产品品牌一样，这些产品并非在美国本土生产。
Today, the vast majority of robot vacuums are designed by Chinese companies, too — all of the top five, including Roborock, Ecovacs, Dreame, Xiaomi, and Narwal, are Chinese entities. Even Dyson is turning to Chinese manufacturers. Following bankruptcy, the Roomba brand is now owned by a Chinese company too, its former contract manufacturer Picea. 如今，绝大多数扫地机器人也都是由中国公司设计的——排名前五的品牌，包括石头科技（Roborock）、科沃斯（Ecovacs）、追觅（Dreame）、小米和云鲸（Narwal），全都是中国企业。甚至戴森（Dyson）也在转向中国制造商。在破产后，Roomba 品牌现在也归一家中国公司所有，即其前合同制造商 Picea。
“There are very few non-Chinese brands these days and their share is so small that it’s difficult to track,” IDC analyst Jitesh Ubrani tells The Verge. IDC 分析师 Jitesh Ubrani 对《The Verge》表示：“如今非中国品牌非常少，而且它们的市场份额小到难以追踪。”
Even Matic, our top robovac pick that’s assembled in California, may have to apply for a waiver for new models. It doesn’t yet source 65 percent of components from the United States, co-founder and CEO Mehul Nariyawala tells The Verge. 即使是我们首选的扫地机器人品牌 Matic（其产品在加利福尼亚组装），其新款机型也可能需要申请豁免。其联合创始人兼首席执行官 Mehul Nariyawala 告诉《The Verge》，他们目前还无法实现 65% 的零部件采购自美国。
Because yes, even US companies need to swear their robots are made in the US to get the government’s waiver. Meanwhile, foreign companies will need to swear they’re investing in US manufacturing — or lie, like that DJI front company I wrote about. 因为没错，即使是美国公司也需要发誓其机器人是在美国制造的，才能获得政府的豁免。与此同时，外国公司则需要发誓他们正在投资美国制造业——或者像我之前写过的那家大疆关联公司那样撒谎。
But again, the government isn’t asking these companies any questions about security — not one — to get the waiver that lets them through. The FCC only wants to know where they’re designed and made and assembled and tested and influenced, and get a specific commitment to start manufacturing them in the US instead. 但再次强调，政府在发放豁免许可时，并没有向这些公司询问任何关于安全性的问题——一个都没有。FCC 只想知道它们的设计、制造、组装、测试和受影响地点，并要求它们做出明确承诺，转而在美国进行生产。
The government isn’t de facto banning every type of robot made outside the US without its special waiver. It already has exceptions for self-driving cars and trains, unmanned aircraft and underwater vehicles, surgical robots, wheelchairs, and fixed robot arms for industrial and medical use. But most robots now have an uncertain future in the United States. 政府并没有在没有特殊豁免的情况下，事实性地禁止所有在美国境外制造的机器人。它已经为自动驾驶汽车和火车、无人机和水下航行器、手术机器人、轮椅以及用于工业和医疗的固定机械臂提供了例外。但大多数机器人目前在美国的未来充满了不确定性。
It’s also worth repeating that the FCC is not coming for your existing robots, just like it isn’t coming for your existing routers or drones. But it’s also worth repeating that if these gadgets truly pose a national security risk, it’s kind of silly to do nothing about the ones we’ve already purchased. 同样值得重申的是，FCC 不会针对你现有的机器人，就像它不会针对你现有的路由器或无人机一样。但同样值得重申的是，如果这些设备真的构成国家安全风险，那么对我们已经购买的产品却什么都不做，这显得有些荒谬。