“机器人到底会以什么样的方式走进我们的日常生活。”这大概是过去几年里，具身智能行业被问得最多的问题之一。有人认为机器人应该先学会做家务、照顾老人，最终成为全能的家庭助手。也有人认为，与其等一个什么都能干的人形机器人，不如让机器人先在一个具体任务上做到极致。比如，给人拍照和拍视频。
"How on earth will robots step into our daily lives." This is probably one of the most frequently asked questions in the embodied intelligence industry over the past few years. Some believe robots should first learn to do housework and care for the elderly, eventually becoming omnipotent home assistants. Others argue that instead of waiting for a humanoid robot that can do everything, it is better to let robots excel at one specific task first. For example, taking photos and videos for people.
今年7月，影石Insta360公布了名为Cameraman的摄影机器人长期愿景，目标是构建一个能独立感知环境、寻找拍摄位置、构图并跟随拍摄的Camera Agent，不局限于特定产品形态。简单说，影石想做的是一台不再需要人一直手持操作、能自己完成拍摄任务的相机。几乎同时，由前大疆资深技术老兵创立的Motion Tech推出了Beni，一台看起来有点像宠物的小型两轮机器人，能跟着用户移动、避障、跳跃，并拍摄4K视频。相比影石还在探索中的Cameraman，Beni已经完成众筹，早鸟价549美元起，计划11月开始发货。
In July this year, Insta360 unveiled its long-term vision for the "photography robot" named Cameraman, aiming to build a Camera Agent that can independently perceive the environment, find shooting positions, compose frames, and follow shots, without being limited to a specific product form. Simply put, what Insta360 wants to build is a camera that no longer requires constant manual operation and can complete shooting tasks on its own. At almost the same time, Motion Tech, founded by a former senior DJI technical veteran, launched Beni—a small two-wheeled robot that looks a bit like a pet, capable of following the user to move, avoiding obstacles, jumping, and shooting 4K videos. Compared with Insta360's Cameraman still under exploration, Beni has completed its crowdfunding campaign, with an early bird price starting at $549, planned to start shipping in November.
这两家远不是唯一盯上摄影机器人赛道的玩家。大疆和HOVERAir早就通过无人机探索自主跟随拍摄，启元T1和VITAPOWER的机器狗也开始承担移动拍摄任务，连荣耀都把机械云台和AI Agent塞进了Robot Phone。区别在于，有人专门为摄影造机器人，有人试着让机器人学会拍照和拍视频。在具身智能走向普通用户的历史进程里，摄影会是一条窄路，还是一条通途。
These two are far from the only players targeting the photography robot track. DJI and HOVERAir have long explored autonomous follow shooting through drones; Qiyuan T1 and VITAPOWER's robot dog have also begun undertaking mobile photography tasks; even Honor has integrated a mechanical gimbal and AI Agent into its Robot Phone. The difference is some manufacture robots specifically for photography, while others try to make robots learn how to take photos and videos. In the historical process of embodied intelligence moving toward ordinary users, will "photography" be a narrow path or a broad thoroughfare.
如果给摄影机器人下一个定义，能自主移动、跟随用户拍摄的设备，其实已经进入消费市场了，只是过去很少有人把它叫机器人。最典型的例子是无人机。以大疆Neo 2为例，这台重量只有151克的小无人机，已经支持掌上起降、手势控制、智能跟随和全向避障。用户不需要一直拿着遥控器，它就能跟着人跑步、骑车，完成环绕、后退等运镜。飞行也有局限。续航、噪音、使用场所和安全限制，决定了无人机无法覆盖所有拍摄场景。尤其室内、拥挤街道这些环境，能贴地移动的机器人反而更有优势。这也是Motion Tech的Beni选择两轮足形态的重要原因。
If we define a photography robot as a device that can move independently and follow users to shoot, it has actually already entered the consumer market, though few people used to call it a "robot." The most typical example is drones. Take DJI Neo 2 as an example—this small drone weighing only 151 grams already supports palm takeoff and landing, gesture control, smart follow, and omnidirectional obstacle avoidance. Users do not need to hold the remote control all the time, and it can follow them to run, ride, or complete camera movements such as orbiting and receding. Flying also has its limitations. Battery life, noise, usage places, and safety restrictions all determine that drones cannot cover all shooting scenarios. Especially in environments such as indoors and crowded streets, robots that can move close to the ground may have more advantages instead. This is also an important reason why Motion Tech's Beni chose the two-wheeled legged form.
Beni能跟着用户在地面移动，通过两轮和关节结构实现转向、跳跃和姿态调整，可以拍4K视频，比如宠物奔跑、孩子玩耍、滑板这类贴近地面的动态画面，也能通过不同动作表现出类似宠物的互动感。更多厂商开始在这个赛道上尝试。启元T1采用两轮和四足自由切换的可变形设计，还能连接Insta360等运动相机，支持语音拍摄、自动跟随拍摄和环绕运镜。Vbot超级机器狗除了自主跟随、避障和载物，还能挂载运动相机，在户外活动中充当移动摄影师。荣耀的Robot Phone直接把机械云台塞进手机，通过AI主体识别、自动跟随和预构图，让镜头能随着人移动主动调整方向。
Beni can follow users to move on the ground, realize steering, jumping, and posture adjustment through its two wheels and joint structure, and can shoot 4K videos—such as dynamic close-to-ground footage of pets running, children playing, or skateboarding—and can also show a pet-like sense of interaction through different movements. More manufacturers have begun to try on this track. Qiyuan T1 adopts a deformable design that can freely switch between two wheels and four legs, and can connect action cameras such as Insta360, supporting voice shooting, automatic follow shooting, and orbiting camera movement. Vbot super robot dog, in addition to autonomous follow, obstacle avoidance, and object carrying, can also mount an action camera to act as a mobile photographer in outdoor activities. Honor's Robot Phone directly integrates a mechanical gimbal into the mobile phone, using AI subject recognition, automatic follow, and pre-composition to let the lens actively adjust direction as the person moves.
现在的摄影机器人，很难用单一产品形态来定义。它可以在天上飞，在地上跑，长得像机器狗，甚至只是手机背后的一套机械云台。零零科技创始人王孟秋在公开采访中说，相机能飞只是手段，不是目的，影石刘靖康在谈Cameraman时也提到，大多数人真正想要的不是操作机器，而是获得好的照片和视频。摄影机器人不是突然冒出来的新概念，而是两条技术路线交汇的结果，成像设备的持续自主化，和消费机器人的逐步实用化。摄影机器人也可能成为机器人进入人们日常生活的一条可能路径。
Current photography robots are hard to define by a single product form. They can fly in the sky, run on the ground, look like a robot dog, or even just a set of mechanical gimbals behind a mobile phone. Zero Zero Technology founder Wang Mengqiu said in a public interview that "the ability of cameras to fly is just a means, not an end"; Insta360's Liu Jingkang also mentioned when talking about Cameraman that "what most people really want is not to operate machines, but to get good photos and videos." The photography robot is not a new concept that suddenly emerged but the result of the intersection of two technical routes—the continuous autonomization of imaging equipment and the gradual practical application of consumer robots. Photography robots may also become a possible path for robots to enter people's daily lives.
在很多人眼里，具身智能的终极形态似乎是人形机器人。Motion Tech CEO杨硕也不认为所有机器人都应该朝人形方向发展。杨硕曾参与并主导大疆飞控系统研发，后来在卡内基梅隆大学拿到机器人学博士，之后担任特斯拉Optimus人形机器人项目的架构师。他在之前的采访中举过一个例子，如果用户想让一个机器人拿着Osmo在旁边拍摄，为什么一定要先造一个能双足行走、用手拿相机的人形机器人。一台小车，甚至更简单的移动设备，也能完成同样的任务。
In the eyes of many people, the ultimate form of embodied intelligence seems to be humanoid robots. Motion Tech CEO Yang Shuo also does not believe all robots should develop toward the humanoid form. Yang Shuo once participated in and led the R&D of DJI's flight control system, later graduated from Carnegie Mellon University with a doctorate in robotics, and then served as the architect of Tesla's Optimus humanoid robot project. He gave an example in a previous interview: if users want a robot to hold an Osmo and shoot beside them, why must we first create a humanoid robot that can walk bipedally and hold the camera with its hands. A car, or even a simpler mobile device, can also complete the same task.
摄影需要机器人感知周围环境、识别拍摄主体、规划自己的移动路线，并根据实际情况不断调整动作，但不一定需要机器人直接操作和改变外部物体。这意味着，相比整理房间、洗衣服、做饭这些复杂家务，摄影可以在一定程度上绕开灵巧手、物体操作这些尚未解决的技术难题，同时让机器人真正进入复杂多变的真实环境。但这不意味着杨硕不看好⼈形机器人。杨硕在个人专栏里提到，Motion Tech一开始就决定做两条产品线，一条是更长期的人形机器人，另一条是更小、更安全、更容易先进入真实生活的小型机器人。关键就在于更小、更安全、更容易先进入真实生活。从技术成熟度、价格、实用性和产品交互来看，Beni这类产品形态，显然比人形机器人更有机会更早进入大众生活。
Photography requires robots to perceive the surrounding environment, identify shooting subjects, plan their own movement routes, and continuously adjust their actions according to the actual situation, but it does not necessarily require robots to directly operate and change external objects. This means that compared with complex housework such as tidying rooms, washing clothes, and cooking, photography can to some extent bypass unsolved technical problems such as dexterous hands and object manipulation, while allowing robots to truly enter the complex and changeable real environment. But this does not mean Yang Shuo is not optimistic about humanoid robots. Yang Shuo mentioned in his personal column that Motion Tech decided from the very beginning to develop two product lines—one is the longer-term humanoid robot, and the other is a smaller, safer small robot that can more easily enter real life first. The key is "smaller, safer, and easier to enter real life first." From the perspective of technical maturity, price, practicality, and product interaction, product forms like Beni obviously have the opportunity to enter public life earlier than humanoid robots.
过去十年，手机、相机和无人机厂商一直在降低拍摄门槛。从自动对焦、计算摄影，到智能构图、自动跟随拍摄，再到现在的AI剪辑，越来越多原本需要用户亲自完成的工作被交给了设备。沿着这条路线，下一步自然是让设备自己决定怎么拍，甚至什么时候拍。影石刘靖康的愿景里，Cameraman的核心是一个能理解用户意图、自主选择镜头、拍摄位置和构图，最终交付满意图像和视频的Camera Agent。摄影机器人的发展，不只是让设备学会移动，还要让它们逐渐理解摄影的本质。
Over the past decade, mobile phone, camera, and drone manufacturers have been lowering the threshold of shooting. From autofocus and computational photography to smart composition and automatic follow shooting, and now AI editing, more and more work that originally required users to complete in person has been handed over to devices. Following this route, the next natural step is to let the device decide how to shoot, and even when to shoot, on its own. In Insta360's Liu Jingkang's vision, the core of Cameraman is a Camera Agent that can understand user intentions, independently select lenses, shooting positions, and compositions, and finally deliver satisfactory images and videos. The development of photography robots is not only to let devices learn to move but also to make them gradually understand the very nature of photography.
另一条路线从机器人出发。除了成本因素，机器人今天进入日常生活更重要的问题是能干什么。表演武术和舞蹈、做冰淇淋、咖啡、煎饼、分拣货物、提供零售服务的机器人，大多面向商家。相对而言，摄影更个人化，这在消费级无人机、手持云台相机和运动相机上已经被验证过。对机器人来说，摄影可以是核心功能，也可以只是众多能力之一。机器人可以专门为拍摄设计，也可以承担跟随、陪伴、拍摄等任务。
The other route starts from robots. Apart from cost factors, the more important problem for robots to enter daily life today is "what can they do." Robots that perform martial arts and dance shows, make ice cream, coffee, pancakes, sort goods, and provide retail services are mostly oriented to merchants. Relatively speaking, "photography" is more personal, which has been verified in consumer drones, handheld gimbal cameras, and action cameras. For robots, photography can be the core function or just one of many capabilities. Robots can be specially designed for shooting and can also undertake tasks such as follow, companionship, and shooting.
