Furby

Dateline: 10/13/98

As this is my first feature article for the new AI site (regular visitors will notice that my previous topics were mainly related to the intelligent software agents), I have decided to leave "serious" topics for the weeks to come. My regular news feeds tuned to the keywords "artificial intelligence" brought somewhat unusual articles last week: they were talking about the "Hottest New Toy" and mentioned small, cuddly animatronic pet named Furby. Yes, I was also sceptic ("what could AI technologies possibly do in such creature"), but as it turned out, it is quite interesting to see "low-level" AI in action in the toy industry.

It all started when Dave Hampton (Sounds Amazing! Design) came to the idea for new kind of animatronic pets that could move, learn and interact with its environment. Dave had strong background in such low-cost solutions with emphasis on the synergism achieved by the optimal integration of hardware and software, using microcontrollers for speech and sound synthesis, low power RF links, infrared remotes, motion controllers, and PWM motor controllers. The idea was submitted to the toy manufacturer Tiger Electronics (which was acquired by another toy giant, Hasbro, earlier this year). Development time (less than one year) was very short, considering that Furby's electronics are very sophisticated (after all, this is only a toy) and electronic, computer, and mechanical engineers worldwide had to work very closely and exchange ideas. Everything worked fine at the end, and right now you can buy this furry little pet for approximately US$30.

Furby interacts with the environment through sight, touch, hearing and physical orientation. Each animated electronic plush toy is unique, intelligent and equipped with asingular personality and name. Furby can move and dance, close and open his eyes, wiggle the ears and move the mouth as he speaks. It has its own language, Furbish, but learns to speak English through positive reinforcement. 160 pre-programmed English and Furbish words and sounds can be combined to form up to 1,000 possible phrases, that can be spoken in response to conditions detected by his built-in sensors and an infrared device. Furby begins his life speaking Furbish only, but will gradually integrate English words and phrases into vocabulary over time.

Each Furby contains variety of sensors: front- and rear-proximity sensors to detect tickling and petting, tilt sensors to detect moving, microphone that triggers reactions to sounds, and a light sensor for sensing changes in light. The infrared transmitter is used for communication with other Furbys in the room.

Walking or running through areas of light and dark will make Furby think you want to play hide and seek. He will detect the patterns in each game to select the appropriate actions. To end each game, turn Furby upside down - he'll say "me done".

One of the most important things is how this toy actually "learns": if you want to keep your ah-may (pet) noo-loo (happy), you can pet his back. This will cause him to repeat previous action - he'll assume that you like what he did previously and learned that you preferred that behavior. Learned behaviours and tricks won't be forgotten when batteries wear out.

It seems that this toy will not be interesting only for the children, but also for robotics enthusiasts that can learn about sensors, propulsion and control in the inexpensive package (as someone noticed in comp.robotics.misc "...They remind me of the Gremlins in their cute phase before they go bonkers..." ;-)). More info can be found by following the links above.

Similar site(s) of interest:

• Synthetic Characters
  MIT Media Lab: Instrumented stuffed animals as primary mode of interaction with people.