Smart Toys

Dateline: 09/13/00

The recent trend of putting a microchip into every standard household item didn't miss the toy market. Just visit the next toy fair and remember the days when you couldn't afford for a computer with a processor power comparable to the "brain" of a modern baby doll. Or go further back, when possesion of a remote-controlled car guaranteed a privileged position in your neighborhood. But things have changed. The coolest thing right now is a remote-controlled, multifunction car you can customize through a CD or through the Internet. Or maybe it is a voice-controlled train that knows when to stop, speed up or barrel off the tracks. There is no doubt that 21st century kid will play with "smart", interactive and Web enabled toys. Some says it will drain the creativity out of the child's play; others think just the opposite, saying it will learn the kids how to communicate and express their creativity. Let us consider the facts, so you can decide for yourself and be prepared for this year's holiday season.

But before we start, be aware that even the term "smart toy" contributes to the confusion: labelling something as "smart" or "intelligent" in computer world always lends a bit of marketing appeal. So we have computer microscopes, digital cameras for use with computer games, Web-enabled spelling devices, and a whole crowd of animatronic dogs, each of them apparently smarter than the other. Is there any "real" AI working behind the scenes? Maybe, but just in a few rare occasions. Take AIBO and its sophisticated movement and behavioral algorithms for an example. But with a price tag significantly over $2000, it is better suited for (rich) robotics enthusiasts. The equation cool technology = big profits doesn't always work. End of story?

With worldwide toy industry sales (traditional toys and video games) totaling around $71 billion in 1999 and prices of advanced hardware dropping rapidly, it is clear that we'll see more smart toys than ever before. This is a serious business, and even such giants like Intel Corp. and Mattel Inc. have to join forces to create a new line of computer-based toys marketed under a new label. Their Portland-based venture, Intel Play launched QX3 computer microscope and Me2Cam video camera mentioned above. Other, even more impressive alliances are created as we speak, promising to bring real AI to the world of smart toys.

iRobot Corporation recently teamed with the toy giant Hasbro to produce My Real Baby, "the most real, dynamic, life-like baby doll available for young girls to take care of and nurture". This artificially-intelligent, emotionally-responsive robotic baby doll is developed by their Interactive Toy Division led by Jonathan Klein. Mr. Klein worked at MIT's Human-Computer Interaction and Affective Computing projects, with the goal of building a computer that is aware of its user's emotional state, taking into account all aspects of our humanity. As a result of this research, My Real Baby appears to "grow" over time, becoming more independent by initiating her own preferences, actions and behaviors. According to the independent reviews, iRobot's toy has the most sophisticated software "personality", but My Real Baby will not be alone in the "Robot Dolls" departments. My Dream Baby from MGA entertainment offers one-of-a-kind progressive "growing feature", enabling this doll to actually grow (up to four inches in length!) from a crawling infant to a toddler that can walk. It also features voice-recognition technology, which provides every child with the ability to teach My Dream Baby new words, nursery rhymes, counting, and similar. Official release dates for both dolls are set for October.

But there are more news in the toyland: Mattel is developing Miracle Moves Baby, another "artificial infant" scheduled for a later release date (meaning it will probably miss this Christmas entirely). Early reports emphasize impressive Flexsoft theromplastic skin and animatronics movement, resulting in an almost unbelievable life-like impression. Caleb Chung, the man behind this project and the co-inventor of an earlier toy sensation, Furby, is is heading up his newly formed company TOYinnovation, Inc. His team used puppeteers to develop thousands of subtle gestures recorded in the doll's brain that contribute to the overall impression, but impose a challenging task to the production lines. An old marketing wisdom says that the price tag has to stay in two figures, so all of the robo-dolls mentioned here will cost close to $100: you will admit that it is a pretty low price for so much computing power and engineering ingenuity.

OK, so you are not impressed with something that simulates life, but doesn't contribute to the child's creativity and imagination. This is the right moment to turn your attention to creative robotic kits - and don't be afraid, no soldering iron is required. Let's start with Lego Mindstorms, one of the hottest items of the previous holiday season, invented through a collaboration between Lego and the MIT, and modeled after Dr. Seymour Papert's vision to stuff a computer inside a Lego brick and program it in his Logo programming language. Fred Martin, an MIT research scientist, helped develop much of the microprocessor technology used in Mindstorms. Various expansion sets and add-ons provide added functionality out-of-the-box, from robo-sports to computer vision. I remember the phrase explaining the market success of this product: "The genius of Mindstorms is that it turns such a complex task into something that anyone can master-making it all the more fun." Another great choice is Fischertechnik, originally developed in Europe as a prototyping tool for engineers and marketed as "Legos for adults". These systems are a bit more expensive than Legos, but often include metal parts for extra strength. K'nex is another construction set similar to Lego, featuring it's own set of building elements based on beams and connectors. While I cannot imagine many parents playing with robo-dolls, it is entirely different situation when it comes to construction kits. It would be interesting to see how many of these products are actually used by kids instead of their fathers...

Back in the software world, there are many virtual pets and intelligent toys available on the market, and some of them are described in the previous articles. My personal favorite in this area is Creature Labs. They are applying ALife technology based on the application of biological metaphors to software complexity problems. The final result: the closest approximation of life that you'll find in a commercial product. Smart Toys team is currently developing concepts that have two-way interaction with a virtual world on a PC or an Internet-enabled next-generation console, allowing interaction with online games, animated Web sites and with other toy owners through their toys. The intention is to combine computer gameplay with online interaction and robotic hardware, creating entirely new dimension in interactive toys and games. They produced reusable Software Development Kit that accelerate development of highly interactive and advanced toys. This technology is demonstrated using a toy car - Hurby - that has an internal happiness state that progresses from being very upset, through content, to ecstatic. Give him a push when happy, and he will keep on running along all by himself, avoiding obstacles and reacting to the environment. But when sad, he becomes difficult to move and dims his light. Of course, the same technology works for dogs, cats, dinosaurs or any other type of toy.

And for the future of smart toys, The MIT Media Lab is initiating a special, five-year research program to invent the Toys of Tomorrow. See their site for the description of some areas they already plan to explore: "All the toys in tomorrow's toy chest will interact and communicate with one another. Beads on a necklace will "talk" to their neighbors and flash or beep based on what they find out. Toy robots will act together in ant-like colonies. A big part of children's play will be designing interactions among their toys. With the construction kits of tomorrow, kids will build not only structures and mechanisms, but also behaviors and communities."