Mattel, maker of the iconic doll Barbie, is at Toy Fair in New York this week to show off its latest Barbie toy called "Hello Barbie," according to Fast Company. This new doll is unlike any other Barbie the toy maker has created before because it can talk to and actually have conversations with kids using Wi-Fi and voice recognition technologies.
The new talking doll, which is being made in partnership with San Francisco-based entertainment firm ToyTalk, is in response to requests Mattel has received over the years.
"The most requested thing that kids have wanted to do with Barbie, and Mattel's done unbelievable amounts of research over the course of decades, is to talk to Barbie," says former Pixar CTO now ToyTalk CEO Oren Jacob. "That's the number one request over all demographics, over all geographies, of all time."
Below is a video of a demo of a "Hello Barbie" prototype currently on display in the Big Apple. The presenter talked to the doll for a few minutes about New York, her favorite food and career choices.
What Makes This Talking Doll Unique
Although talking dolls are nothing new, "Hello Barbie" does bring something new to the table, says PC Mag. This latest Barbie doll doesn't come with pre-programmed phrases but rather uses cloud tech.
She does this by remembering responses, storing data in the cloud and bringing updates via Wi-Fi. PC Mag likens how the new doll works to Cortana or Siri who gets to know a user over time.
Release Info
"Hello Barbie" is still in development but Jacob notes Mattel is being aggressive with the talking doll's timetable, Jacob told Fast Company. He adds the normal life cycle for these kind of toys is 18 months to get it to market, but Mattel expects to release the new talking doll by the holidays.