Barbie Says Hello to the IoT: Perfect Match or No?
Has the Internet of Things gone too far? Say “Hello, Barbie” to the first Wi-Fi connected doll.
Introduced at Toy Fair 2015 in New York for the upcoming holiday season, Popular Science named Mattel’s “Hello Barbie” doll among the top 10 “coolest, most fun, and innovative toys.”
It was only last summer that toymaker Mattel reported a 15 percent drop in worldwide Barbie sales and weaker-than-expected profit and revenue, prompting Marketwatch to query “Does Barbie have a future?”. Mattel has tried to bring Barbie up-to-date. After all, she has her own LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook accounts. But alas, she’s been categorized by some as retro. Sort of like she no longer gets to sit at the cool table at lunch.
This new Barbie incorporates San Francisco startup ToyTalk's speech recognition platform, and in Barbie’s connected world, the Internet of Things is the Internet of Toys. With Wi-Fi capabilities, her content is stored in the cloud so she’ll stay relevant. She has the ability to recognize, respond, and also remember, so she can incorporate likes and dislikes as she carries on a conversation when someone presses the hold-to-talk button on her bejeweled belt.
From the demonstration of Hello Barbie talking at Toy Fair:
Barbie’s friend: Barbie, what should I be when I grow up?
Barbie: Well, you told me you liked being on stage, so maybe a dancer? Or, a politician? Or, how about a dancing politician? I always say anything is possible.
Now Barbie can be a real BFF.
In an interview with Fast Company, ToyTalk CEO Oren Jacob, Pixar's former CTO, said, "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."
As part of my admittedly unscientific research, I asked six-year-old Julia if she would like her Barbies to talk to her. She said not really. “I like to make up stuff myself.” Instead, she said she really likes to build things.
What do you think?
