Mattel has put Barbie through many vocations over the past 60 years, including babysitter, Sports Illustrated swimsuit model and Girl Scout.
Well now Barbie can add digital personal assistant to her resume.
Mattel unveiled their latest incarnation of Barbie at the New York Toy Fair. Rather than a posable plastic doll, this latest edition is an intangible hologram with a Siri-esque artificial intelligence.
This Barbie is more of a personal assistant than a toy. Answering to “Hello Barbie”, she is able to assist you with a wide range of questions. Ask her about the weather and the Barbie looks out a holographic window and tells you the local weather report. Ask her to mark an appointment on your calendar, and she takes out a cellphone and marks your calendar.
In an effort to appeal to a more diverse customer base, she can also change her skin tone, body type and ethnicity.
The Mashable.com article goes into further detail about security settings and Barbie’s AI history.
Since I do not have a daughter, this product itself does not interest me, but I do find the tech side of it interesting. Not long ago, Mattel ran into some bad PR with the data stored by their previous Barbie AI, Hello Barbie. I am curious to see where Mattel takes this tech in the next few years.
Pricing is not set yet, but Hello Barbie Hologram is set to ship this fall.
Which of your toys would you like to be your personal assistant? First to mind for me would be Optimus Prime, and if GI Joe’s SnakeEyes wasn’t mute, he’d be on my list as well!
Geeky Daddy 