When we talk about technology, the first thoughts to come to mind will probably be mobile phones, high tech cars, or computers. These areas have made significant progress over the past decade especially considering the technologies have gained a huge cult following. Now, let’s step to the next stage of technological advancement in children’s toys. Most toys have been replaced with the ever-popular tablets as a source of entertainment, but a start up called Elemental Path is looking to change that. Introducing the cute but immobile talking dinosaur CogniToy Dino. It’s the first children’s toy to tap into IBM’s powerful Watson cognitive computing system, making it the first cloud connected interactive toy.
The CogniToy Dino uses natural language processing and Elemental’s proprietary voice recognition software, Friendgine, to converse with children in a voice that is part StarWars and part cheerful extinct animal. The idea behind the toy is simple, the child presses the button on the Dino’s belly to start a conversation and the Dino listens and responds. According to Elemental Path, the toy can learn a child’s personality traits and preferences, like their favorite color, and then deliver age-appropriate content for their interactions.
In their Kickstarter video, children are shown asking CogniToy questions and the toy responds without hesitation. The Dino is even able to tell a knock knock joke when asked to. What’s just as impressive is the Dino’s recognition of correct answers when the Dino asks the child a mathematical question. The Dino should also be able to change and grow – intellectually over time with the child, which makes this toy more dimensional than an age-specific tech toy.
Elemental Path plans on providing parents with a cloud-based console, on their smart devices, where they can track their child’s progress with the Dino. It will even go as far as to provide the type of questions the Dino was asked. Elemental Path and IBM have also mentioned that all data collected will never be shared without parental consent.
There is an obvious gap in the progression of smart educational toys, and hopefully the toy will reach its goal and redefine the market. As Elemental Path Co-Founder JP Benni says in the video, ““We’re either really onto something or just absolutely crazy.”
To learn more about the (potentially) amazing toy, visit their Kickstarter here.