Google has filed a patent for a ‘smart’ toy that is capable of interacting with other smart devices.
The US Patent and Trademark Office on Thursday shared diagrams of the robot toy in question. The toy is shaped like a teddy bear or bunny and is equipped with microphones in their ears, cameras in their eyes, speakers in their mouths and motors in their necks.
As described by Google, the toy can turn its head in the direction of the user, hear what they say and respond with pre-recorded phrases. It uses facial recognition to constantly recognize a person’s gaze who looks at it.
The smart toy would be able to wirelessly communicate using Bluetooth, Wi-Fi or other means with cloud-based computers or manage other media devices. It can even turn a connected media player on or make it play music.
“The anthropomorphic device may be a doll or a toy that resembles a human, an animal, a mythical creature or an inanimate object,” the published patent read.
The Google patent listed Richard Wayne DeVaul and Daniel Aminzade as the toy’s inventors. The application for the patent was filed in February of 2012.
A spokeswoman for Google said it is not certain whether the firm will develop the alleged smart toy or not.
“We file patent applications on a variety of ideas that our employees come up with.”
“Some of those ideas later mature into real products or services, some don’t. Prospective product announcements should not necessarily be inferred from our patent applications,” she added.
