Tech toys that are marketed as pets
It is nearing Christmas and lots of kids want pets as gifts. They want puppies and ponies but most parents either don’t have the space, time or a landlord that will permit those types of pets.
Enter technology and with that, manufacturers have been trying for years to capture the pet market. Below are some examples of what they have been doing over the past 20 years of making robotic pets.
Have you seen this commercial on TV for “Perfect Polly” a toy that mimics a parakeet. It has a built in motion detector that wakes it up so it can make chirping noises. The annoying commercial (see it below) keeps emphasizing that Polly makes a great pet………no, no, no…..Polly is not a pet but a toy or a moving statue, NOT a pet.
There is this little puppy….er robot, with artificial intelligence as well as on board cameras and recognition software. At this writing, it will be available in Japan only but if it comes to the USA its price tag would be around $1500.00 (I think a real puppy would be cheaper and teach kids responsibility better). The robot is marketed to people who cannot have a live dog because of their living situation.
Want something bigger? How about a pony toy you can ride? These are not robots but actual toys.