This article was written by Dustyn
Furby is an American electronic robotic toy that was originally released in 1998 by Tiger
Electronics. It resembles a hamster or owlike creature and went through a period of being
‘’must-have’’ toy following its holiday season launch, with continual sales until 2000. Over 40
million Furbies were sold during the three years of its original production, with 1.8 million
sold in 1998, and 14 million in 1999. Its speaking capabilities were translated into 24
languages. Furbies were the first successful attempt to produce and sell a
domestically-aimed robot. A newly-purchased Furby starts out speaking entirely ‘’Furbish’’,
the unique language that all Furbies use, but is programmed to start using English words
and phrases in place of Furbish over time. This process is intended to resemble the process
of learning English. The updated Emoto-Tronic Furby, with voice recognition and more
complex facial movements, was sold by Hasbro between 2005-2007. They released another
updated Furby with LCD eyes and a mobile app for the holiday season in 2012.
History: Initial creation
Dave Hampton and Caleb Chung spent nine months creating the Furby (in addition to nine
months spent designing the toy). After two attempts at licensing the concept, they invited
fellow toy and game inventor Richard C. Levy to join their efforts to sell Furby. Levy brought
Furby to Tiger Electronics and Tiger’s Roger Shiffman bought the rights to it. Furby’s first
public appearance was at the American International Toy Fair in 1998. Furbies originally
retailed for about US$35, and upon release, they sold very well. Catapulting demand during
the 1998 Christmas period drove the resale price over $100, and sometimes as high as
several hundred dollars. Furbies were sold for over $300 in newspapers and in auctions.
Nicknames were given to the different aesthetic varieties, and sellers assigned rarity values
to them. The significant aftermarket demand (and price)for the toy resulted in cases of fraud
in which customers paid for Furbies that were never delivered. Parental battles, arguments,
and fights increased rapidly as supplies dwindled, and when retail supplies ran out, parents
turned to the Internet, where Furbies could be purchased for two, three, or more multiples of
their retail price. During one one year-period, a total of 27 million Furby toys were sold.
2012 revival
On April 12, 2012, it was announced that Hasbro would be making a new line of Furbies.
The new line was released in September 2012. As of December 2012 there were sixteen
colors: Teal, white, black, purple, tangerine-tango, yellow, aqua, navy blue, plum pink,
pink/teal, orange/blue, black/pink, blue/yellow, teal/purple, and gray/teal. Furbies were one of
the eleven toys named the top toys for Christmas 2013 by the Toy Retailers Association at
the DreamToys Convention where they unveil their predictions for the most popular holiday
toys annually.Types: Classic Furbies
The main reason for their popularity was because of apparent ‘’intelligence’’, reflected in
their ability to develop language skills. Furbies can communicate with one another via an
infrared port located between their eyes. Furbies start out speaking entirely ‘’Furbish’’, a
language with shorts words, simple syllables, and various other sounds. They are
programmed, however, to speak less and less Furbish and more and more English as they
‘’grow’’. There was a common misconception that they repeated words that were said
around them. This belief most likely stemmed from the fact that it is possible to have the
Furby say certain pre-programmed words or phrases more often by petting it whenever it
said these words. As a result of this myth, several intelligence agencies banned them from
their offices. A simple electric motor and a system of cams and gears close the Furby’s eyes
and mouth, raise its ears, and lift it off the ground in a faux display of mobility. The originales
are popular with many hackers as they can be dissected and made to do interesting things.
In particular, their advanced audio capabilities and various sensory interfaces make them
popular with the circuit bending community.
Emoto-Tronic Furbies
This Furby was released in August 2005. Larger than the previous version, the new Furbies
have been upgraded with a more emotional face and a voice recognition system, enabling
them to communicate with humans. Unlike the Furbies originally released, just one order is
necessary to make them ‘sleep’, and they have an on/off switch. They can communicate with
other Emoto-tronic Furbies, though to a lesser extent than the communication between
original Furbies, and they cannot themselves communicate with the original Furbies nor
Funky Furbies. They also lack light sensors and basic motion sensors and do not respond to
loud sounds as the originals do. These Furbies, according to the story they come packed
with, are from Furby Island.
Security concerns
On January 13, 1999, it was reported the National Security Agency of the United States
banned Furbies from entering NSA’s property due to concerns that they may be used to
record and repeat classified information, advising those that see any on NSA property to
‘’contact their Staff Security Officer for guidance. Roger Shiffman, the owner of Tiger
Electronics, stated that ‘’Furby has absolutely no ability to do any recording whatsoever,’’
and that he would have gladly told the NSA this if he was asked by anyone from the spy
agency. Additionally, Dave Hampton demonstrated that Furby’s microphone can’t record any
sound at all, and can only hear a single monotonous beep if a loud sound is produced
around Furby, and no words or waveforms can be made out at all. He too was never
questioned by the NSA. The ban was eventually withdrawn. Security researchers discovered
that the microphone on a Furby Connect can be remotely activated and used to record voice though a Bluetooth connection
No comments:
Post a Comment