Teddy bear to become babysitter
American computer giant, Microsoft, may be changing the future role of the teddy bear as we know it. That cute bear in the corner might look normal but watch closely and you'll see his head turn as he follows a child around using a face recognition program.
The watchful teddy bear has motors inside its belly that operate its head and limbs.
It has a camera and a powerful computer with voice and facial recognition technologies that will allow it to interact with toddlers, playing games with them and reading them stories.
Teddy, as Microsoft have named him, can be hooked up to a wireless Internet network, so parents can keep an eye on their kids when they are at work miles away.
When the child moves, Teddy's head pans across the room allowing it to send pictures via a remote videolink.
Parents can speak to their child via the bear's sound system, enabling them to shout a warning or other instruction or perhaps just to speak to them about their day.
"The vision behind this is to be two places at once," said Steven Bathiche, a Microsoft research and development program manager. He claims Microsoft's projects are unique because they go beyond just personalising technology to actually act as the person who owns the machine.
"He has face-tracking capabilities and will react as though he was shy or embarrassed if there are a lot of people around him. One of the scenarios we envision in the future is that you could be playing Monopoly with your child and Teddy will play with you."
Microsoft has yet to set a date to begin commercial production of the teddy bear.
