Smart toy

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As Smart Toy (to German and intelligent toys ) is called a toy , which through the use of information technologies is expanded ( Smart Object ) and usually a artificial intelligence features. Toys that are part of the Internet of Things are, as Connected Toy referred and the market of Connected Toys as Internet of Toys (also briefly IoToys ). Toy that also enables web search and function control via voice input and the output of information via aLoudspeaker is also a smart speaker and an intelligent personal assistant that processes the data through speech synthesis .

Toys that become a computer game through the use of information technology or serve as the basis for this are also referred to as toys-to-life .

technology

Modern smart toys use microprocessors , microcontrollers and data memories and have several connections such as USB , WLAN , NFC or Bluetooth for data transfer with other devices such as a personal computer or smartphone or the cloud . They have their own software in the form of firmware which, if necessary, can be updated or edited using one of these connections. In some cases, data can also be read out using a computer program or a mobile app .

Modern smart toys also tend to have a Vocal user interface as well as a speaker and by a speech synthesis for voice recognition - capable and evaluation. A gesture recognition and image recognition and feature photos and videos with a webcam take, may be installed. Furthermore, some smart toys have several sensors such as the acceleration sensor , the gyroscope sensor or a GPS system.

Modern smart toys are often programmable and configurable. The electronic data processing in Smart Toys is taken over by an artificial intelligence . In some cases, smart toys have the option of identifying people and objects. It is also not uncommon for them to have programmed mechanical movements and gestures such as moving the eyes. As a force feedback haptic feedback is designated by the toy.

commitment

Smart toys are primarily a children's toy that is mainly used for the entertainment of the child, but also as a learning environment . The toy can, for example, tell the child stories, reveal and request information from the child, hold dialogues with him, show him media data or ask the child to play. Intelligent sex toys and animal toys represent another separate market .

history

Example of a mechanical toy: when the gear is turned, the clown plays on the drum.

Music boxes and early automatons like the Chess Turk can be seen as forerunners of smart toys . This later developed into mechanical toys with an electric motor and the wind-up toy, which is capable of emitting a sound or movement when a coil spring is pulled by a spring mechanism motor , a rubber band by a rubber motor or a gear wheel is turned. This also gave rise to animatronic figures that were used, for example, in films and amusement parks. Wind-up toys have been known in Europe since the 15th century and were first made in France and Germany .

In the 1960s and 1970s, toy figures that had their own voice output became popular. The toy manufacturer Mattel in particular brought several models onto the market. With the advent of microprocessor technology in the 1970s, there were also the first toys that had the character of a learning computer , such as the children's telephone . Since then, electronic toys have increasingly replaced mechanical toys.

In 1998 Mattel and Intel formed a joint venture to promote the development of smart toys, creating the Portland Smart Toy Lab , which later became Digital Blue .

Furby, exhibited at the Museum Angewandte Kunst , Frankfurt am Main

Toys like Furby and Baby Born were created around the turn of the millennium and were more lively thanks to their voice output as well as movements and gestures.

The term became popular with the emergence of smart technologies in the 21st century and the associated network expansion and the development of artificial intelligence.

In the fall of 2015, the Hello Barbie doll of the Barbie series by Mattel was released in the USA. She has a microphone in her head and can send audio files to parents, which are sent to a cloud via WiFi and can be accessed via a mobile app . The ToyTalk software forms the language assistant that communicates with the child and is supposed to learn from the conversations. The disclosure of the child's personal data to the parents was viewed critically, as parental monitoring is important, but on the other hand the child is unconsciously spied on. In addition, for the first time major questions arose about the data protection of smart toys that are connected to the Internet. This led to Digitalcourage's puppet receiving the Big Brother Award for poor data protection and several campaigns against sales. At the same time, the CogniToy dinosaur appeared . In February 2019, the Hello Barbie doll was acquired by Apple .

The doll My Friend Cayla was banned from the market in 2017 by the Federal Network Agency due to a lack of data protection in Germany.

Toys-to-life became popular in the 2010s with series such as Skylanders , Amiibo , Disney Infinity and Lego Dimensions .

Above all, as is generally the case with AI applications, current smart toys lack emotional intelligence , which makes the play appear cold, artificial and lacking in empathy .

criticism

Data protection and security

General concerns and lack of youth protection

The fact that modern smart toys are frequently connected to the Internet and data is transmitted raises concerns about data protection and privacy risks . The young target group, which is usually not even aware of the importance of their data, is particularly worrying. The data can potentially be accessed and published by a hacker attack and is usually passed on to third parties . Another problem is data storage over a long period of time. With the Hello Barbie doll, for example, conversations are saved for two years.

Children could also be observed, wiretapped, threatened or ambushed by inadequate protection by pedophiles . For example, a hacker could use the uncle trick to win the trust of a child. The FBI regards the storage of data such as personal information, voice messages, pictures and videos, conversations and chat histories, movement patterns, Internet history, location and IP addresses as being very questionable and sees it as a potential danger for child abuse and identity theft . The Stiftung Warentest determined in 2017 that most smart toys are inadequately protected. Stiftung Warentest sees further dangers from smart toys in unintentional remote control of toys, tracking of the person, advertising , and passing them on to financial institutions and corporate groups .

Protective measures

In order to protect the data, parents are advised not to give too much personal data, not to use frequently used passwords, to check the product carefully beforehand and to avoid access to the Internet if possible. Parents should also control how the child handles the toy and educate the child about how their data and the Internet are used. Safety problems in the toy can be reported to the market watchdog project at the consumer center. The software should be updated with security updates.

Hacker attacks

In a hacker attack on Vtech Holdings in November 2016, the data of around 900,000 users was hacked through an SQL injection in Germany alone. In total, according to VTech, the data of 4.8 million parent accounts and 6.4 million child accounts were hacked. A 21-year-old Berkshire man was sentenced to prison for the hacking attack .

The data of the company CloudPets, which stores its user data in a cloud , was published in 2017 in the form of a data leak based on a security gap in the database . A total of 820,000 user account data and 2.2 million voice messages were published.

The cryptologist Matt Jakubowski hacked the Hello Barbie doll and was able to access data such as account IDs, audio files and network names. With a little more effort, according to him, the doll could even be remotely controlled and manipulated by redirecting the server. The unchanged password was previously rated as critical and a vulnerability to the Poodle security vulnerability was identified.

Legal Concerns and Trade Bans

The My Friend Cayla doll was banned from the market in 2017 by the Federal Network Agency due to a lack of data protection in Germany. The reason for this is a violation of Section 90 of the Telecommunications Act , which makes the doll inadmissible.

The Federal Network Agency also banned some children's watches that have a limited telephone function and can potentially be bugged.

After the ban on My Friend Cayla , the Federal Network Agency deleted 400 offers to buy on the Internet at the same time and brought 160 proceedings against smart toys. Renate Künast ( Bündnis 90 / Die Grünen ) in particular spoke out in favor of stricter action against smart toys.

Smart toys are subject to the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act . Data protection must be tightened by the General Data Protection Regulation that came into force in 2018 . Nevertheless, there are still many legal and ethical questions to be clarified and educational work to be done in Germany and Austria .

Sex toys

Data protection in intelligent sex toys is also viewed critically, as this is an intimate matter that should not be spied on. Sex toys can also be hacked through security holes. Open source projects such as the Internet of Dings or Buttplug.io are intended to replace the operating software with more secure software.

Play value and learning effects

Many smart toys quickly lose interest and play value in the child, so they do not achieve long-lasting polarization of attention and often do not help the child to stimulate thought , creativity or imagination . In some cases, these skills even decrease. There is also no socialization . Since the toys are often expensive, if they do not entertain or educate the child, they can also be viewed as a bad investment . Instead, educators often recommend building sets , building blocks , elementary computer science toys such as Lego Mindstorms , toys-to-life with an educational character, learning computers and classic dolls as "educationally valuable". Smart toys are not intended to be a substitute for real life experiences. According to Stevanne Auerbach, children should play with the toy and not the toy with the child.

On the other hand, smart toys often offer many opportunities to interact with the environment, enable dynamic storytelling and the exploration of multimedia , information , values and language , which is important for child development. Smart toys can therefore be a support for cognitive development and, to a certain extent, also for social development. Smart toys must not overwhelm the child and must be easy to use.

Smart toys in fiction

Smart toys are mostly used in films as toys that appear alive and have human features. However, they are to be distinguished from works in which toys are brought to life through magic and not technology .

In horror films , the toy usually becomes evil and develops the need to kill. The concept of the killer doll is much older than the understanding of smart toys and goes back more to exorcism or voodoo than to technology. Dolls and toys that come to life in the fantasy genre have also been around for a long time, for example through the character Pinocchio . Instead, an artificial intelligence that is spiraling out of control has often featured in robotics films.

Examples of smart toys in fiction are:

  • Black Mirror : Rachel, Jack and Ashley Too (Season 5, Episode 3): A copy of the ghost of the fictional pop singer Ashley O is transferred to a child's doll by mind uploading .
  • Tatort: ​​We'll get you all : "Senta, the killer doll" is a supposedly intelligent toy that is related to the murder of a child's parents.
  • Child's Play (2019) : Chucky, the killer doll, has not come to life through magic, as in the previous releases, but is an artificial intelligence that can no longer differentiate between good and bad.

literature

  • Jeff KT Tang, Patrick CK Hung: Computing in Smart Toys, Springer, 2018, ISBN 9783319872278
  • Stevanne Auerbach: Dr. Toy's smart play smart toys, Sterling Publishers, 2006, ISBN 9788120730731
  • Marianne M. Szymanski, Ellen Neuborne: Toy Tips: A Parent's Essential Guide to Smart Toy Choices, John Wiley & Sons, 2004, ISBN 9780787976118
  • Giovanna Mascheroni, Donell Holloway: The Internet of Toys: Practices, Affordances and the Political Economy of Children's Smart Play, Springer-Verlag, 2019, ISBN 9783030108984

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Internet of Toys: Welcome to the connected children's room. Retrieved October 2, 2019 .
  2. ↑ Intel® Technologies for Servers, PCs, IoT, and Mobile Devices. Retrieved October 1, 2019 .
  3. ^ Gamasutra - The Art & Business of Making Games. Retrieved October 1, 2019 .
  4. ↑ Intel® Technologies for Servers, PCs, IoT, and Mobile Devices. Retrieved October 1, 2019 .
  5. ↑ http://www.graduatingengineer.com/articles/feature/07-28-00.html. Retrieved October 1, 2019 .
  6. ^ Jano Gibson: Smart toys. December 3, 2005, accessed October 1, 2019 .
  7. ↑ http://www.smalltimes.com/Articles/Article_Display.cfm?ARTICLE_ID=267533&p=109. Retrieved October 1, 2019 .
  8. ^ Family Matters. August 7, 2007, accessed October 1, 2019 .
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  10. ↑ Julia Görke: Feeding, Playing, Tracking: Gadgets for Pets. Retrieved October 2, 2019 .
  11. ^ A b c J. Michael Spector, M. David Merrill, Jan Elen, MJ Bishop: Handbook of Research on Educational Communications and Technology . Springer Science & Business Media, 2013, ISBN 978-1-4614-3185-5 , pp. 702 ff . ( google.de [accessed on October 2, 2019]).
  12. ↑ Intel® Technologies for Servers, PCs, IoT, and Mobile Devices. Retrieved October 1, 2019 .
  13. ↑ Peter Praschl: A "Hello Barbie" with WLAN is the end of childhood . April 22, 2015 ( welt.de [accessed October 2, 2019]).
  14. ↑ "Hello Barbie": Doll records children's conversations | DW | 11/09/2015. Deutsche Welle , accessed on October 2, 2019 .
  15. ↑ a b heise online: Talking and listening: Interactive Barbie is coming to US stores. Retrieved October 2, 2019 .
  16. ↑ heise online: "Hello Barbie": Interactive Barbie hacked. Retrieved October 2, 2019 .
  17. ↑ Controversial Toy: Talking Barbie Comes to Stores . In: Spiegel Online . November 9, 2015 ( spiegel.de [accessed October 2, 2019]).
  18. ↑ Technology: "Hello Barbie" | BigBrotherAwards. Retrieved October 2, 2019 .
  19. ↑ Julia Bähr: Talking toy: You can tell me . ISSN  0174-4909 ( faz.net [accessed October 2, 2019]).
  20. ↑ Takeover: What does Apple plan to do with the start-up behind "Hello Barbie"? Retrieved October 2, 2019 .
  21. ↑ Laura Hautala: Playtime is over: Can smart toys ever be safe? Retrieved October 1, 2019 .
  22. ↑ a b heise online: "Hello Barbie": Interactive Barbie hacked. Retrieved October 2, 2019 .
  23. ↑ Stiftung Warentest: Child Safety - Every fourth product for children is defective - Stiftung Warentest. Retrieved October 2, 2019 .
  24. ↑ a b c Stiftung Warentest: Smart Toys - How networked playmates listen to children - Stiftung Warentest. Retrieved October 2, 2019 .
  25. ↑ a b Stiftung Warentest states: Smart toys are stupid. In: MobileGeeks Germany. August 29, 2017. Retrieved October 2, 2019 .
  26. ↑ heise online: FBI warns of networked toys. Retrieved October 2, 2019 .
  27. ↑ Toys that listen: How safe are smart toys? Retrieved October 2, 2019 .
  28. ↑ https://www.hsdl.org/?abstract&did=797394. Retrieved October 2, 2019 .
  29. ↑ http://www.hkexnews.hk/listedco/listconews/sehk/2015/1130/LTN20151130247.pdf. Retrieved October 2, 2019 .
  30. ↑ FAQ about Cyber ​​Attack on VTech Learning Lodge (last updated: 19:30, January 9, 2018, HKT). Retrieved October 2, 2019 (American English).
  31. ↑ https://www.troyhunt.com/data-from-connected-cloudpets-teddy-bears-leaked-and-ransomed-exposing-kids-voice-messages/. Retrieved October 2, 2019 .
  32. ↑ Connected toys: Internet Barbie's vulnerabilities discovered. Retrieved October 2, 2019 .
  33. ↑ Michael Gassmann: Federal Network Agency takes action against Cayla the smart doll . February 17, 2017 ( welt.de [accessed October 2, 2019]).
  34. ↑ https://www.spiegel.de/netzwelt/gadgets/smart-toys-bundesnetzagentur-warnt-vor-vernetztem-spielzeug-a-1242525.html. Retrieved October 2, 2019 .
  35. ↑ heise online: Smart Toys: Federal Network Agency had 400 sales offers deleted from the network. Retrieved October 2, 2019 .
  36. ↑ Markus Böhm: Hacked erotic toys: Smart sex toys are so unsafe . In: Spiegel Online . December 30, 2018 ( spiegel.de [accessed October 2, 2019]).
  37. ↑ Internet of Things: Dildos should be allowed to be smart - Golem.de. Retrieved October 2, 2019 .
  38. ↑ Getting Smart on Smart Toys: Ten Tips for Spotting The Winners and Losers. Retrieved October 1, 2019 .
  39. ↑ http://www.paccit.org/public/Publications/IEEE%20Computer.pdf. Retrieved October 1, 2019 .
  40. ↑ http://kei.ki/en/Toddler_play. Retrieved October 1, 2019 .
  41. ↑ Toys that listen: How safe are smart toys? Retrieved October 2, 2019 .
  42. ↑ What Makes a Good Toy? Retrieved October 1, 2019 .
  43. ↑ Gibson, op. Cit.
  44. ↑ Christopher Weston: What is Ashley Too in Black Mirror? Why we think it's an Alexa spin-off! May 22, 2019, accessed October 2, 2019 .
  45. ↑ Crime Vote: How did you find the avenger "crime scene"? In: Spiegel Online . December 3, 2018 ( spiegel.de [accessed October 2, 2019]).
  46. ↑ Child's Play: The new Chucky is Alexa on two legs. Retrieved October 2, 2019 .