Talking stuffed animals are going to get more intelligent. They won’t simply repeat a few sentences all of the time and every time you press the toys. Disney is preparing a new line of interactive stuffed animals that will know what to say to you.
The project is part of Disney Imagicademy which is a learning initiative of the company. Disney wants to help children develop and learn new stuff easier.
The new smart stuffed animals will be able to talk to Imagicademy users, the New York Times Reports. For that though you would need a smartphone that has the Disney-branded special apps.
They will be focused on a few different topics like math, language, science, emotions and social skills. Depending on what you do with the app, the toys will be able to say different things to you. For example they will congratulate you if you complete the task in the app. They will also be there for you and encourage you if you have difficulties. Who knows, maybe they will even give you a hint or two.
The apps are goint to be released on December 11th. The smart stuffed animals though will take a little more time to be ready. You can expect them by the end of summer 2015.
Disney estimates that there are around 100 000 learning apps already. “Parents told us they are confused and that they want a quality product from a name they trust,” says Bob Chapek, president of Disney Consumer Products, noting that Imagicademy is designed for parents to keep tabs on their children’s progress.
The new apps are not to be thought as replacements for proper education, the company notes. They will help out young children with their first getting to know the world moments.
For a start there will be a total of five apps. The first two are Disney Imagicademy Goofy’s Silly Sorting and Donald’s Number Launcher. Each app will be free to download but the full experience will cost $4.99. You can also get the full five pack for 20 dollars. Soon another set of apps will also be released.
The smart stuffed animals are yet of undetermined price. They will be made after both Disney’s classic characters but also of some of the newer ones.
