Pecha Kucha Ku-Cha conversational toy from Daiwa

Written by: Rebecca Milner on May 27, 2008 at 11:27 pm | In DIGITAL LIFE | 2 Comments

Pecha Kucha Ku—Cha from Daiwa Toys isn’t quite what we pictured our robot sidekick to look like. Actually he (she?) is a whole lot cuter. Despite the decidedly non-tech appearance, this little cartoon colored bear has a built in voice recognition function that can respond to simple questions and statements.

Ask Ku—Cha for the time or your daily horoscope and the wide-eyed bear will cheerfully reply from the speakers built into his armchair. He can also make simple conversation: tell Ku—Cha good morning and he’ll reply, tell him you are back and he’ll say “welcome home.”

This desktop companion is certainly not the most high-tech toy on the market, but for only ¥3,990 it is infinitely affordable and just one more example of how interactive toys and tools are no longer a vision of the future in Japan but totally acceptable (and coveted) consumer goods.

And more importantly Ku—Cha serves a real function, after all how much nicer is to have someone (or something) to say good morning to, and actually get a reply?

Tags: Daiwa, robots, Toys
Category: DIGITAL LIFE
Other categories: MARKETING IDEAS, LIFESTYLE / FASHION, PRODUCT INNOVATIONS