Cindy Smart is a brand of

doll A doll is a model typically of a human or humanoid character, often used as a toy for children. Dolls have also been used in traditional religious rituals throughout the world. Traditional dolls made of materials such as clay and wood are foun ...

manufactured by Manley Toy Quest. Introduced in 2002, Cindy Smart was the first doll that could see, be capable of reading words in five languages, do basic math, and tell time. The doll was first sold in the United States, and then in Australia beginning in 2003. Cindy Smart was well received in the press and was a modest financial success for the manufacturer.

Capabilities

Cindy Smart has the appearance of a standard female doll, tall with blonde hair and blue eyes, intended to appear five years of age. The difference from other dolls comes from extra equipment: a

digital camera A digital camera is a camera that captures photographs in digital memory. Most cameras produced today are digital, largely replacing those that capture images on photographic film. Digital cameras are now widely incorporated into mobile devic ...

in the doll's torso, a

16-bit 16-bit microcomputers are microcomputers that use 16-bit microprocessors. A 16-bit register can store 216 different values. The range of integer values that can be stored in 16 bits depends on the integer representation used. With the two mos ...

microprocessor A microprocessor is a computer processor where the data processing logic and control is included on a single integrated circuit, or a small number of integrated circuits. The microprocessor contains the arithmetic, logic, and control circu ...

in the stomach, and voice-recognition software. The camera makes Cindy Smart the first doll that can see. When someone speaks to Cindy Smart, the software attempts to match the speech to one of 70 preprogrammed commands. If the command calls for reading, the digital camera searches for text in a 15-degree sector in front of it. The microprocessors compare the text with a database of words. The doll then gives the word and its spelling aloud, unless the word is an

expletive Expletive may refer to: * Expletive (linguistics), a word or phrase that is not needed to express the basic meaning of the sentence *Expletive pronoun, a pronoun used as subject or other verb argument that is meaningless but syntactically required ...

. The doll can recognize 650

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national id ...

words, as well as some

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with France ...

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

, and

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: ** Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Ca ...

words. The doll can also do basic math, recognize shapes and colors, and tell time.

History

Toymaker Bob Del Principe spent 10 years working on Cindy Smart. He completed the doll in 2002, when he was Vice President for Research and Development at a Los Angeles subsidiary of Manley Toy Quest, a Hong Kong–based toy manufacturing company. The doll was first sold in the United States for

US$ The United States dollar (symbol: $; code: USD; also abbreviated US$ or U.S. Dollar, to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies; referred to as the dollar, U.S. dollar, American dollar, or colloquially buck) is the official ...

99, with a number of sales coming through the

Home Shopping Network HSN, an initialism of its former name Home Shopping Network, is an American free-to-air television network owned by the Qurate Retail Group, which also owns catalog company Cornerstone Brands. Based in the Gateway area of St. Petersburg, Fl ...

. Manley Toy Quest expanded sales to Australia beginning on 19 August 2003 with a launch event at a

Myer Myer (stylised MYER, sometimes known as Myers) is an Australian mid-range to upscale department store chain. It trades in all Australian states and one of Australia's two self-governing territories. Myer retails a broad range of products a ...

department store in

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/ Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a me ...

. The Australian version uses Commonwealth spelling and says "Mum" instead of the American "Mom", but otherwise retains her

American English American English, sometimes called United States English or U.S. English, is the set of varieties of the English language native to the United States. English is the most widely spoken language in the United States and in most circumstances ...

dialect. The doll first sold for

AU$ The Australian dollar (sign: $; code: AUD) is the currency of Australia, including its external territories: Christmas Island, Cocos (Keeling) Islands, and Norfolk Island. It is officially used as currency by three independent Pacific Island ...

149 in Australia.

Reception

Several news outlets, including ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' and ''

Wired ''Wired'' (stylized as ''WIRED'') is a monthly American magazine, published in print and online editions, that focuses on how emerging technologies affect culture, the economy, and politics. Owned by Condé Nast, it is headquartered in San Fran ...

'', compared Cindy Smart to

Chatty Cathy Chatty Cathy is a pull string "talking" doll originally created by Ruth and Elliot Handler and manufactured by the Mattel toy company from 1959 to 1965. The doll was first released in stores and appeared in television commercials beginning in 196 ...

, which was the first talking doll and which was influential in the toy business. ''Wired'' and ''

The Sydney Morning Herald ''The Sydney Morning Herald'' (''SMH'') is a daily compact newspaper published in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, and owned by Nine. Founded in 1831 as the ''Sydney Herald'', the ''Herald'' is the oldest continuously published newspaper ...

'' also compared Cindy Smart to I-Cybie, the first widely available toy to accept voice commands. ''

Time Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, t ...

'' named Cindy Smart to its list of the 42 best inventions of 2002, praising her technical capabilities but calling her "a little creepy". ''Wired'' also called her "a little creepy". Cindy Smart was a modest financial success. ''

The Australian Financial Review ''The Australian Financial Review'' (abbreviated to the ''AFR'') is an Australian business-focused, compact daily newspaper covering the current business and economic affairs of Australia and the world. The newspaper is based in Sydney, New S ...

'' named it a "must-have" for Christmas 2003.

References

{{reflist 2000s toys Doll brands Electronic toys

Capabilities

History

Reception

See also

References