{"id":10044,"date":"2019-12-04T01:15:54","date_gmt":"2019-12-04T06:15:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/digital.hbs.edu\/platform-digit\/submission\/hello-barbie\/"},"modified":"2019-12-04T03:50:46","modified_gmt":"2019-12-04T08:50:46","slug":"hello-barbie-nlp-and-the-first-conversational-doll","status":"publish","type":"hck-submission","link":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-digit\/submission\/hello-barbie-nlp-and-the-first-conversational-doll\/","title":{"rendered":"Hello, Barbie? NLP and the first conversational doll"},"content":{"rendered":"

Introduction<\/h3>\n

Since its release in 1959, the barbie doll has been a focal point in US culture as the most sold doll of all time. Due to backlash and increasing public outcry, Barbie sales declined from over 1.3 billion in 2011 to less than 1 billion in 2013. Mattel, the billion dollar parent company of Barbie, was certainly going to make some changes. To stay culturally relevant, many toy companies have released product lines with different ethnicities, body shapes, etc. Mattel went a different route.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

At the time, the wave of conversational technologies was taking off as Apple\u2019s Siri and Amazon Alexa were released in 2011 and 2013, respectively. Mattel\u2019s Hello Barbie FAQ states that the most common request from consumers is that they \u201cwant to have a conversation with Barbie.\u201d To meet this request and capitalize off the growing market for conversational tech, Mattel partnered with SF-based startup ToyTalk to bring the Barbie doll to life.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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Digital Innovation of the Quintessential Doll<\/h3>\n

Through hardware hidden in the doll\u2019s physique, ToyTalk and Mattel have created a doll that can carry a conversation decently well through artificial intelligence and natural language processing. First, parents have to download the Hello Barbie app to ensure that the doll is connected to wifi and for parents to listen in on conversations between Barbie and their child. When the doll is spoken to, the following steps take place:<\/span><\/p>\n

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  1. Button pressed: <\/strong>The doll is idle when unactivated. To begin a conversation with the doll, users must click the button that duals as a belt buckle. \u00a0A phrase is then requested, selected, and sent, such as “hello [name],” to start the conversation<\/li>\n
  2. Microphone detection: <\/strong>Barbie then waits for the response. A recorder and microphone embedded into the necklace of the doll detects and collects all words, questions, conversations, etc.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n
  3. Transmission:<\/strong> After a response has been given, its analyzed. The recorded speech is then sent to a control center via cloud based technology. Barbie\u2019s necklace, belt, and legs are wifi-enabled to allow for this step to take place.<\/span><\/li>\n
  4. Processing:<\/strong> once received, ToyTalk\u2019s speech recognition software uses natural language processing (NLP) to parse down the recorded input. Moreover, ToyTalk\u2019s algorithms utilize \u201cnatural language rules\u201d so that the recorded language can be translated into data that a response can be generated to. The ToyTalk NLP algorithms likely use semantic analysis to understand identifiable parts of the recorded speech, rather than syntactic analysis. If the response is not clear, the child will be asked to repeat it.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n
  5. Response:<\/strong> Based on the parsed recording, Barbie will respond with a response compiled from 8,000 recordings of voice actors. These responses are primarily based off of programmed dialogue branches. Once Barbie has responded, the recordings are then stored on ToyTalk servers to remember things about the child for the next conversation. \u201cFor example, if a child tells Hello Barbie that she is an only child, Barbie will no longer ask her about siblings.\u201d Moreover, Barbie constructs a strong digital persona for the child including their family, their likes, etc. Recordings are also used to test and improve the process.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    \u00a0The entire process, speech from child to response from Barbie, takes about one second. Similar to other conversational technologies, like Siri, Barbie does have a default response for unexpected questions or statements. While Siri might say \u201cHmm\u2026 I seem to be having trouble hearing you. Sorry about that,\u201d Barbie says \u201cReally? No way!\u201d or \u201c\u2018That\u2019s sounds like something you should talk to a grown-up about.\u2019\u2019 which are said to work in most conversations with young children covering unexpected topics.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

    To ensure that Barbie is not responding to everything being said around the doll, the doll\u2019s belt buckle functions as a button to initiate conversation.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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    Benefits to Customers and Users<\/h3>\n

    There are many use cases to both the customer (parents) and users (kids).\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n