Editing Cindy Smart

{{Short description|Doll brand}}
{{Infobox toy
|name       = Cindy Smart
|type       = Doll
|inventor   = Bob Del Principe
|country    =United States
|company    = Toy Quest
}}

'''Cindy Smart''' is a brand of [[doll]] manufactured by [[Manley Toy Quest]]. Introduced in 2002, Cindy Smart was the first doll that could see, capable of reading words in five languages, do basic math, and could tell time. The doll was first sold in the United States, and then in Australia beginning in 2003. 

== Capabilities ==

Cindy Smart has the appearance of a standard female doll. The doll is {{convert|18.5|in|cm|1}} tall with blonde hair and blue eyes, and is intended to appear five years of age.<ref name=wired>{{cite magazine |first=Sonia |last=Zjawinski |title=Stepford child |magazine=[[Wired (magazine)|Wired]] |date=August 2002 |url=http://archive.wired.com/wired/archive/10.08/cindy.html |accessdate=14 October 2014}}</ref> Cindy Smart differs from other dolls because of her extra equipment, which includes: a [[digital camera]] in the doll's torso,<ref name=time>{{cite web |url=https://content.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1934259_1934566_1934571,00.html |first=Dennis |last=Galante |title=Cindy Smart doll |magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] |date=18 November 2002 |access-date=14 October 2014}}</ref> a [[16-bit]] [[microprocessor]] in the stomach, and [[Speech recognition|voice-recognition software]].<ref name=theage>{{cite news |first=Rachel |last=Wells |title=Move over Barbie, Cindy's way too smart |newspaper=[[The Age]] |date=20 Aug 2003 |url=http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2003/08/19/1061261150086.html |accessdate=15 October 2014}}</ref> The camera makes Cindy Smart the first doll that can see.<ref name=nytimes/>

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.<ref name=wired/> The doll then gives the word and its spelling aloud,<ref name=nytimes>{{cite news |first=Rebecca Fairley |last=Raney |title=A chatty doll of a different kind |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |date=1 August 2002 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2002/08/01/technology/circuits/01DOLL.html |accessdate=14 October 2014}}</ref> unless the word is an [[profanity|expletive]].<ref name=advertiser>{{cite news |first=Jewel |last=Topsfield |title=New toy can read, count and tell the time |newspaper=[[The Advertiser (Adelaide)|The Advertiser]] |date=23 August 2003 |page=44}}</ref> The doll can recognize 650 [[English language|English]] words, as well as some [[French language|French]], [[German language|German]], [[Italian language|Italian]], and [[Spanish language|Spanish]] words. The doll can also do basic math, recognize shapes and colors,<ref name=time/> and tell time.<ref>{{cite book |first1=Yoseph |last1=Bar-Cohen |authorlink1=Yoseph Bar-Cohen |first2=Cynthia L. |last2=Breazeal |authorlink2=Cynthia Breazeal |title=Biologically Inspired Intelligent Robots |date=2003 |publisher=[[SPIE]] Press |page=328}}</ref>

== History ==

Toymaker Bob Del Principe spent 10 years working on Cindy Smart.<ref name=theage/> 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.<ref name=nytimes/><ref name=latimes/> The doll was first sold in the United States for [[United States dollar|US$]]99,<ref name=time/> with a number of sales coming through the [[Home Shopping Network]].<ref name=wired/>

Manley Toy Quest expanded sales to Australia beginning on 19 August 2003 with a launch event at a [[Myer]] department store in [[Melbourne]].<ref name=theage/> The Australian version uses [[English in the Commonwealth of Nations|Commonwealth spelling]] and says "Mum" instead of the American "Mom", but otherwise retains her [[American English]] dialect. The doll first sold for [[Australian dollar|AU$]]149 in Australia.<ref name=advertiser/>

== Reception ==

Several news outlets, including ''[[The New York Times]]'' and ''[[Wired (magazine)|Wired]]'', compared Cindy Smart to [[Chatty Cathy]], which was the first talking doll and influential in the toy business.<ref name=nytimes/><ref name=wired/> ''Wired'' and ''[[The Sydney Morning Herald]]'' also compared Cindy Smart to I-Cybie, the first widely available toy to accept voice commands.<ref name=wired/><ref>{{cite news |first=Jackie |last=Chowns |title=Toy story |newspaper=[[The Sydney Morning Herald]] |date=22 November 2003 |page=C6}}</ref> ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'' named Cindy Smart to its list of the 42 best inventions of 2002, praising her technical capabilities but calling her "a little creepy".<ref name=time/> ''Wired'' also called her "a little creepy".<ref name=wired/>

Cindy Smart was a modest financial success.<ref name=latimes>{{cite news |first=Melinda |last=Fulmer |title=Minimotos kick-start Toy Quest's fortunes |newspaper=[[Los Angeles Times]] |date=29 March 2005 |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2005-mar-29-fi-moto29-story.html |access-date=15 October 2014}}</ref> ''[[The Australian Financial Review]]'' named it a "must-have" for Christmas 2003.<ref>{{cite news |first=Neil |last=Shoebridge |title=Selling toys isn't child's play |newspaper=[[The Australian Financial Review]] |date=29 September 2003 |page=48}}</ref>

== See also ==
*[[List of toys]]
*[[Musio]]
*[[Tekno the Robotic Puppy]]

== References ==
{{reflist}}

[[Category:2000s toys]]
[[Category:Doll brands]]
[[Category:Electronic toys]]