| What is a Furby? | | | | Other Versions |
| Furby is a 'robot' electronic pet, perhaps the first | | | | As well as the original Furby, over time a wide |
| truly popular electronic pet and the first | | | | range of Furbies and derivatives were introduced. |
| introduction for many households to the electronic | | | | Furby Babies were the first derivatives - slightly |
| revolution soon to sweep through toy stores the | | | | smaller, they can't dance but end up speaking |
| world over. Frequently credited with far more AI | | | | English faster than their larger relatives. |
| (artificial Intelligence) than they actually possessed, | | | | Furby Friends - special versions or other toys |
| Furbies even caused a ruckus in the intelligence | | | | using the same technology were developed, |
| community when the rumour went round that | | | | including an E.T. version, Shelby and an Interactive |
| they could repeat what they had heard - the net | | | | Yoda for the Star Wars fans. |
| result being that some intelligence agencies banned | | | | Emotronic Furbies - introduced in 2005, these are |
| them from their offices! Alas, there was no truth | | | | slightly larger than the originals, lack motion |
| in the rumour - the Furby is actually quite a simple | | | | sensors but have a more 'expressive' face and - |
| toy, certainly by today's standards. | | | | hooray - an off switch. The main innovation |
| Furby was introduced to an unsuspecting world in | | | | introduced is that these Furbies have a voice |
| late 1998 by its maker Tiger Electronics and went | | | | recognition system and can respond to spoken |
| on to be the 'must-have' toy for the next few | | | | commands. |
| years, selling over 40 million units in its first three | | | | Emotronic Furby Babies - a smaller baby version |
| years. The original Furbies were 6 inches tall with | | | | using the same technology as the adult Emotronic |
| a heart shaped infra-red port and light sensor on | | | | Furby. |
| their face (used to communicate with other | | | | Emotronic Funky Furby - released in 2006, these |
| Furbies). Out of the box, they were programmed | | | | are enhanced versions of the Emotronic Furby |
| to speak Furbish, but 'learned' to speak English | | | | that can dance and even be taught 'dance |
| over time. This is another common misconception; | | | | routines' that they will remember. They tend to |
| they did not actually learn English but rather were | | | | be available in a limited range of colours which |
| pre-programmed to slowly switch to speaking in | | | | change over time. |
| English. It is believed that this process could be | | | | Furby Faults and hacking |
| 'hurried along' by lots of interaction with the Furby. | | | | Furbies are popular with hackers and circuit |
| There are 4 stages of speaking that the Furby | | | | modifiers as they can be relatively easily modified |
| passes through: | | | | with computer control or to take advantage of |
| Speaking only Furbish | | | | their advanced voice recognition, speech or |
| Speaking mostly Furbish with some English | | | | sensors. |
| Speaking more English with plenty of Furbish still | | | | Furbies can suffer from various faults, including |
| Speaking mostly English with some odd Furbish | | | | 'sticky beak' (a stuck or loose beak) and 'buzzing |
| phrases | | | | eye' - problems with the eyelid motor or gears. |
| As such, it follows the stages that a non-native | | | | Many faults that seem to involve insanity on the |
| English speaker would go through in learning | | | | part of the Furby can be cured by new batteries, |
| English. Of course, it might not be English - Furbies | | | | a reset or failing that a restart. |
| were produced able to speak one of 24 different | | | | To reset your Furby, use a pointed object (pen, |
| languages as befitting their worldwide market. | | | | bent paperclip) to press the reset button situated |
| The Furby had moving ears, opening and closing | | | | in the little hole adjacent to the battery |
| eyes and an opening and closing beak, complete | | | | compartment on the base of the Furby. This may |
| with tongue sensor to tell it when it was being | | | | get him talking properly again with no adverse |
| fed. There was also a motion sensor on some | | | | effects. |
| which could trigger phrases like 'fun' or 'scared' | | | | If this doesn't help, a restart may be required - |
| depending on how it was treated. I remember | | | | this is more serious and is a bit of a Furby |
| one car journey with a Furby buried under the | | | | Lobotomy - they will forget the English they have |
| luggage going 'whee' on every corner. There are a | | | | learned so far, their name and may even change |
| lot of corners on roads in Wales in the UK - which | | | | their voice. As such, it can be considered a |
| led to fervent wishes being expressed for the | | | | factory reset. To do this restart, turn them |
| one thing the first generation Furby did not have - | | | | upside down and press their reset button whilst |
| an off switch. | | | | also pressing the tongue switch (inside the beak) |
| The Furby could also 'move' - though actually this | | | | down. |
| meant 'lift itself up a bit' with a small ram fitted | | | | Conclusion |
| underneath on the base of the Furby. This | | | | Even today, Furbies are fun toys to have and |
| enabled it to 'dance' - a Furby could sing too - and | | | | provide an entertaining experience for children - |
| there still wasn't an off switch, though a Furby | | | | they are more parent friendly too now with their |
| could usually be persuaded to go to sleep. | | | | off switch! |