From Wikipedia :

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nabaztag

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Nabaztag

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Nabaztag (Armenian for "rabbit" նապաստակ) is a Wi-Fi enabled electronic device in the shape of a rabbit, invented by Rafi Haladjian and Olivier Mével, and manufactured by Violet ^[1]. Nabaztag is a "smart object" comparable to those manufactured by Ambient Devices; it can connect to the Internet (for example to download weather forecasts, read its owner's email, etc). It is also fully customizable and programmable.

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Home page here :

http://www.nabaztag.com/en/index.html

The flash presentations are well worth going through.

What elevates this intelligent Internet device into the realms of AI & robotics is this effort

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December 04, 2007

Nabaztag as a stepping stone to AI? Big time computer scientists think so...

In the November issue of Science Magazine (you'll have to buy a subscription to read it), Yorick Wilks from the University of Sheffield summarizes his and others' ongoing research into "effectively communicat(ing) with machines in natural language." Mr. Wilks is the head of the Companions project, which "aims to change the way we think about the relationships of people to computers and the Internet by developing a virtual conversational 'Companion'."

Not surprisingly, one of their principal tools of research is none other than Nabaztag. Nabaztag already understands voice commands and speaks using text-to-speech technology. He's also constantly connected to the web, making him, as always, the smartest rabbit in the room. The scientists of the Companion project see all types of potential in Nabaztag's unique capabilities. As a demonstration, a team from the University of Tampere in Finland put together this video showing their custom Nabaztag giving health tips in natural conversation using the personal history of the owner and information from the Internet:

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original article here :

http://blog-en.nabaztag.com/

Companions homepage here :

http://www.companions-project.org/