They're tools that can help us turn our dreams into reality. Pretty heavy stuff for folks barely out of diapers. The scientists, part of the MIT Media Laboratory's year-old Toys of Tomorrow project, made their toy show debut at the invitation of sponsor TOMY Co. Ltd. of Japan. The venue was well chosen.
Japan is the world's second-largest toy market after the United States.
The annual fair features thousands of toys, from yo-yos to pellet guns, wooden blocks to computer games. Vendors from around the world come to check out what's new and what's likely to be hot. Program Your Own High technology and computers have already revolutionized the way kids play. The popular Furby doll, for example, which can speak 800 words and phrases, has more computational power than the lunar module. One project, put together by the Synthetic Character Group, allows kids to control the movements of a chicken character on a screen by playing with a stuffed chicken fitted with sensors.