Actimates Pansy

**ActiMates Pansy** (formally **Hasbro ActiMates Interactive Pansy**) was an interactive plush toy released in July 2009 by Hasbro.

## History

Codenamed "Gepetto" for the motion technology inside the dolls, the Actimates toys were Hasbro's attempt to get into the smart products market, especially the internet of things sector that was growing very popular by the late 2000s.

The first of these dolls, modeled after Pansy, was first displayed at the New York Toy Fair in 2009 to much praise. Immediately put into stores, Pansy quickly became a huge success that holiday season. Dolls based on Edmond from Corporation Street and the Tillytombers were also made following the success of the Pansy plush.

Despite being decently popular for a few years, the dolls were discontinued in 2011 with Hasbro losing the patent rights to the toys in 2015.

## Capabilities

While Pansy can be used as a stand alone toy, the main feature is the ActiMates doll's interactivity with the PC and television.

To get the ActiMates to interact with the TV show or the videos, a hockey-puck-shaped transmitter device called a TV Pack must be purchased separately and connected to the HDMI connector of the TV set, while to have the ActiMates interact with the specialized computer software, another hockey-puck-shaped transmitter device called a PC Pack must be purchased separately and be connected to the USB connector of the PC.

### Stand Alone

When used as a stand-alone toy, Pansy has 2,000 different meow sounds and is able to meow 17 songs in addition to being able to play 12 different games. These actions can be achieved by pressing the various sensors throughout the plush's body.

For example, if one were to squeeze one of Pansy's hands, she would play through one of the games. Covering Pansy's eyes, which have light sensors, and uncovering them would let the plush play peek-a-boo with the user.

### PC Pack

Using the PC Pack, Pansy could interact with special PC titles developed by Hypersoft and Hasbro. Because of the updated capabilities of this pack, Pansy's vocabulary jumped from 2,000 meows to an impressive 14,000 meows in total.

The software makes use of a special programming library called "ToyAPI", which communicated with the ActiMates via the PC Pack. Actimates Pansy is required for the pack-in title, "Fun on Imagination Island", but was optional for the other titles.

When not using the toy, Pansy would appear on screen in her place in most of the titles. Actimates Pansy could also help the user in the various PC games. Like in stand alone mode, Pansy can play Peekaboo with the characters in the PC games.

### TV Pack

By using the TV Pack, ActiMates Pansy becomes a sort of viewing buddy and interacts with special encoded DVDs, Blu-Rays, and broadcasts of Pansy's Club (even if they were recorded with a DVR).

Squeezing her hand would make her meow. Pansy would also meow along to the songs and meow-comment on various events in the episodes and videos.

### Trivia

* Due to the difference in functions between the PC Pack and TV Pack, the ActiMates will not interact with episodes of Pansy's Club nor Pansy videos if they are being watched on a computer monitor using a tuner card with the PC Pack plugged in. Likewise, it will not interact with a TV that is connected to a computer and has a TV Pack is plugged into the TV.
* Computers without USB port capability will not be able to run the PC Pack.