Scenario: Educational toy robots

From Future

Educational toy robots will first appear around the year 2016. They will be used to keep the children who are born after the year 2008 educated, properly informed, and away from violent television (which will get banned worldwide in the year 2040). Either before or around the year 2047, educational toy robots, educational toys, and non-violent multiplayer online games will replace pinball machines, fighting games, and combat action games in the video arcades of the future.

While adult sized educational toy robots will remain the province of the rich until the mid 22nd century, the middle class citizen could afford an educational toy robot that is the size of an university dictionary (and carries more information that a dictionary, an encyclopedia, and world atlas combined). Using an Internet connection, parents can keep the robot updated on a daily basis, so that child can learn about world events as they occur instead of relying on obsolete facts and data to solve the problems of an ever changing world.

[edit] Precedents

• Texas Instruments manufacture a line of educational computer toys, most popular of which is 'Speak and Spell'
• Tamigotchas are alleged to teach about parenting behaviour.
• The Aibo robot dog is an expensive and relatively popular robot toy.