Interactive Toy with Object Recognition

Abstract

An interactive toy containing an object identification system capable of identifying and recognizing animate and inanimate objects. Once an object is recognized, the toy will interact with the object by speaking to the object. The invention will also track the movements of the identified object. If the object leaves the immediate environment of the invention, the invention is capable of appropriately greeting and/or speaking with the object.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . An entertainment system capable of object interaction with a plurality of animate or inanimate objects, the entertainment system comprising:
 an entertainment device configured to house a miniaturized object identification apparatus;   the miniaturized object identification apparatus comprising:   an imaging system capable of capturing a plurality of images of said objects and sending the plurality of images;   a data processor capable of receiving the plurality of images and encoding said images of the objects into a vector of coefficients, enrolling said vector of coefficients into a database, comparing said vector of coefficients with a plurality of coefficient vectors previously stored on the database, notifying the object of a successful or unsuccessful comparison and tracking the object's movement from the immediate vicinity of the entertainment system;   a USB hub capable of transmitting signals via a USB connection;   a speaker system for interacting with said objects; and   a power source.   
     
     
         2 . The entertainment System of  claim 1 , wherein said entertainment device is a toy. 
     
     
         3 . The entertainment System of  claim 1 , wherein said entertainment device is a doll. 
     
     
         4 . The entertainment system of  claim 1 , wherein said imaging system is an infra-red camera, wherein the infra-red camera comprises a plurality of illuminators having a minimum of VGA resolution. 
     
     
         5 . The entertainment system of  claim 1 , wherein the miniaturized object identification tracking apparatus is two inches by two inches or less in size. 
     
     
         6 . The entertainment system of  claim 1 , wherein the data processor is a 32 bit processor. 
     
     
         7 . The entertainment system of  claim 1 , wherein the data processor is a 16 bit processor. 
     
     
         8 . The entertainment system of  claim 1 , wherein the data processor is an 8 bit processor. 
     
     
         9 . A miniaturized object identification and tracking system for identifying a plurality of animate or inanimate objects, notifying a user whether said objects are recognized, tracking said objects and interacting with said objects, the miniaturized object identification and tracking system comprising:
 a small data processor capable of functioning at a low power;   an infra-red camera comprising a plurality of illuminators having a minimum of VGA resolution;   a miniaturized object identification algorithm for encoding and identifying a plurality of images of the objects;   a 1 MB or less memory; and   a speaker.   
     
     
         10 . An interactive toy comprising:
 an infra-red camera;   a processor associated with said camera;   a miniaturized algorithm for encoding a plurality of images captured by the infra-red camera and identifying said plurality of images of the objects;   a USB hub capable of transmitting signals via a USB connection;   a speaker system for interacting with said objects; and   a power source.