Overview
A talking, owl-like plush toy first sold by Tiger Electronics in 1998 and relaunched by Hasbro in 2023 with light-up ears, five voice-activated modes and over 600 phrases, but no app or internet connection. Furbies have always talked to each other, though each generation used a different, incompatible method. The 1998 Furby flashed 4-bit infrared codes from a port between its eyes, the 2012 Furby and Furby Boom exchanged near-ultrasonic chirps around 17 to 18 kHz, and the 2016 Furby Connect switched to Bluetooth LE for its app. On the 2023 Furby, holding the heart gem of two units for about 5 seconds starts "Furdar" mode, where they trade audible sound cues, pick a leader, tell each other jokes and sing in harmony, and the small Furblets (from December 2023) join in the same way. The catch is that it is a closed toy with scripted responses and no way to program it, so the hacking community works only on the older models.
Specifications
| Category | Companion robots · Desk & social robots |
|---|---|
| Released | 2023 |
| Country | USA |
| Availability | Available |
| Sales | 40 million+ sold in the original 1998 to 2000 run Wikipedia ↗ |
| Programmability | No programmability |
| Built-in autonomy | Reactive · Responds to its surroundings without a map, such as avoiding obstacles or following a person |
| LLM support | None · Scripted responses only (over 600 phrases, jokes and songs). No LLM, no app and no internet connection. |
| Best for | Ages 6+ (maker rating) |
| Vision sensors | No vision sensors |
| Actuators | DC / gear motors |
| Audio | Speaker, Microphone |
| Compute type | Proprietary / undisclosed |
| Remote control | Not programmable |
| Size | Over 15 cm (6 in) tall (2023 model) |
| Drive | Stationary, motorized ears and body movement, no moving beak or tail on the 2023 model (unconfirmed) |
| Compute | Not published |
| Vision | None |
| Lidar | None |
| Sensors | Head and belly touch sensors, heart-gem button, motion sensing for shaking and lying on its back, microphone for voice commands and Furdar sound cues, speaker, light-up color-changing ears |
| Runtime | Not published, runs on 4 AA batteries (not included) |
| Speed | N/A |
| SDK | None for the 2023 Furby. Hobbyists have decoded older models, including the 1998 infrared codes, the ComAir ultrasonic protocol of the 2012 Furby and Furby Boom (furbys_playroom plays it from a browser), and the unencrypted Bluetooth LE protocol of Furby Connect (bluefluff, FurBLE). |
Ratings & reviews
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