Jordan O'BrienBarbie seems to have caught the installation bug, as the one-foot tall fashion princess’ latest house comes complete with smart home technology.
Custom installer Mattel took inspiration from the likes of Amazon’s Echo and Apple’s Siri when it came to designing Barbie’s latest residence. Given Barbie’s busy lifestyle and perpetually full hands due to the amount of shopping she does, the company has integrated voice recognition software enabling her to control everything using nothing but her (or rather your child’s) voice.
Whether she’s feeling lazy after a busy day travelling to space and wants to go upstairs without actually using stairs or fancies a late night party with her seemingly hundreds of friends and pets, then all she needs to do is ask the house.
To turn on the bedroom light Barbie need only say “Hello Dreamhouse. Turn on the bedroom lights.” These aren’t just ordinary lights either, as Barbie’s entertainment needs require mood-setting lights like the Philips Hue. Thankfully she can customise the colour to her exact lighting and even ask her house to pull down the blinds for complete privacy.
Of course it’s not always realistic for Barbie to use her voice, after all she is also a singer who must rest her instrument. For this exact situation Mattel has included the ability to control the house’s many functions through a smartphone App.
The App offers many different functions including the ability to turn on the fireplace, change the colours of the lights or even convert the stairs into a fun slide. Mattel has also made sure to integrate smart appliances which can also be controlled using either the App or voice commands.
Barbie doesn’t always have time to tell her house what to do however. For these occasions there are trigger plates built into the floor to notify the house when she enters a room. If she walks into the living room the fireplace will automatically turn on, for instance.
Those who want their very own Barbie smart home can acquire one for $300 (£210), although Mattel says that it won’t be available until later this year.
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