- Who
- Furby
- What
- first
- Where
- Not Applicable ()
- When
- 2000
The Furby – built by Tiger Electronics in Japan – was the first truly robotic cyber pet. It first went on sale in 1998 and took the form of a cuddly toy, resembling Gizmo from the Gremlins movies, which had to be fed (by placing objects in its mouth to activate a button), could speak (initially an incomprehensible language called "Furbish" but gradually learning English) and would take regular naps (snoring as it did). Furbies also included a number of sensors, enabling them to purr when stroked, communicate with other Furbies using infrared pulses, and respond to sound, light and movement – either to tell you they’re scared, or to emit a gleeful "Weeeeee!". The toy was immensely popular, selling in excess of 40 million units over a space of three years. In 2005, a new generation of Furbies, with extra features such as voice recognition, went on sale.
