Robots combine sensors, computation, and motors to interact intelligently with their environment. Robot toys need to be so cheap and robust that they can be used as playthings. While there is a long history of toys that look like robots, only recently has the cost of computation dropped sufficiently to allow the sale of truly functional robotic toys. This entry focuses on three examples of this new genre of toy that should be of interest from the ethics perspective: Lego MindStorms robot construction sets and Furby interactive robotic pet by Tiger Toys, and Sony Aibo robot dog.

Lego and Furby: Some Contrasts

These two very different kinds of robotic toys were both introduced in 1998, had a large impact, and contrast in several interesting ways. Lego MindStorms and Furby represent two types of toys that Gary Cross (1997) finds typical of twentieth century U.S. toy production: the...