MARGIN NOTES
Call her B2Barbie. The new concept doll devised by Accenture is being billed as "an autonomous purchasing object" - a toy that shops for itself.
For about 2 bucks in parts, Accenture gave Barbie wireless implants. The chips and sensors let the prototype communicate with other jacked-up dolls and accessories within range, whether in a store or at the homes of her owner's playmates. For example, Barbie detects the presence of clothing and compares it with her existing wardrobe (after all, how many tennis outfits does a doll need?).
The toy can send a purchase order to a home PC or buy straight from the manufacturer via the wireless connection, which relies on UHF-frequency ID tags, sensors, and microprocessors. The owner can limit Barbie's expense account, but otherwise the doll's on her own. In fact, "She can be constantly and anonymously shopping, even though the owner might not know it," explains Accenture's Martin Illsley in a video demo on the company's Web site (www.accenture.com).
Such toys also make for efficient buying: "Unlike human consumers who regularly change their minds, the prototype's software enables the doll to purchase with consistency," adds Illsley.
The consulting firm bills the toy as part of its "brave new world of Silent Commerce" - a Freudian slip (we assume) that references Aldous Huxley's dystopian World State.
Other, more mundane uses of silent commerce could include cars and appliances that order their own replacement parts and schedule repairs; packaged goods that monitor their own inventory levels; or roof tiles that, when they fall, ask your home computer or PDA to email a roofer for a fix.
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