• by Laurie Sullivan  @lauriesullivan, January 6, 2017

Mattel has developed a voice-activated connected kids room hub similar to Amazon Echo and Google Home, with technology from Microsoft, Qualcomm Technology and Silk Labs.

Aristotle, the Internet-connected device, which debuted at the 2017 Consumer Electronics Show (CES), will hit retail store shelves this summer.

Supported by artificial intelligence and a camera, it uses Microsoft Cognitive Services and soon will use Cortana Intelligence. It includes search capabilities tied to parenting questions around baby and child care, powered by Bing.

Aristotle, from Mattel's nabi brand, looks like an Amazon Echo-type hub with Alexa voice search capabilities. It is designed to comfort, entertain, and teach kids from infancy to adolescence. 

Qualcomm, and Silk Labs stepped in to provide security and privacy features, along with a focus on COPPA and HIPPA compliance and how data is collected, transferred and stored. It uses the same guidelines as hospitals.

For example, Aristotle utilizes 256-bit end-to-end encryption when transmitting user activity information, including baby monitor video stream. Access to data is through mobile devices that have been paired in close proximity to the hub and under parental controls.

The hub is powered by Qualcomm Technologies' Smart Home Reference Platform based on Qualcomm Snapdragon 212 processor. The companion WiFi camera with object recognition and movement detection is designed to improve AI capabilities 

The platform uses three AI engines, including the Silk Intelligence Platform. It enables Aristotle to learn patterns and autonomously act upon user habits to aid in child development and learning that will give each a unique personality, according to Mattel.

Silk Labs allows nabi to create its own hardware and software experiences. The platform has a parent and child mode. It allows parents to set parameters like requiring kids to use the word "please" in voice commands for Aristotle to complete the request, or restricting purchasing capabilities. 

As an IoT device, Aristotle will connect with devices running Wink, Wemo, Samsung Smart Things, Philips Hue, and Zigbee, among others.