Zizzle's Award-Winning Plush Animal Powered by Sensory IC

Sunnyvale, Calif. and Bannockburn, IL. (PRWEB) October 31, 2006

Household pets everywhere better take heed there’s a new dog in town called Lucky the Incredible Wonder Pup TM. Designed for children 5 years and older, Lucky listens to his owner like a good dog, and understands fifteen different voice commands. Lucky’s intelligence is based on a microchip developed by Sensory, Inc., a Silicon Valley company that provides speech recognition and synthesis technologies for use in low-cost consumer electronics. This chip provides the ability for Lucky to bark, sing and respond to his owner, just like a well-heeled pet should.

Lucky Winning Best Toy Awards.

According to Parents Magazine (November 2006), Lucky is a “Doggie Genius”, and is so much fun that parents will want to play with it too. The precocious plush “labradoodle” is one of today’s hottest breeds and doesn’t require obedience school. He performs a range of well-known doggie tricks such as “Sit”, “Lay Down” and “Shake Hands.” Tell him to “Come Here”, and he runs and barks at you. He plays games like Tug of War, and instead of just playing dead, understands “Put ’em Up!” He responds by standing on his back legs with his hands raised until you say “Bang-Bang”, and then he falls over backwards. Lucky is a Platinum Toy Award Winner from the prestigious Oppenheim Toy Portfolio for 2007, and received high marks for working out of the box with a high degree of accuracy and for appealing to everyone who played with him, including adults. Lucky is available on retailers shelves now for a suggested retail price of $ 49.99.

Low-Cost Microchip Brings Lucky to Life

To keep the cost of Lucky low, most of the required functionality has been incorporated into a single microprocessor from Sensory called the RSC-4128. This chip acts as both a dedicated speech processor and a general purpose microcontroller, enabling it to handle coordination of speech recognition to body movement while also providing the ability for Lucky to bark and sing. “We’re pleased with the performance of the speech technologies provided by Sensory’s RSC-4128′, says Roger Shiffman, President and CEO of Zizzle. “Accuracy and low cost were important considerations in developing an intelligent plush toy for this age group.” Sensory sells the chip in bulk for under $ 2 in large volumes and also provides a complete line of tools that support easy and low-cost development of products that require the ability to talk and hear.

About Zizzle

The company is developing a comprehensive line of electronic and traditional toys for 2006 and beyond. In 2005 Zizzle’s first product, iZ was named to Toy Wishes Magazine’s Hot Dozen which is an indicator of the most successful toy sales for the holiday season. Zizzle is the Master Toy Licensee for Disney’s Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest, one of this year’s most anticipated movies. In addition, the company has developed an arcade pinball machine for home use, a broad line of Hand held Electronics Games and many others toys. Go to http://www.zizzle.com for more information.

About Sensory, Inc.

Sensory, Inc., (http://www.sensoryinc.com) based in Sunnyvale, CA, is the world leader in embedded speech technologies. Sensory is a profitable private company offering a complete line of IC and software-only solutions for speech recognition, speech synthesis, speaker verification, music synthesis and more. The company’s products are widely deployed in consumer electronics applications including telephones, home automation, toys, remote controls, automotive, security, and learning aids. Sensory’s customers represent the leaders in consumer electronics, including such companies as Hasbro, JVC, Kenwood, Mattel, Mitsubishi, Toshiba, Uniden and Sony. Additional Sensory offices are located in Portland, Hong Kong, Tokyo and Vienna.

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