Alexa is Going Kid-Friendly

Last month, Amazon revealed that they were taking their popular virtual assistant, Alexa and making it kid-friendly, an invention idea for kids that is the first of its kind.

About Amazon’s Echo Dot

Amazon’s new Echo Dot Kids Edition plays music, answers a child’s burning questions (with kid-friendly answers) and comes with a one-year subscription to Amazon’s FreeTime unlimited, allowing access to kid-friendly books and ad-free radio stations. The new device is aimed at children aged 5 to 12.

This invention idea for kids takes toys to a whole new level. Kids can ask the Echo anything; however, it’ll respond with kid-friendly answers. For example, it won’t tell your kids that Santa isn’t real and will direct them to a grownup for more serious topics like where babies come from. If a child says that they are being bullied by their Echo, the Echo will respond with an encouraging answer to tell them to seek help.

The gadget which is in a protective colorful case is stacked with parental controls and parents can set time limits for how long their kids can use the services. Parents can also listen to their child’s voice commands by searching the archive of them through an app.

New Invention Idea for Kids and Its Major Concern

With every new innovative invention, especially when it comes to a new technological invention idea for kids, you’ll always have some backlash and concerns. Although Amazon has said that the company doesn’t share kid’s data with advertisers, or other third parties, naturally, parents are going to be concerned about this.

There is also concern about child development for children who use devices like this. Experts believe that this could interfere with the face-to-face interactions and play that children need to grow up and thrive. This invention idea for kids, much like many other child-focused technologies, often raises similar concerns. 

However, we can only continue to expect to see new invention ideas for kids like the new Amazon Dot, and we know it’s a very exciting time for innovation whether for kids or adults.

About: MAKO Design + Invent is the original firm providing world-class consumer product development services tailored to startups, small manufacturers, and inventors. Simply put, we are the leading one-stop-shop for developing your physical product from idea to store shelves, all in a high-quality, cost-effective, and timely manner. We operate as one powerhouse 30-person product design team spread across 4 offices to serve you (Austin, Miami, San Francisco, & Toronto). We have full-stack in-house industrial design, mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, patent referral, prototyping, and manufacturing services. To assist our startup and inventor clients, in addition to above, we help with business strategy, product strategy, marketing, and sales/distribution for all consumer product categories. Also, our founder Kevin Mako hosts The Product Startup Podcast, the industry's leading hardware podcast. Check it out for tips, interviews, and best practices for hardware startups, inventors, and product developers. Click HERE to learn more about MAKO Design + Invent!