Tokyo-based Taiyo Corp. [JP] yesterday announced they will start selling a toy helicopter that responds to voice commands in March (price in Nippon: $60). This date is confirmed for Japan only but Taiyo said Asia, North America and Europe will also get the toy. It will respond to commands given in both Japanese and English.

The battery-powered toy is is 18 centimeters long and can fly as far as 10 meters away from the operator. Users have to wear a headset and can choose between a total of 5 spoken commands: “start engine,” “up,” “hold,” “down” and “stop”.  Alternatively, the helicopter can be controlled via a conventional remote control.

Taiyo is offering a range of radio-control toys and introduced an “intelligent” toy helicopter in September last year. The annual sales target for the newest model is 100,000 units+, with the main target group being middle aged male customers.

Via AFP BB News [JP]