The future of smart toys and the battle for digital children

As smart toys gain popularity, many are hoping that when technology becomes less visible play will come to the fore

Maura Sparks is sitting on stage with a small, blue plastic creature on her lap. This is the first prototype of Smarty, she explains, a voice-controlled digital assistant Sparks hopes to attract funding for and launch in late 2017.

New gadgets are launched every day in San Francisco, but this personal assistant has a twist: it is the first intended purely for children.