Microsoft's Big Bear is watching you

Young children could be watched over by remote control teddy bears with swivelling heads that track every move, thanks to a research project from Microsoft.

'Teddy' is a prototype bear of the future being developed in Microsoft's US laboratories. It has stereovision eyes, built-in Wi-Fi and a microphone.

Motion tracking and facial recognition technologies allows the bear to identify specific children and keep them under surveillance as they move around a room.

"In the future, computers won't just live in your home office or on your desk at work," said a Microsoft spokesperson.

"They will take on many different forms: the wall of your living room, your refrigerator door, or even your child's stuffed animal. You won't have to click a mouse or type on a keyboard to interact with your new computer; just touching, talking and moving will do the trick."

The idea is that parents at work could keep a watch over their children remotely and warn them if they are in danger. Microsoft hopes that, as software gets more advanced, the bear could play games with the child as well.