Toy Fair 2013 for Techies of all Ages

The American International Toy Fair was in New York last week, where application based toys, robotics and augmented reality toys seemed to be a common focus among manufacturers. Over 1000 manufacturer exhibits were showcased at the 111th Toy Fair, flooding 375,000 net square feet of the Jacob K. Javitts Convention Center with international distributors, importers and sales agents who all eagerly demonstrated their latest products.

Pocher’s Lamborghini Aventador 1:8 model kit car

Tech Toys

This years toy selection had an abundance  of classic toys like puzzles, books, dolls, action figures, trucks and blocks that have gone high-tech and interactive. Even adults would enjoy discovering and playing with these innovative, responsive toys. Here is just a small sample of what this year’s Toy Fair had to offer.

Robots

The Toy Fair had no shortage of robots, which are always a favorite for children and geeks alike.

Robo Me is a 12 inch robot that syncs with your iPhone, which provides the bot with a customizable face. The robot features speech recognition and can perform learned voice commands.

Apptivators are animal or vehicle shaped robots that interact with your iPad. The child can play with both the physical toy and use it in combination with the iPad to play games.

Cublets are super smart building blocks that are individually computerized and each are equipped with their own functions, such as movement, lights, input and so forth. By arranging the blocks together in different combinations, Children ages 3 and up can easily build their own unique robots varying in abilities and function with each build.

Modernized Toys and Puzzles

Ravensburger Augmented Reality Puzzles combine classic physical puzzles with iPad and iPhone apps. First, complete the puzzle in the traditional manner, but when it’s finished, the app turns the puzzle into an interactive world, each puzzle having it’s own responsive features.

The Puzzle Box Helicopter is an advanced spin on a remote control helicopter. Using Brain Computer Interface the Puzzle Box enables a user to control the movements of the chopper with their own brain power by wearing a specialized headset, instead of using a typical remote.

Kiddie stuff

Tech savvy toddlers who love to play with the iPad were not left out at the Toy Fair.

Artsee by Wowwee is an interactive art studio for children ages 3 and up. The device has a touchscreen that responds to the included art tools which click into place at the top of the toy. The child can use the tools to paint and create multiple shapes and patterns. It also has theme options that allow you to place existing animated characters in to the artwork, that will interact with each other in the drawing.

Tiggly is a modernized version of wooden shape puzzles. This app mixes physical toy shapes with interactive games and puzzles on your iPad, allowing the child to get familiar with technology while teaching motor skills as well.

[Images via pocher, pocket-lint & ibelieveinadv]