These new tech toys made me feel like a kid again
Technology has changed how kids play by fusing the digital and physical
Remember Furby? This animatronic furry creature was one of the first popular tech-infused toys. The fuzzy animal, resembling Mogwai from the movie Gremlins, would nod, blink and speak in a weird language that somehow seemed to convince kids it was talking to them.
Furby came out over twenty years ago. It’s safe to say that toys have evolved a lot since then.
This week, Abacus visited the Hong Kong Toys and Games Fair -- the largest toy expo in Asia and the second largest in the world -- to check out the latest in toy tech. And, quite expectedly, the visit immediately turned this serious 30-something journalist into a 10 year old that needs to be dragged out of the playground.
Technology is increasingly merging the physical with the digital, and toys are just one element of this. It can be through remote-controlled battle drones. Or cutesy robots that react to touch with making giggly noises. Or it could be an augmented reality crossbow.
Dragon Bow, made by Hong Kong-based Playable Creation, has sensors on each side of the bow, connected to a smartphone mounted on the crossbow via Bluetooth. This enables you to shoot dragons flying around on the phone’s screen by aiming with this real (well, toy) crossbow.
