Robot Toys of The Past and Present
There is a very interesting historical background of Robot Toys. Do you know the name of the first toy robot and where it is produced?
Actually, the word “Robot” is from “Robota” in the Czech word. It means ‘forced labor‘. The robot was originally designed to save the labor force from boring and repetitive tasks.
Robot Toys In The Past
Before WWII, Germany was one of the best toy manufacturers. On the contrary, Japan could only produce simple toys in poor quality at that period of time.
However, after WWII, All toy manufacturing and development stopped in Germany and Japan and eventually, USA took the lead of toy production.
With the use of German and Japanese manpower and technology, the USA built up the leading position of toy manufacturing. Besides, it also helped Japan rebuild the toy industry. The USA had imported toys and lots of consumer goods from Japan. Eventually, the USA made a great profit on this business.
At the very beginning, robot toys are produced for purposes of providing entertainment, performing programmable tasks and series of complicated actions. Most people believe that Lilliput was the first toy robot designed and produced in Japan.
As you can see, Lilliput was a yellow windup Robot which is made from tinplate. It could simply walk and it was quite popular in the past.
Lilliput, this vintage yellow robot toy is also reproduced and available for sales on Amazon.
- This brightly colored robot looks like it came right out of a sci-fi movie. His arms move as he walks
- He is 8.5″ tall
- He winds up with a key
- He comes in a colorful retro box
- This collectible tin toy is recommended for ages 8 and above
- Comes in a retro box
- He is yellow and orange with black and white graphics
Robot Toys in The Present Day
So… What are the changes of robotic toys in the present day?
Robot Toys, also known as robotic toys or toy robots. People play it for fun and kids can learn the scope of STEM through robot playing.
According to the definition from Wikipedia, STEM means Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics which is a term used to group academic disciplines together. STEM is a term used to address education policy and curriculum choices in schools to improve competitiveness in science and technology development.
As you might know, there are tons of robot toys available in the educational toy market. It is such a hassle to select the right toys for your little engineers. For this reason, we are here to help conduct reviews of robot toys. We hope our Beginner’s Guides and Buyer’s Guides can help you pick the best in the market of toy robotics.
Generally speaking, there are several types of robotic toys in the market.
Automated Robot Toy
The robot can perform certain kinds of preset instructions and commands (E.g. Robot-like toy and electronic Pet). They are relatively simple in structure and functionalities. Those robot toys are good for toddlers for preschool education.
If you search ‘Plush Interactive Toys‘ on Amazon or other robot toy shops, you would see lots of electronic pets available for selection.
Programmable Robot Toy
Kids can learn and use coding to instruct the robot, carry out a series of actions such as dancing, moving, turning around and so on by using the remote control or other control media. (E.g. Programmable robot kit, Pre-built, Remote- & App-Controlled Robots)
GJS GEIO Gaming Battle Robot is one of the best programmable robotic toys in the market. It is not only educational for STEM learning but also entertaining for robot battles with friends. (See our comprehensive review)
GJS GEIO
Gaming Battle Robot
A robot with a certain level of AI (artificial intelligence)
A smart robot has the ability of self-learning and able to interact with kids. It helps little boys and girls develop social skills. Children can communicate and ‘teach’ toy robot to do something they want. (advanced robots which might not only a toy for fun but also can better-living standard)
Benefits of Toy Robotics
As mentioned, robot toys are always categorized under STEM. It is proved that playing robot toys can enhance STEM proficiency. Benefits include:
- Help kids develop the right sequence of problem solving and skill of logical thinking
- Arouse the interest of learning technology and get adopted to electronic devices and applications in early stage
- Get elementary coding skills by building simple robotic toys
- Inspire kids brain and hands development
- Overcoming challenges and developing patience
We hope the above would help you learn more about robotic toys. Feel free to contact us if you are interested in any topics about toy robots.