 Tekno with ball and bone accessories | |
| Type | Electronic robotic toy |
|---|---|
| Inventor(s) | Bob Del Principe, Brian Dubinsky, Gary Leynes |
| Company | ToyQuest, Genesis Toys |
| Country | US and UK |
| Availability | 2000–onwards |
Tekno the Robotic Puppy (also known as Teksta the Robotic Puppy) is a popular electronic robotic toy which originally launched in late 2000. Tekno sold more than 7 million units in its first season and went on to sell more than 40 million units in its original 4 years of production. The worldwide popularity for Tekno led to prominent awards and widespread media coverage which included newspaper articles, television and film appearances, and a stand-alone feature on the cover of Time magazine.[1]
It had more than 160 emotions and functions.[2] Tekno's basic fun included walking, barking, eating, and sleeping, and special motor sensors enabled emotional and lifelike intelligence. It could be "taught" to respond to voice commands and to perform real dog tricks such as fetching, whining, and playing tricks with the included bone and ball accessories.[3] Smart light sensor technology also gave Tekno the ability to understand visual commands and to react to environmental stimuli, even knowing when to go to sleep on its own.[4]
Since 2013, the new Tekno, now known as Teksta, was released by Genesis Toys in the UK, it is controlled by a smart device like iPad, Android phone, and Windows Phone 8. As of 2016, a 5th Generation version will be slated to be released.
- ^ "Kick-Start Toy Quest's Fortunes". Los Angeles Times. 29 March 2005. [1]
- ^ "Leaders of the Pack". Archived from the original on 20 January 2011.
- ^ "Electronic Furby: Toy store shelves are going to the robo-dogs". www.mimitchi.com. Archived 14 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Tekno Light Sensors". Archived from the original on 29 October 2013.