Transforming toys into high-tech products

Children play at a Lego Experience Center in Shanghai, the 14th in the world, which opened in April. Children are increasingly showing keen interest in intelligent toys as toymakers use advanced technologies to integrate learning and analytical skills into play time. CHEN FEI / XINHUA

In March, Tencent released its first self-developed children's intelligent entertainment product, which combines a virtual game with physical toys. Other companies are also aiming at the children's market to develop drones, virtual-reality glasses and augmented-reality toys.

According to Euromonitor International, a market research firm, the sales value of the Chinese toys and games industry has risen from 46.3 billion yuan ($7.05 billion) in 2010 to 74.4 billion yuan in 2014, with an average annual growth rate of 12.6 percent. The figure is expected to surpass 100 billion yuan in 2017.

The intelligent toy market is growing rapidly, and the most advanced technologies are seen reinvigorating the traditional toy market.

It is estimated that the compound growth rate of global intelligent toy market will reach 35 percent for the 2014-18 period.

Makeblock, the main brand of Shenzhen Maker Works Technology Co Ltd, is another good example of success in the toy market. It is a robotics construction platform that consists of more than 400 types of metal building blocks, electronic modules and software tools.

Founded in 2012, the company provides one-stop robotics construction solutions so that users could build any robots they can imagine by using various mechanical parts and electronic modules.

They are also able to connect Makeblock parts with Lego blocks. The products are priced from $99 to $799.

Wang Jianjun, CEO and founder of MakeBlock, said: "Makeblock is an open platform, compatible with many other parts and systems, and we help people turn their ideas into reality.

"Many tech firms have seen the huge potential in the intelligent toy market and increased investment in the field. It is good for consumers as they have more choices, and healthy competition will push forward the progress of the industry."

Wang said he is optimistic about the prospects for intelligent toys. In his view, the intelligent toys could harness children's programming capability and logical thinking ability, let the children enjoy the pleasure of creation and make education interesting.

"We will continue to exploit the education market and launch educational robots for harnessing students' latent abilities."