Schlagwort-Archive: Hexbug

Spin Master to Acquire the HEXBUG® Brand and Portfolio of Creative Robotic Technology

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TORONTO, Jan. 10, 2023 /CNW/ – Spin Master Corp. („Spin Master“) (TSX: TOY), a leading global children’s entertainment company, today announced it has reached an agreement to acquire the HEXBUG brand of toys from award-winning toy company, Innovation First International, Inc.

First entering the market in 2007, HEXBUG products feature robotic technology with ingenious movement inspired by nature, giving kids a whimsical and imaginative play experience. HEXBUG products appeal to kids‘ innate love for remote control and fast-moving creatures that exhibit fascinating life-like behavior. With over 100 different toys that range from buildable playsets to battling robots, HEXBUG products bring fun and excitement to robotics and foster children’s creativity to fuel hours of imaginative playtime.

„What excites us so much about HEXBUG is that the inventors have mastered both the science and the art of bringing creatures to life through technology, to deliver truly magical play experiences,“ said Anton Rabie, Spin Master’s Co-Founder. „With this acquisition, Spin Master will combine it’s innovation, global reach and diverse portfolio with HEXBUG’s innovative excellence to surprise and inspire kids in new ways.“

„At Spin Master we are focused on reimagining everyday play and are always looking for opportunities to strengthen our innovative portfolio through meaningful acquisitions,“ said Max Rangel, Spin Master’s Global President & CEO. „HEXBUG is an evergreen brand with a strong foothold within a niche category, opening an opportunity for Spin Master to own and ultimately grow the popular robotic range’s reach through our expanded global footprint while also leveraging this technology across our broader toy offering.“

„Spin Master is the business that can really take our years of foundational tech toy innovation to the next level and gain an even greater awareness for the brand here at home and around the world,“ said Tony Norman, CEO at Innovation First International, Inc.

Expected to close in February 2023, the acquisition of HEXBUG marks Spin Master’s 28th acquisition since the company was founded in 1994 and the 18th since its initial public offering in 2015.

About Spin Master
Spin Master Corp. (TSX: TOY) is a leading global children’s entertainment company, creating exceptional play experiences through its three creative centres: Toys, Entertainment and Digital Games. With distribution in over 100 countries, Spin Master is best known for award-winning brands PAW Patrol®, Bakugan®, Kinetic Sand®, Air Hogs®, Hatchimals®, Rubik’s Cube® and GUND®, and is the global toy licensee for other popular properties. Spin Master Entertainment creates and produces compelling multiplatform content, through its in-house studio and partnerships with outside creators, including the preschool franchise PAW Patrol and numerous other original shows, short-form series and feature films. The Company has an established presence in digital games, anchored by the Toca Boca® and Sago Mini® brands, offering open-ended and creative game and educational play in digital environments. Through Spin Master Ventures, the Company makes minority investments globally in emerging companies and start-ups. With over 30 offices in close to 20 countries, Spin Master employs more than 2,000 team members globally. For more information visit spinmaster.com or follow-on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter @spinmaster.

About HEXBUG
HEXBUG products first entered the toy industry in 2007, with the goal of giving children a positive experience with robotics at a young age. At first, people were drawn to the realistic bug-like attributes of its micro robotic creatures. Now, the brand has over 100 different toys that range from buildable playsets to battling robots. HEXBUG products continue to spark imaginations with their innovative technology loved by kids and adults of all ages.

About Innovation First International
HEXBUG, VEX Robotics, and RackSolutions are subsidiaries of Innovation First International, a privately held corporation. The company is founded on the belief that implementing innovation early in the design process is necessary to create simple, elegant products and solutions. Innovation First began producing electronics for unmanned mobile ground robots and is now a global leader in the technology, robotics, and STEM education industries.

Hexbug Vex Robotics Battlebots – Minotaur Timelapse Build

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Hexbug Vex Robotics Battlebots – Minotaur Timelapse Build. Find the latest News on robots drones AI robotic toys and gadgets at robots-blog.com. Follow us on our Blog Instagram Facebook Twitter or our other sites. Share your robotics ideas and products with us. #robots #robot #omgrobots #roboter #robotic #mycollection #collector #robotsblog #collection #botsofinstagram #bot #robotics #robotik #gadget #gadgets #toy #toys #drone #robotsofinstagram #instabots #photooftheday #picoftheday #followforfollow #instadaily #battlebots #minotaur #vex #hexbug

bots_alive® launches Kickstarter campaign for AI-powered robotic creatures

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AUSTIN — JANUARY 24, 2017 — Today, bots_alive launched its Kickstarter campaign to crowdfund the distribution of a cutting-edge smartphone kit that uses artificial intelligence and augmented reality technology to build robot creatures that feel believably alive.

The complete bots_alive set includes a Hexbug® Spider and a bots_alive smartphone kit that brings the spider to life. The kit contains an infrared blaster that sends remote control signals from the smartphone directly to the Hexbug Spider, an easy-to-apply decal for the Hexbug Spider, and a set of special “vision blocks’”with which owners create the world the robot interacts with—and change that world as they wish.

These physical pieces complement the bots_alive iOS and Android app, which runs all software for augmented reality—including seeing where the robot and the vision blocks are—and artificial intelligence to determine the robot’s behavior. One vision block is often sought by the robot, and the rest are obstacles the robot avoids; owners influence the robot’s behavior by creating areas to explore, mazes, and barricades, and changing them on the fly.

“The bots_alive kit makes an autonomous robot creature out of a popular remote control toy,“ said Brad Knox, founder and CEO of bots_alive. „Our vision is to create artificially intelligent robot creatures that feel organic and alive. By packaging our cutting-edge technology into an affordable kit, we’re excited to bring more organic, lifelike robot characters into the hands of enthusiasts around the world.”

Through a new artificial intelligence technique the founder developed at the MIT Media Lab, the robot creatures are both goal-oriented (like other autonomous robots) yet also uniquely organic: hesitating, looking around, thinking about its next move, and making mistakes, all at a lifelike cadence. This new category of character AI is built during development by demonstrating what the robots should do through puppetry rather than by directly programming them. The bots_alive team is optimistic that this technique will be broadly applicable to robot characters and non-player characters in video games.

In addition to the complete bots_alive set, campaign supporters can also opt-in to a add another Hexbug Spider as a companion and competitor to the first, and they can stock up on vision blocks to enable complex obstacle courses. Owners of Hexbug Spiders can buy the bots_alive smartphone kit alone.

The goal of the 23-day campaign is to raise $15,000 by mid-February, with plans to begin shipping the bots_alive smartphone kits in September.

People can join the initiative by visiting the bots_alive Kickstarter page at: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/bradknox/1389638767?token=9ca2853a

About bots_alive bots_alive is a robotics startup that’s introducing a new, more organic form of robot artificial intelligence. Its cutting edge technology uses a simple smartphone kit to bring a mindless remote control Hexbug Spider to life. Founded by Brad Knox, bots_alive aims to build compelling, lifelike robots that are fun, affordable, and offer limitless play.

For more information, please visit www.botsalive.com.