Tekno the Robotic Puppy facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Tekno the Robotic Puppy

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 super popular electronic toy dog. It first came out in late 2000. Tekno was a huge hit, selling over 7 million units in its first few months! In its first four years, over 40 million Tekno puppies were sold around the world.

Tekno's popularity was so big that it won many awards and was featured everywhere. It appeared in newspapers, on TV, in movies, and even on the cover of Time magazine!

Tekno was special because it had over 160 different emotions and actions. It gave kids a cool peek into what future technology might be like. Children could have a fun robotic pet without needing to feed it or clean up after it. Tekno could walk, bark, eat, and sleep just like a real dog. Special sensors helped it act like it had feelings and was alive. You could even "teach" Tekno to listen to your voice and do tricks. It could fetch its bone or ball, whine, and play. Tekno also had smart light sensors, so it could see commands and react to its surroundings. It even knew when to go to sleep on its own!

Since 2013, new versions of Tekno (now called Teksta) have been released. These newer models can be controlled using smart devices like an iPad, an Android phone, or a Windows Phone 8. A 5th Generation version was planned for release in 2016, bringing even more fun features.

Meet the Tekno Family: Other Robotic Friends

After Tekno the Robotic Puppy became so popular, the creators launched many other cool robotic pets and robots. Here are some of the amazing friends that joined the Tekno family:

Tekno the Newborn Puppy

This is a smaller version of the original Tekno. Just like the 2013 Tekno, it comes with a ball for playing.

Kitty the Tekno Kitten

Kitty the Tekno Kitten first came out in 2001. It was sold only at Toys “R” Us stores. Kitty was advertised as the perfect friend for Tekno the Robotic Puppy. Besides having smart technology like Tekno, Kitty had special eyes that changed colors to show different feelings. Kitty also came in many different colors and looked like various cat breeds, making each one unique.

A new version, called "Tekno the Robotic Kitty," was released in 2007. This one came with a remote control. In 2014, another new Kitty the Tekno Kitten launched in the UK. This pink kitty could flip and pounce! It also came with a robotic mouse that had flashing eyes.

Baby Kitty the Tekno Newborn Kitten and daMouse the Tekno Mouse

This version of Kitty was similar to the first one. It also came with "daMouse," a robotic mouse. DaMouse loves to race around and be chased by Kitty! It came with fun accessories like cheese, a fish, and a small mouse.

Polly the Tekno Parrot

Polly was the third robotic pet in the Tekno and Friends line. Polly was a talkative robot with special voice learning technology. She could listen to her owner's words and repeat them! Polly also came with a cage that could charge her batteries.

Rex and Steg, Fighting Tekno Dinosaurs

Released in 2003, Rex and Steg were the fourth pets in the Tekno and Friends line. These robotic dinosaurs could fight each other! Rex came with a bone, and Steg came with a leaf.

Tekno Dinkie Robots / Teksta Dotbot Robotic Family

The fifth robots in the Tekno and Friends line were Fubo^Kie, Jibo^Kie, Suki^Kie, Oto^Kie, Koukou^Kie, and Bikou^Kie. These robots had artificial intelligence and reacted to voices. They could even talk to each other in their own "Dinkish" language! They looked a bit like astronauts and had sound sensors and red "fuel" buttons. Most of them could walk, except Koukou^Kie, who rocked side to side. Each Dinkie Robot had different play modes like clock, alarm, song, games, and even a "brush teeth" mode! In the UK, they were called Teksta Dotbots.

Battling Tekno Saber Scarab

This robotic saber scarab was the sixth release in the Tekno and Friends line. It came with its own remote control.

Boomer the Robotic Puppy

Boomer was the first pet in the Tekno 2.0 series. He looked like a beagle or a dalmatian. Boomer came with a ball and a steak toy.

Mack the Robotic Fish

Mack was the second Tekno 2.0 pet. This robotic fish could "swim" on flat surfaces like floors and tables. But remember, he doesn't swim in real water!

Roscoe the Robotic Frog

Roscoe was the third Tekno 2.0 pet. This robotic frog loved to leap everywhere! He came with a lilypad and a fly toy attached to it.

Flash the Robotic Turtle

Flash was the fourth Tekno 2.0 pet. This robotic turtle walked slowly. He came with a "lake" accessory. If you took off his shell, he would say "Uh Oh!"

Tekno the Robotic Pony

Released in 2007, this robotic pony was part of the Tekno and Friends pet line. Tekno the Pony could gallop and loved to "eat" apples.

Tekno Mega Mech R/C Robot 48-Inch

This was a huge, inflatable Tekno robot, like a giant balloon! It came with a remote control and rolled around instead of walking.

Sakura: Best Friend Robot

Sakura was released in 2007 and sold at popular stores like Toys R'Us and Walmart. Sakura was designed to be a best friend robot for kids. She could answer yes and no questions, tell fortunes, share funny facts, talk about fashion, and even keep secrets using her special key and remote. Sakura could also dance on her robotic scooter! She came with her scooter, a remote, a key with a keychain, and a bouquet.

Playful Pup Tekno

This robotic beagle was another 2007 release in the Tekno and Friends Pet line. It was controlled by a remote and came with a magnetic ball or bone.

Tekno Newborns

2007

In 2007, the Tekno Newborns line included a puppy, a kitten, an elephant, and a monkey. The puppy came with a bone, the kitty with a mouse, the elephant with a haystack, and the monkey with a banana.

2015

The 2015 Tekno Newborns only included a puppy and a kitty.

2016

The 2016 Tekno Newborns came in multiple cool metallic colors for both the puppy and the kitty.

Tekno Robotic T-Rex

Similar to the earlier Rex: Fighting Tekno Dinosaur, this T-Rex was released in 2014. It came with a bone that could be taken apart. If you made its mouth open and gave it the bone, it would "chew" it and then launch it away with a big burp!

Tekno Robotic Scorpion

The Tekno Robotic Scorpion was released in 2015. This aggressive little robot had a pretend sting in its tail! It came with a clever remote control that strapped to your hand. Your hand movements would make the Scorpion move 360 degrees. You could even have two or more scorpions fight each other using their giant pincer hands!

Tekno Robotic Toucan

The Tekno Robotic Toucan was released in 2016. This amazing bird had a super sensitive voice recognition chip. This allowed for even better control and more sophisticated actions.

Tekno Micro Pets

In 2017, the Tekno Micro Pets were released. This line included tiny versions of puppies, kittens, dinosaurs, and raccoons. They were small, but they came with tracks for them to run on!

Tekno Through the Years: A Timeline

• 2000 version: Came in silver, gold, and dalmatian colors.
• 2007 version: Available in white, silver, dalmatian, beagle, red, and purple.
• 2013 version: Came in blue, pink, dalmatian, and even a Scooby-Doo design!
• 2016 version: Available in black, and new colors for the Newborns variety.
• 2019 version: Known as the 360 version.