This post was sponsored by Duracell as part of an Influencer Activation for Influence Central.

Get ready to power up your child’s imagination with the coolest robots of the year!  Duracell, WowWee and Toys”R”Us have teamed up to ignite imaginations in a whole new and exciting way. Jake and I have been playing with WowWee CHiP, the absolute neatest robot dog you’ll ever meet, and we can’t wait to show him off! We’ve also been checking out COJI, the robot that teaches your kids to code. Let me just tell you; they are both are going to be high on every child’s holiday wish list!

Powering Up Imaginations with TRU, WowWee & Duracell

As I mentioned above, Duracell, TRU, and WowWee have teamed up to help you really inspire your whole family’s imaginations! From a robot pet that will instantly become a beloved part of your family to a fun companion that teaches your children all the basics of coding, WowWee’s new products go above and beyond mere “toys” and blast your kids into an exciting 21st-century style learning experience. Both of these fabulous robots are available at Toys ”R” Us! While you’re shopping for them, make sure you add Duracell batteries to your cart, as you’ll need the excellent, long-lasting batteries to power up COJI as well as CHiPs SmartBall! Let’s check out our family’s newest robotic friends!

Meet CHiP, your family’s new best friend!

CHiP is pretty much the coolest robot pet to hit the market in years. He’s completely interactive and actually learns as you play with him. We got CHiP around the middle of September, and he’s quickly become part of the family. Seriously, we talk to him like he’s a real dog…and he responds! In fact, CHiP is probably more well-trained than my actual live dog, Cooper. Don’t tell Coop I said that, though. Since the way you play with him shapes his overall personality, no two CHiPs are the same!

The coolest things about CHiP is all the advanced tech that goes into making him so responsive. He has all sorts of advanced sensors, from Bluetooth LE to beaconsense and gesturesense tech to voice recognition. While I’m not nearly “techy” enough to explain what all those things do, the combo really does make him act and behave like a real dog.

The ways that you can play with CHiP are just so innovative, too. Download the App and use it to move CHiP around, feed him or teach him new tricks. Wear his Smartband and he’ll follow you around and even greet you at the door when you come home. Power up his SmartBall with Duracell batteries and watch him chase it around the house.

Finally, you can even control CHiP just by saying “Hello, CHiP” and giving him voice commands. The options for imaginative play time are virtually endless. We are always discovering fun new ways to engage with CHiP. When he gets tired, he heads back to his bed to charge up for another round of playtime. Check out the WowWee CHiP website for more details and videos of this fun little guy in action!

Teach Kids Coding with COJI

Our kids are living in an age of tech, unlike anything we experienced as children. Learning how to code puts them at such an advantage. Think of it as being bilingual, except their second language is computer language. Kids absorb information so much better than we adults do, so now is the time to teach them as much as possible about the tech world. I started Jake’s computer education when he was two. I bought him a toddler-safe keyboard that hooked into my computer and let him go wild. At three, I got him a special keyboard that only let him explore approved websites. I’ve continued to provide him with as many tools as I can to enhance his tech knowledge. By age 8, he could type almost as fast as I can! Now, at age 11, he’s pretty much surpassed me in all things tech. He really only needs me when his computer glitches out and knocks out the Wi-Fi. Hey, at least I still have some use!

Since he’s been really wanting to dive into coding, I was excited to check out COJI with him. The fabulous think about COJI is that his interface is simple enough for younger kids, but advanced enough that kids Jacob’s age still have a blast with him. He pairs with an app that you use to send him the code and make him do fun things. Almost all the code is emoji-based, a language that our kids definitely understand today!

Let’s check him out in action! Please excuse the quality of the video. I’m a writer, not a video producer. 🙂 I really felt like I needed to show you COJI in action, though.

COJI’s app has a few different modes that allow kids to explore coding and work on their problem-solving skills. Our favorite mode is Freeplay because we can just give COJI a bunch of different commands and watch him go.

The other modes, like the Macro Maze & Sequence Says start out easy, then get more challenging so your kids can learn at their own pace. Drive Mode lets you move COJI around through directional controls.

Power Up with Duracell!

Both CHiP and COJI need high-quality batteries to keep the fun going. While CHiP has a rechargeable  body, his SmartBall runs on regular batteries, and COJI’s entire body is powered by them. Duracell is my go-to choice for keeping the fun going for a long time. We’ve been playing with both CHiP and COJI frequently over the last couple of weeks and I haven’t had to replace the batteries once yet. You’ll find CHiP, COJI and all the Duracell batteries you need for hours upon hours of imaginative fun at your local TRU or on the Toys”R”Us Website. Check out TRU on Pinterest, Twitter and Facebook to keep up with all their exciting news.