On display this year at the New York Toy Fair were a number of high-tech toys that are poised to innovate playtime upon release. NY1’s Adam Balkin filed the following report.

Whether by design or through technology, new neckties and shoelaces underscore a noticeable trend at this year's American International Toy Fair: it seems with the right touch, anything can be made into a toy these days. “Codees” are another perfect example of that. They’re twistie, turnie, makie-whatever-you-wantie thingies that came from a place hardly known for toy development.

“It was actually developed by some guys at MIT working on things in nanotechnology. They were modeling things that were going to be the size of a pinhead, and the models, they're like 'oh these are really fun, you can do some cool stuff with this,’ and actually, we've gone and turned it into a toy,” says Eric Levin of TechnoSource.

For $8 this spring, you get one 64-piece strand with a code that tells you how to make a specific creature or object. Developers are also setting up an online meeting place for people to swap codes or even create and share some of their own.

littleBits, meantime, are also for creating. They're basic circuit boards that snap together with magnets so that kids can create their own toys.

“There's not soldering, no wiring—everything just snaps together. You can't plug anything in the wrong way because the magnets prevent that. You're learning about science, electricity, logic, things like that,” says Paul Rothman of littleBits.

The littleBits starter kit is out now for around $90.

Now, you've no doubt heard of popup books, but what about “POPAR” books? AR refers to Augmented Reality, meaning the books come to life once you hold them in front of your computer.

“You actually open up the page, butterflies, rocket ships, bulldozers cross the page, so not only can you read it, you can see it and be it. You actually hold the book in front of a webcamera, PC or Mac, and it comes alive, sprouts to life,” says Scott Jochim of POPAR Toys.

Out now for $20 apiece are books on planets, bugs and construction. One on princesses is up next.