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Xiaomi is Anime Archivesproducing a plastic toy robot that you can assemble into different forms, and control with an app.

Called the Toy Block, the coding toy appears to rely on Lego-like pieces. The kit will come with various other components like wheels, gears and chains, to make your moveable robot come to life.

Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable SEE ALSO: A dancing, laser beam-shooting robot aspires to teach kids how to code

Xiaomi says the robot will be powered by an ARM Cortex-M3 chip, and will come with sensors such as a gyroscope and be able keep itself upright. The structure will be stable enough to hold up to 3kg while moving forward, its website claims.

Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable

The accompanying app will allow you to set a sequence of moves for the robot.

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Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable

Lei Jun, Xiaomi CEO, announced the Toy Block on Friday on his Weibo account, adding that it will go on sale for 499 yuan ($73) on China's big Singles' Day online sale on Nov. 11.

Some commenters complained that the price is set too high, while others pointed out that the robot's building blocks look a lot like Lego pieces.

Compared with other modular coding toys on the market, however, Xiaomi's robot is priced pretty competitively. Fischer Price's Code-a-Pillar, for example, retails for $49.99 for a considerably simpler hardware setup. The Dash robot from Wonder Workshop starts at $149.99.

The coding toy market has been heating up as of late. In June, Google threw its hat in the ring with Project Bloks, a set of electronic blocks meant to teach kids the fundamentals of programming. It isn't available commercially yet.

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Topics Xiaomi

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