Lego Smart Bricks introduce a new way to build – and they don’t require screens

Lego announced its new product Intelligent playing system in CES On Monday, interactive, responsive LEGO bricks are added to the popular analogue series.

The Smart Play system includes a 2×4 block, Smart Tag tiles, and Smart minifigures. Smart Bricks and Minifigures can sense nearby Smart Tags, which are 2×2 unmarked tiles with unique digital IDs that tell the bricks and Minifigures how to behave.

If the smart brick comes in a kit to build a helicopter, for example, the smart brick will light up and make propeller sounds that will help bring the helicopter to life. A built-in accelerometer would make these lights and sounds more consistent with how you actually play with the helicopter, since the bricks would be able to sense when the helicopter takes to the sky or turns upside down.

The smart brick is powered by a patented ASIC chip, which is smaller than the size of a single Lego stud. The chip uses near-field magnetic positioning to recognize landmarks around it, as well as a miniature speaker, accelerometer and LED array. Lego has also developed a Bluetooth-based protocol called BrickNet, which allows multiple smart bricks to recognize each other and work side by side. The company claims that BrickNet is protected by enhanced encryption and privacy controls (all necessary, but imagine a world where game hacking isn’t a concern!).

There’s no setup required to pair elements of the Smart Play system, making it easy for kids to get started – and parents will be happy to note that there are no sharing screens in the Smart system at all. However, the Lego website says there will be a smart sign to move the Lego toilets, so… there it is.

Lego’s first two Smart Play sets – both Star Wars-themed – will launch on March 1, though pre-orders open on Friday. The “Luke’s Red Five X-wing” building set will retail for $69.99 USD, while the larger “Throne Room Duel and A-wing” set will cost $159.99 USD. These sets use the Intelligent Play system to animate characters like Luke Skywalker and Princess Leia, allowing them to interact with Intelligent Tags, which enable lightsaber duels among other Star Wars-related abilities.