Danish toymaker Lego has taken a monumental leap into the digital age, unveiling its first-ever 'smart brick' – the company's most significant design evolution in half a century. The groundbreaking technology was revealed at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, marking a new chapter for the iconic plastic bricks.
The Technology Inside the Brick
At the heart of this revolution is a minuscule, custom-made microchip, smaller than a single Lego stud, embedded within the new bricks. This chip powers a suite of sensors that interpret a child's motion, orientation, and magnetic fields in real-time. As a result, the bricks can sense their position relative to others in a build.
Each smart brick contains an onboard synthesiser to generate dynamic audio and integrated LED lights. This means creations can now light up and produce sounds that change as children tilt and move their models, providing what Lego calls 'dynamic visual feedback' and bringing builds to life.
Launch Details and The Future of Play
The first wave of this innovative Lego SMART Play™ system will launch on March 1 this year, initially featured within Lego's Star Wars building sets. The launch will also include smart tags and smart minifigures, all containing the same tiny four-millimetre chip.
Lego executives positioned the move as a strategic step to create deeply engaging, screen-free play. Tom Donaldson, Senior Vice President & Head of Creative Play Lab, stated the system brings 'creativity, technology, and storytelling together' to set a new standard for interactive experiences.
A Historic Evolution for a Classic Toy
This launch represents the most substantial update since the introduction of the minifigure in 1978. The Lego brick itself was invented by Danish carpenter Ole Kirk Kristiansen in 1932 as a wooden block, with the interlocking plastic version arriving in 1949. The modern brick with its hollow tubes debuted in 1958.
Today, with over 400 million people having played with Lego at some point in their lives, and children spending an estimated five billion hours annually with the bricks, this smart integration aims to captivate a new generation. Julia Goldin, Chief Product & Marketing Officer, called it the 'next exciting chapter' in the LEGO System in Play, designed to meet the evolving needs of modern children.
