Lego Smart Brick Fun

At the beginning of March Lego launched their new Smart Brick technology. The idea is to make Lego models you can interact with. It’s all based around the “Smart Brick”. This is a slightly taller version of the standard “2x8” Lego brick that contains a tiny microcontroller connected to a battery, a microphone, a speaker, an accelerometer, light sensors and a bunch of lights. The brick also contains a bunch of coils which point in different directions. The coils are used to take power from a wireless charger, talk to external RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) devices and also to detect the position and orientation of smart bricks nearby. It’s clever stuff and it all just works.

I initially pre-ordered a couple of sets that contained Smart Bricks. Then I changed my mind and bought a camera instead. Then I got to take a look at the bricks up close and I changed my mind again and bought some. I’d seen reviews that didn’t like the sounds that the bricks made and the way you interacted with them. But I reckon that they are just fine.

At the moment the only sets you can buy are Star Wars themed so I got an X Wing and a Tie Fighter. That got me Luke, Darth and Princess Leia “smart minifigures”. These contain RFID chips which can trigger a Smart Brick to do things. All the behaviours are character appropriate, although you don’t get any voice clips as such. Instead you get a burbling sound a bit like the way that Animal Crossing characters talk. The bricks are controlled by waving different coloured items close to them. Red seems to make lasers fire, green repairs and blue refuels. And if you shake the bricks or move them around, and they’ve been placed in one of the ships, you will get appropriate sounds. It’s a bit restricting to only have two smart bricks; you have to move them between models. The interactions are a bit limited, but they are there and show a lot of potential.

The models themselves are sturdy and fun to make. I’m looking forward to seeing what happens next with the bricks. They can talk Bluetooth to your phone, although at the moment this connection doesn’t do much. In fact, there is a lot of unrealised potential at the moment, but that doesn’t mean it won’t be used in the future. At some point you will be able to upgrade the software in the brick and these features will become available. I’m looking forward to that.