• Lego’s next release is a digital brick loaded with sensors that add new layers of interactivity to its play sets. • WIRED got exclusive access to the Lego labs where the Smart Brick was born. • …the Smart Brick could represent the most radical product Lego has produced since Jens Nygaard Knudsen, the company’s former longtime chief designer, created the minifigure nearly 50 years ago. • What the world will see … when the new Smart Play System launches is a tranche of Star Wars sets that spring to life with light and sound. • Darth Vader’s TIE fighter will make screaming engine sounds that change pitch as you bank and climb. • A Throne Room Duel set offers up motion-activated thrumming lightsaber sounds, as well as a more than passable rendition of “The Imperial March.” Crammed into the eight-stud brick are an LED array, accelerometer, light sensors, sound sensor, a miniature speaker, a battery with wireless charging, an analog synthesizer, and a hair-thin copper coil assembly-all controlled by a 4.1-millimeter custom mixed-signal ASIC chip running bespoke software that takes its instructions from Lego’s accompanying NFC-enabled smart tiles and smart minifigs.
Article Summaries:
- Lego has unveiled a new “Smart Brick” that incorporates a suite of sensors and electronics-LEDs, an accelerometer, light and sound sensors, a miniature speaker, a battery with wireless charging, an analog synthesizer, and a custom ASIC chip. The eight‑stud brick is designed to work with NFC‑enabled smart tiles and minifigures, allowing it to respond to motion, light, and touch. Wired reports that the first releases will feature Star Wars playsets, such as a TIE fighter that plays engine sounds that change pitch with movement and a Throne Room Duel set that triggers lightsaber sounds and music. Lego claims the Smart Brick could be its most radical product since the minifigure’s introduction.
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