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At the CES of Las Vegas today, Lego unveiled its new Smart Play Platformaiming to take its distinctly analog plastic blocks and figurines into a new world of technology-based interactive play, but most importantly without any reliance on screens.
Smart Play is built around the patented Lego brick, rich in sensors and technologies. It’s the same size as a standard 2×4 Lego brick, but it’s capable of connecting to and interacting with compatible smart figures and smart labels in real time. By combining these components, children young and old can create context-appropriate sound and light effects while playing with the Danish company’s toys.
For example, launched on March 1, the $100 Lego Star Wars Smart Play Luke’s 584-piece Red Five All sounds are coordinated by the set’s central Smart Brick brain.
Two more Lego Star Wars Smart Play sets will be released on the same day, but all three are available for pre-order starting January 9. One is a 473-piece Darth Vader TIE Fighter kit ($70) with ion engine sound effects, but the pick of the three might just be the $160, 962-piece Throne Room Duel set with three smart figures of Darth Vader, Emperor Palpatine and Luke Skywalker. The combination of the brick-built brain and connected figures will apparently allow players to recreate (or even rewrite) the final lightsaber battle – complete with buzzing lightsaber sounds – between Luke and Vader at the end of Star Wars: Return of the Jedi. You can even listen to “The Imperial March” as Emperor Palpatine watches the fight from his throne.
Lego claims this Smart Play platform was developed in-house by the company’s Creative Play Lab team in collaboration with Capgemini. Consultants in Cambridge “features over 20 patented world firsts within its technology.”
The heart of the system is Smart Brick’s bespoke chip, measuring smaller than a standard Lego stud. Other elements crammed into the eight-stud brick are an array of LED lights, accelerometers, light and sound sensors, and even a miniature speaker.
The internal battery is supposed to work even after years of inactivity, and to avoid any need for cable access to the Smart Brick once integrated into a beloved creation, Lego has also added wireless charging. In fact, Lego has created a charging base that will power several Smart Bricks simultaneously.
