The LEGO SMART Brick has been revealed this week, so here's a round-up of everything we know about the innovation so far.
The LEGO Group revealed the LEGO SMART Brick earlier this week at CES, confirming it will appear in a trio of LEGO Star Wars sets due for release in March. Between various interviews, press releases, and on-the-ground videos, there's been a lot to take in around the new type of LEGO brick, so here's a summary of everything you need to know.
What are LEGO SMART Bricks?
Put simply, LEGO SMART Bricks are bricks, tiles and minifigures that can communicate with one another to trigger lights, sound, and music depending on the bricks' relation to one another. In the first sets due to come out, that means that minifigures clashing together with lightsabers trigger lightsaber combat sounds, Star Wars ships that are turned and twisted around in the air make the sounds of flight, and specific accessories like refuelling pumps and hammers make noises related to repairing and topping up vehicles.
Those are just a few early examples that we've seen in the sets so far. Minifigures can also contain the SMART Tags, triggering music and phrases from the Star Wars movies.
How do LEGO SMART Bricks work?
The LEGO Group has explained that much of the technology that went into the LEGO SMART Play system was custom-made for the purposes of these bricks. Specifically, the elements have a patented coil inside them paired with something the company calls SMART Tags. These custom parts are paired with sensors, accelerometers, light sensing, and a sound sensor, as well as a miniature speaker driven by an onboard synthesiser.
These SMART Tags communicate with one another via a positioning system that the LEGO Group developed for this express purpose. That means that each SMART element knows where others are in relation to one another. Not only does this trigger actions when elements touch, but also when they are in different positions around one another.
How is the LEGO SMART Brick powered?
The coil functions much like ones found in an electric toothbrush, so there’s no need for wires for charging. The LEGO Group confirmed to LEGO Fan Media during an online presentation that the SMART Bricks have enough battery that they will be instantly ready to play with straight out of the box, even after being stored on shelves.
Once they run out, it takes around two hours to reach full charge again, with the charger included in the set. There's also an app that you can download to adjust volume and see how low the battery is, so you know when to put your SMART Bricks on to charge. How long it takes to run down the elements will presumably vary depending on how much you use them.
What is the price of LEGO SMART Bricks?
You can't buy LEGO SMART Bricks individually, with them only currently appearing in a trio of LEGO Star Wars sets. These range from £59.99 / $69.99 / €69.99 to £139.99 / $159.99 / €159.99 in price.
The high price per piece of these sets has already drawn some criticism from LEGO fans. In the online presentation of the SMART Play system, the LEGO Group addressed a question from Brick Fanatics on balancing the new technology with accessible pricing.
"Like with any other range from our assortment, there's going to be different price points, different accessibility points, and different value equations across the assortment for SMART Play," explained Federico Begher, SVP of New Business. "It is a slightly different value equation because there's interactive play in it. You can't really compare it like apples to apples to other sets.
"But what I can tell you is that we've done extensive testing with this. We've put it in the hands of many kids and their parents. We've left it in the houses, and we've been very close to how they play.
"Value is one of the things that we really, really wanted to understand, and we have a lot of peace of mind and reassurance that this is a strong value equation that we're offering. That is something that both parents and shoppers are seeing."
What sets feature LEGO SMART Bricks?
Those three sets are 75421 Darth Vader’s TIE Fighter, 75423 Luke’s Red Five X-wing, and 75427 Throne Room Duel & A-wing. All three are due for release on March 1.
The LEGO Group has said that LEGO Star Wars was chosen as the first home for LEGO SMART Bricks to offer a familiar space for them to launch. With kids already largely aware of the world of Star Wars, it provided a space that's well-known to them, so they can comfortably explore and learn what SMART Play is.
Will there be more sets with LEGO SMART Bricks?
The short answer: yes. However, we don't know what sets SMART Bricks will appear in, or if it will come to other licensed themes beyond Star Wars.
"It will continue to evolve," said Lena Dixon, SVP, Product Group, Core Businesses at the LEGO Group. "We will continue to have updates, other themes, and so on. I can't be specific, but yes, there's more to come."
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