How Lego designed its new interactive Smart Brick

While the Lego Group has dipped its toes into tech waters before, the company hasn’t strayed far from its analog roots. But on Monday, the 94-year-old company unveiled a new product line that embraces the digital age, without abandoning its core business.

At CES, Lego announced the upcoming launch of the Lego Smart Play system, an interactive technology that lets users’ Lego creations respond to player actions with tailored sounds, lights, behavior, and more. The company says it’s a way to further engage digital native kids without having them stare at yet another screen.

While the toy market has struggled for the past few years, sales at the Lego Group have remained strong; 2024 was a record year, with revenues of $10.8 billion, and the first half of 2025 showed further growth. But the competition for kids’ attention continues to grow. Through Smart Play, the company hopes to keep younger Lego enthusiasts engaged.

“Everything that we do is driven with an appetite for innovation,” says Julia Goldin, chief product and marketing officer of the Lego Group. “It took a long time to craft the technology that would enable us to do it in a way that’s also lesson-based.”

The first three products, launching March 1, will be Star Wars-themed: Luke Skywalker’s 548-piece X-Wing ($100), Darth Vader’s TIE Fighter (743 pieces, $69), and a 962-piece set that includes the Emperor’s Throne Room and an A-Wing for $160.

Lego showcased the technology in demos at CES, showing how Smart Play could work in a number of scenarios. When a Lego minifigure “robber” tried to steal a police car, for instance, an alarm sounded, but when the police minifigure sat in the driver’s seat, it triggered a siren. Lego ducks quacked. And car wheels squealed when players took sharp turns with their Lego creations.

Those were just tech demos and not something Lego plans to release. The Star Wars sets will mark the debut of Lego Smart Play at retail. Like the demos, though, the X-Wing and TIE Fighter make the same sounds fans know from the big screen as players pretend to fly them through the air. Crash the X-Wing (or turn it upside down) and R2-D2 will scream in terror.

Lego will begin taking preorders on Jan. 9 through its website and retail stores. (Other retailers will as well.) And while the initial focus is on kids, Goldin says, based on early feedback, she’s confident the technology will find its way to larger Lego kits tailored to adults.

A long time coming

Work on Lego Smart Play started eight years ago, with more than six years of technological development. The result is a system that incorporates three interactive elements: Lego Smart Tags, Lego Smart Bricks, and Lego Smart Minifigures.

Those three elements work in tandem. Smart tags—flat-topped two-by-two pieces that sit atop the Smart Bricks—control the sounds, lights, and behaviors that are performed. And multiple smart tags can interact with each other, making for a more complex (and interactive) experience. The Smart Brick itself is loaded with sensors, accelerometers, a mini speaker, and more—and powered by a newly created silicon ASIC chip that’s smaller than one standard Lego stud. Smart Minifigures, meanwhile, have their own personalities, with programmed moods and reactions that are heard through the Smart Brick’s speaker.

The Smart Brick reacts differently depending on how it’s moved, twisted, and turned. And because it has a synthesizer embedded, it can create any sound the programmers want, versus a limited set. In total, Lego has filed 25 patents for the new technology, and the company says at its peak, the production line for the Smart Brick was as long as seven school buses.

Some of the interactive elements almost didn’t happen. Lego spent years developing the positioning system that lets Smart Bricks know precisely how close they are to other Smart Bricks, Smart Tags, and Smart Minifigures and react appropriately. Deadlines came and went. Finally, just as executives decided to scrap the concept, the team tweaked the system one last time—and managed to get it working 

One of the key factors in designing and building the new type of Lego brick, says Lego Group senior vice president and head of Creative Play Lab Tom Donaldson, was to create something that would have the same longevity as the classic bricks (which were introduced in 1958).

“We want to [build] a platform that lasts for a period of time,” he says. “If you have a Lego brick from this year, it works with a Lego brick from 10 or 30 years ago. We spent a lot of time thinking ‘how do we build a system that lasts rather than a system that you have to upgrade?’ We don’t expect consumers will have to replace their bricks every two years. We want them to keep the same bricks—and that brings a lot of challenges.”

That doesn’t mean the technology won’t improve. Donaldson says the company will push software upgrades in years to come, rather than update the hardware, giving players new abilities without having to invest in new technology.

The Lego Smart Bricks will come with a wireless charger. Battery life will vary depending on how “hard” users play with the bricks. Times can range from roughly 40 minutes to a couple of hours, says Soren Holme, a design director at Lego. They can interact with each other from as far as 23 feet away in open spaces, he adds.

And to ensure the Smart Bricks can be played with for years, they hold their charge in a coil, much like an electric toothbrush. That not only makes them easier to charge wirelessly, it ensures a longer lifespan. 

The new bricks are loaded with all manner of tech, but what you won’t find included is artificial intelligence. While so many other products at CES are hopping on board the AI bandwagon, Lego decided to abstain with its new product—for now, at least.

“When we first started, we expected to bring in AI at some point, but it wasn’t the first thing to bring in,” says Donaldson. “At the moment, we think we have some tremendous opportunities that don’t require AI and that’s where we really want to focus today.”

“Should we see an opportunity where AI can play a role, it’s possible to integrate and evolve it in the future,” adds Goldin. “But we wanted to design an experience the consumers would really love—and we didn’t think we needed AI for that experience.”

source https://www.fastcompany.com/91469438/how-lego-designed-its-new-interactive-smart-brick