What Makes the LEGO® Smart Brick “Smart”

The LEGO® Smart Brick is a powerful tool for tech enthusiasts of all skill levels, making interactive technology more accessible for a range of audiences. It is a way for LEGO® structures and minifigures to sense their surroundings, making them more interactive than ever before. Learn more about what truly makes this brick “SMART.”

A Look Inside the Smart Brick’s Core Components

Image source: https://www.lego.com/en-us/SMART-play

The LEGO® SMART Play™ System can react dynamically and accurately to the way you interact with it. It debuted in 2026 to enhance traditional building and play without requiring children to actively use a screen or app. The two-by-four brick consists of several input or output sources:

• ASIC chip: This custom, mixed-signal silicon chip controls all functions and processes, serving as the brick’s brain.
• Light sensors: Acting as the brick’s eyes, they can detect light intensity or color. 
• LED lights: Programmable, multi-color LED lights provide visual feedback, from confirming an action to simply looking neat.
• Motion sensor: This internal orientation sensor allows the brick to detect if it is shaken, tilted, tapped, dropped or otherwise physically interacted with. 
• Motor ports: The Smart Brick includes output ports for connecting and powering motors on LEGO® creations. 
• Miniature speaker: The speaker can play a variety of sounds, acting as its voice.
• Bluetooth connectivity: Encrypted “BrickNet” allows the LEGO® Smart Brick to communicate and share data with other Smart Bricks and connect to the LEGO® Smart Assist app.
• Internal battery: The LEGO® Smart Brick features a rechargeable power source that can be wirelessly charged via a coil.

Additional hardware can be added to the LEGO® SMART Play™ System to enhance its functionalities. For instance, the brick can detect special “SMART tags” to play corresponding audio, such as animal, vehicle and spaceship sounds.

Bringing the Bricks to Life with Code

Image source: https://www.lego.com/en-us/SMART-play

Transform a stationary LEGO® model into an interactive robot. By detecting color or touch, it can navigate mazes, sort objects and otherwise respond to its surroundings. For example, children enjoying Star Wars sets with Smart Bricks can listen to the engine hum and fuel tank refilling. 

The LEGO® Smart Brick can be easily programmed on a computer or tablet through the following:

• LEGO® Smart Assist app: Featuring user-friendly drag-and-drop interfaces, this app can control your brick — including volume control and play feature updates — and serve as an accessible gateway to programming. 
• Coding environments: More advanced tech enthusiasts can use Python and other coding languages to customize the brick’s functions.  
• Open-source software: The coding community might publish instructions and code for the LEGO® Smart Brick that others can adapt to their own models, enabling collaboration and further innovation.

The Smart Brick in Action

Image source: https://www.lego.com/en-us/SMART-play

The LEGO® SMART Play™ System is simple to use. When placed on its charging station, the brick will flash green, yellow or red to indicate its battery level. To power on the Smart Brick, simply shake it. Then, from simple machines to advanced robotics, it offers many possibilities. 

Hobbyist Creations

LEGO® fans and tech enthusiasts of all levels can build and automate complex creations. It is a toolkit for invention. Users might build a:

• Kinetic sculpture or replica: Movement and light sequences can be choreographed into specific patterns, often reacting to a viewer’s presence.
• Self-solving Rubik’s Cube machine: Use a color sensor to scan the cube faces and then program the motors to execute the solving algorithm.
• Automatic pet feeder: This build can dispense a set amount of food at preprogrammed times each day.

There are endless possibilities because SMART bricks, tags and minifigures can attach to any existing LEGO® set. The Smart Brick can even be connected to external technology. For example, consider integrating it with a Raspberry Pi to create a weather station or alarm clock. 

Educational Applications

The LEGO® Smart Brick can revolutionize STEM classrooms. Inegrating STEM lessons and tools in schools can significantly improve students’ creative and computational thinking skills. They foster problem solving, peer collaboration and positive attitudes. 

While experimenting with Smart Bricks and their capabilities, a student will learn to debug their creations and to explain their logic effectively to others. Educators might use Smart Bricks and LEGO® sets in the classroom to:

• Explore engineering design and physics: Students can build robotic arms, bridges, levers and other simple machines. 
• Model scientific concepts: A robotic flower can open when it senses light, or a robotic animal can search for a specific color representing its food source. 
• Introduce programming and algorithms: Loops, variables and conditional “if-then” statements can be created in a hands-on way.
• Animate storytelling: Students can build characters and scenes to retell stories from literature or recreate historical events. 

Frequently Asked Questions

Learn more about LEGO® Smart Brick and how it can foster more interactive experiences. 

What is a LEGO® SMART Brick?

A SMART Brick is a two-by-four LEGO® brick with electronic components that can respond with sound and light. Setup is user-friendly, and the bricks are compatible with new and existing LEGO® sets. 

Is the LEGO® SMART Brick AI?

No, the LEGO® SMART Play™ System does not use AI. Additionally, its Bluetooth software, BrickNet, has built-in privacy controls, and the technology uses sensors rather than microphones or cameras that can record and store data. 

 Is LEGO® Good for the Brain?

Yes, playing with LEGO® offers many benefits. It is an opportunity for children to develop cognitive, fine motor and social skills. The open-ended bricks and sets also spark imagination and unstructured play. 

LEGO® products can also be stimulating and therapeutic for adults. Hands-on activities, including building LEGO® structures, encourage the brain to enter a flow state, which is linked to motivation and stress relief. 

What’s Next for LEGO® and the Tech Community?

The new LEGO® SMART Play™ System will continue to advance as the LEGO® team, tech enthusiasts, STEM educators and even children dream up more ways to use the innovative technology. The future is bright for LEGO® Smart Bricks. 

• Share This Article:

April Miller

Senior Writer

Send an Email

April Miller is a Staff Writer at ReHack Magazine. Her favorite subjects to write about are machine learning, cyber defense & security, and Big Data.

View Bio