Programmable Interactive LEGO Bricks Inspired By Video Games

These days, kids learn how to interact with apps the moment they can hold a mobile device. Kids born today are part of the first generation of true digital natives. With all the technology kids have at their disposal, they will most likely not be as impressed as we were with simple toys like LEGO bricks. To capture the attention of today’s kids, LEGO and Sony teamed up to create the next generation of LEGO. They are programmable, interactive LEGO bricks inspired by video games.

The partnership seems perfect since it will allow LEGO to make a smooth transition into the future of toys, and it will allow Sony to introduce their video games into the world of LEGO. It’s called Toy Alive, and the Toy Alive bots are controlled with Playstation controllers. Each tiny bot has a small motor, a mounted camera and some LED parts. They will allow the kids of today to enter a world of video games, programming, robotics and hardware hacking while playing with interactive LEGO bricks at the same time.

Although this isn’t the first time LEGO has ventured into the world of robotics (Mindstorms) or games (Minecraft), this is the first time so many high tech components are incorporated into the LEGO bricks themselves. These interactive LEGO bricks may be what the kids today come to know as LEGO. They are specifically designed to be simple and small so children can use them with other toys.

I have a feeling the days of dumping a big bucket of old fashioned LEGO bricks out on the living room floor to build something imaginative may soon be over. That doesn’t mean things will get less creative, it just means they’ll get more high tech. You can see these LEGO bricks in action in the video below. It will still be a few years before you will start seeing these in stores.