Lego announced its new Smart Play system<\/a> at CES<\/a> on Monday, adding interactive, responsive Legos to the famously analog franchise.<\/p>\n The Smart Play system includes a 2\u00d74 brick, Smart Tag tiles, and Smart Minifigures. The Smart Bricks and Minifigures can sense nearby Smart Tags, which are 2\u00d72 studless tiles with unique digital IDs that tell the Bricks and Minifigures how to act.<\/p>\n If the Smart Tag comes in a set for building a helicopter, for example, then the Smart Brick will light up and make propeller sounds that would help bring a helicopter to life. Its built-in accelerometer would make these lights and sounds more consistent with how you\u2019re actually playing with the helicopter, since the Brick will be able to sense when the helicopter is zooming through the sky or turned upside down.<\/p>\n The Smart Bricks are powered by a patented ASIC chip, which is smaller than the size of a single Lego stud. The chip uses near-field magnetic positioning to recognize the Tags around it, as well as a miniature speaker, accelerometer, and LED array. Lego also developed a Bluetooth-based protocol called BrickNet, which allows multiple Smart Bricks to recognize each other and operate in tandem. The company claims that BrickNet is protected by enhanced encryption and privacy controls (all of which is necessary, but imagine a world where hacking into toys wasn\u2019t a concern!).<\/p>\n There\u2019s no setup required to pair the elements of the Smart Play system, making it easy for kids to get started \u2014 and parents will be pleased to note that there are no screens involved in the Smart system at all. However, Lego\u2019s website says that there will be a Smart Tag for animating Lego toilets, so\u2026 there\u2019s that.<\/p>\n Lego\u2019s first two Smart Play sets \u2014 which are both Star Wars-themed \u2014 will launch on March 1, though preorders open on Friday. The \u201cLuke\u2019s Red Five X-wing\u201d building set will retail for $69.99, while the larger \u201cThrone Room Duel and A-wing\u201d set will cost $159.99. These sets use the Smart Play system to animate characters like Luke Skywalker and Princess Leia, allowing them to interact with Smart Tags, which enable Lightsaber duels among other Star Wars-related capabilities.<\/p>\n Techcrunch event<\/p>\n \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tSan Francisco<\/span>![\"\"](\"https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/75421_Lifestyle_cons_2.jpg?w=680\")
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tOctober 13-15, 2026<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n