This semi-secret Lego Smart Brick feature gives it even more potential

We conscionable gave the Lego Smart Brick our Best In Show grant astatine CES 2026, and I wanted to extremity by The Lego Group’s suite to get a past glimpse earlier I near Las Vegas.

To my surprise, the institution showed disconnected 1 much characteristic I didn’t spot during my first demo, possibly the astir awesome 1 should these bricks make their measurement to big builders: precise region measurement.

Lego Group creation head Maarten Simons whipped retired a “Lego ruler” made of modular Lego bricks divided into segments that were each 10 Lego studs, aliases astir 8cm (3.15 inches) long. He attached a Smart Brick to 1 extremity of the ruler, and dragged a 2nd Smart Brick on its length. The Smart Bricks changed colour each clip different 10 10 studs was passed, precisely astatine the dividing lines of each segment.

Simons past moved the Smart Bricks distant from the ruler and performed the aforesaid trick. Using conscionable a brace of Smart Bricks, he was capable to measurement the region betwixt 2 points successful 2D and 3D space. Simons says the bricks tin accurately way each other’s position astatine distances of up to astir 4 to 5 meters (12–16 feet) away.

Then, Simons rotated a ceramic successful midair, and we watched it ray up arsenic soon arsenic it was precisely facing the different brick.

From erstwhile briefings, I already knew the bricks could show their own predisposition and if they were comparatively person aliases further from each other. But it’s intelligibly much powerful than that, pinch much imaginable than the first 3 Lego Star Wars sets will connection connected motorboat time (assuming these precision features activity successful the existent world pinch each its forms of wireless interference).

The Lego Star Wars sets very intentionally fto kids blast each other’s ships without them genuinely facing each other, because the company’s investigation shows kids for illustration that. But it intelligibly doesn’t person to beryllium that way. Low-hanging fruit: early Lego creations could person a precise blasting game.

They mightiness person imaginable successful Lego robots too. Lego Mindstorms was 1 of the toymaker’s astir blase building sets, but moreover pinch drag-and-drop programming capabilities, its complexity constricted its entreaty to kids. With the Smart Brick’s expertise to cognize its location and predisposition astir different Smart Bricks, Lego robots could perchance navigate obstacles built pinch Smart Tags, aliases autonomously find their measurement backmost to guidelines stations without the request for elaborate programming, cameras for sensing, aliases pricier components for illustration the Mindstorms’ Intelligent Brick.

Lego’s being highly quiet astir early plans for its caller Smart Play system, but it’s getting much and much interesting, pinch much imaginable uses, arsenic the institution reveals what the bricks are tin of.