Combining LEGO bricks and computing is nothing new — Mindstorms robotics kits have been doing exactly that for nearly 30 years. However, Mindstorms sets were discontinued at the end of 2022, so those who are itching to program their LEGO bricks have been stuck with a stud-shaped hole in their heart for several years. Fortunately, this wrong will soon be righted with an official LEGO offering, so hardware hackers no longer need to wire up their own DIY solutions.
LEGO has just announced at CES 2026 what it calls SMART Bricks. These technology-packed bricks work together to create what is called the SMART Play system. The SMART Brick itself is a fully self-contained computer built entirely inside a standard 2×4 LEGO brick form factor. Despite its tiny size, the brick contains a custom-designed ASIC that LEGO says is smaller than a single LEGO stud, along with a surprising array of sensors and output devices.
A collection of the new SMART Play sets (📷: LEGO)
Each SMART Brick includes an accelerometer and inertial sensors to detect motion, orientation, and gestures, light sensors to detect environmental changes, an LED array for visual feedback, and a miniature speaker driven by an onboard synthesizer for sound effects and music. There’s even a microphone, though LEGO is careful to point out it’s used purely as an input sensor — acting like a virtual button that can respond to blowing, tapping, or other sound cues, rather than recording audio.
Power is delivered wirelessly through a dedicated charging pad capable of charging multiple SMART Bricks at once. LEGO claims the internal battery is designed to retain functionality even after years of inactivity, addressing one of the most common complaints about electronic toys. Firmware updates are handled via a smartphone app, allowing LEGO to add new behaviors and interactions over time without requiring any physical changes to the hardware.
SMART Bricks don’t work alone. They interact with LEGO SMART Tags — small, studless tiles embedded with NFC-style identifiers — and LEGO SMART Minifigures, which also contain embedded tags. When a SMART Brick detects nearby tags, it changes its behavior accordingly. A tag associated with a starfighter might trigger engine noises and blinking lights, while a minifigure tag could unlock character-specific sounds like lightsaber hums or iconic musical cues.
Communication between SMART Bricks is handled through a Bluetooth-based mesh protocol called BrickNet. This allows multiple bricks to be aware of each other’s presence, position, and orientation, enabling coordinated behaviors. In practice, that means LEGO vehicles can detect which one crosses a finish line first, ships can react when they collide or flip over, and entire scenes can respond dynamically when characters are placed in specific locations.
The first SMART Play sets launching on March 1, 2026 are all LEGO Star Wars-themed, including Darth Vader’s TIE Fighter, Luke’s Red Five X-Wing, and a Throne Room Duel & A-Wing set.
