LEGO SMART Bricks introduces a new way to build — and it doesn’t require a screen

LEGO announced a new SMART Play system at CES there, adding interactive, responsive LEGO to the famous analog franchise.

The SMART Play system includes 2×4 bricks, SMART Tag boxes, and SMART Minifigures. SMART Bricks and Minifigures can recognize nearby SMART Tags, which are 2×2 studless squares with unique digital IDs that tell Bricks and Minifigures how to behave.

If the SMART Tag comes in a set to build a helicopter, for example, the Smart Brick will light up and make the sound of a propeller that will help the helicopter come to life. The built-in accelerometer will make these lights and sounds more consistent with how you’re flying the helicopter, as Brick will be able to sense when the helicopter is zooming across the sky or turning.

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 Tag 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 identify and work together. The company says that BrickNet is protected by encryption and better privacy controls (all necessary, but imagine a world where there is no problem of hacking into toys!).

No setup is required to pair the elements of the SMART Play system, so it’s easy for kids to get started – and parents will love that there’s no screen involved in the SMART system. However, the LEGO website says there will be SMART Tags for LEGO toilet animations, so… there.

LEGO’s first two SMART Play sets – both of which are Star Wars themed – will launch on March 1, although preorders open on Friday. The “Luke’s Red Five X-wing” building set will cost $69.99, while the larger “Trone Room Duel and A-wing” set will cost $159.99. The set uses 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 abilities.