Unlock More Potential With This Semi-Secret Lego Smart Brick Feature
▼ Summary
– The Lego Smart Brick, awarded Best in Show at CES 2026, can perform precise distance measurement between bricks up to 4-5 meters away.
– A key demonstrated feature is the ability to measure distance and track position in both 2D and 3D space without a physical ruler.
– The bricks can also detect their precise orientation relative to each other, lighting up when facing one another.
– This technology has potential beyond initial Star Wars sets, enabling future interactive games with precise targeting.
– The Smart Brick’s capabilities could simplify complex Lego robotics by allowing navigation without detailed programming or expensive sensors.
A hidden capability within the new Lego Smart Brick system could dramatically expand creative possibilities for builders, moving beyond simple interactions to enable precise spatial tracking. This feature, demonstrated behind closed doors at CES 2026, allows the electronic bricks to measure exact distances and orientations relative to each other in both two and three-dimensional space.
During a final demonstration, Lego Group design manager Maarten Simons showcased this unexpected functionality. He first used a custom “Lego ruler” built from standard bricks, with segments marked every ten studs. Attaching a Smart Brick to one end and sliding another along the ruler, the bricks reliably changed color at each marked division, confirming their ability to track incremental distance.
The truly impressive moment came when Simons moved the bricks away from the ruler entirely. Using just the pair of Smart Bricks, he measured the distance between two points in open space. According to Simons, the technology can accurately track the relative position of another brick from up to four or five meters away. He then rotated one brick in midair, and it illuminated the instant it was pointed directly at the other, demonstrating precise orientation sensing.
While earlier briefings indicated the bricks could sense general proximity and their own tilt, this new level of precision measurement opens a vast array of potential applications that go far beyond the initial launch sets. The first Lego Star Wars kits, for instance, are designed for forgiving play where ships can blast each other without precise aiming, based on research into children’s preferences. However, this new capability could easily support a much more accurate combat game in future themed sets.
The implications for educational and advanced building are particularly significant. Lego robots could benefit enormously from this embedded spatial awareness. Previous sophisticated systems like Mindstorms, while powerful, often required complex programming or additional sensors like cameras. With Smart Bricks that inherently know their location and orientation relative to tags or other bricks, robots could autonomously navigate obstacle courses, return to a home base, or interact with their environment in a more intuitive way, reducing the need for intricate code or expensive components.
Lego remains tight-lipped about the long-term roadmap for its Smart Play platform. Yet, with each demonstration of the system’s underlying capabilities, it becomes clear that these are not simple connectivity toys. The platform is evolving into a sophisticated toolkit, hinting at a future where digital and physical building converge in surprisingly intelligent ways.
(Source: The Verge)
