If there's anything you've probably heard about LEGO's first CES showcase this year, it's the Smart Brick. It's the cornerstone (or should I say cornerbrick?) of Smart Play, LEGO's new interactive system powered by modified bricks and minifigures stuffed with a surprising amount of built-in tech like LEDs and motion sensors. Now you can preorder Lego's first Smart Brick sets, and the company's kicking things off with a throwback to some of its most iconic collabs in a galaxy far, far away.
Three Star Wars sets — the Emperor's Throne Room Duel, Luke's X-Wing, and Darth Vader's TIE Fighter — are available for preorder now on Amazon, with shipping set to begin March 1. Each set comes with at least one Smart Brick, basically a tiny computer that can interact with Smart Minifigures and Smart Tags through embedded NFC chips, which trigger certain sounds or lighting effects depending on their surroundings. For example, a Smart Brick attached to a police car Smart Tag will blare sirens when a robber minifigure approaches and turn off when a police officer minifigure gets close. Most importantly, the system works all on its own, without needing to connect to your smart device.
