Lego Boost is going to turn all your Lego toys into programmable robots CES is full of robots, but Lego robots... well, that doesn't happen every year.Educational codable robot toys have been a mega-trend in kid tech over the last year, from Jimu to Cozmo. Lego has had its own Mindstorm educational robotics kit for years, but its pieces come from the older-skewed Technics sets, as opposed to the piles of multicolored bricks everyone's basements are full of.Lego Boost is the idea that Lego was overdue to debut. It's a set of motors and programmable bricks that can work with existing Lego kits and turn them into motorized or motion-sensitive toys. And the app can record voice effects... so, yes, you can make your robot Lego-cat speak.The $160 set, coming in the second half of 2017, comes with instructions to build five different things out of the box: "Vernie the Robot, Frankie the Cat, the Guitar 4000, the Multi-Tool Rover 4 (M.T.R.4), and the Autobuilder." After that, any existing Legos can be glommed onto new creations, according to Lego: "a walking base for making animals like a dragon or a pony, a driving base for building vehicles like a dune buggy or rover, and an entrance base so that children can make their own castle, fort, or even a futuristic space station."
The kit is targeted at kids 7 and older.A companion Android and iOS app will handle the programming parts, using what Lego claims are basic coding instructions. Similar ideas live in most toy robot kits made over the last couple of years. Lego's advantage is, clearly, that you could potentially make a dancing dinosaur, a DIY Batmobile or a robotic Star Wars base. Or something of the sort.The Lego Boost comes with three Boost bricks that do most of the robotic heavy lifting, including a tilt sensor, a color and distance sensor and a motor. The set also comes with 843 pieces and a special playmate that the robots can move on.Stay tuned for hands-on impressions at CES, but this sounds like the Lego holiday gift to beat all Lego gifts. Google Pixel XL Phone Google's larger Pixel XL whips up an ace Android experience Nintendo NES Classic Edition Mini NES Classic is your childhood in a brilliant little box Apple MacBook Pro with Touch Bar (15-inch, 2016) Apple MacBook Pro with Touch Bar (15-inch) review
Foxtel's next-gen iQ3 mixes your cable TV and VOD Visit manufacturer site for details. Scott Stein is a senior editor covering iOS and laptop reviews, mobile computing, video games, and tech culture. , Men's Journal, and Maxim, and regularly appears on TV and radio talking tech trends.Lego has said it is reversing its policy on bulk purchases and will no longer ask customers what they want to use the bricks for.The U-turn follows a recent controversy involving Chinese artist Ai Weiwei.In October last year, Ai accused Lego of censorship when it refused to sell its bricks directly to him.The company said its policy was to reject requests if it believed the bricks would be used to make a political statement.Ai is known for his criticism of the Chinese government as well as for being one of the world's leading contemporary artists. He wanted the bricks for an artwork on political dissidents. The artist ended up using "fake" bricks donated to him by the public for an exhibition in Melbourne, Australia.Ai appeared to react to Lego's decision on Wednesday by posting a picture on Instagram of a young boy sticking bricks onto his face, accompanied by a grinning emoji caption.
When Lego first refused to sell a bulk order of plastic bricks to Ai Weiwei in September, he's thought to have kept the news to himself. But a few weeks later, the announcement that a new Legoland theme park would open in Shanghai led the artist to reveal Lego's decision to stay away from projects that had a "political agenda". It was a surprising decision by Lego. After all, Ai Weiwei had used Lego before. He created a series of portraits of political dissidents that appeared at an exhibition in Alcatraz prison in 2014. Back in October, the artist tied Lego's financial interests in China with its decision to refuse his order. His accusation has some merit: KIRKBI, the private Danish company that owns the Lego brand also owns a significant amount of shares in Merlin Entertainment, the British company that operates Legolands around the world.China is Lego's fastest growing market and the company wouldn't want to irritate Beijing. However, as Lego might attest, few would want to battle the feisty Ai Weiwei.
In a statement posted on its website on Tuesday, Lego said it used to ask customers ordering bulk purchases for the "thematic purpose" of their project, as it did not want to "actively support or endorse specific agendas"."However, those guidelines could result in misunderstandings or be perceived as inconsistent, and the Lego Group has therefore adjusted the guidelines for sales of Lego bricks in very large quantities," it said.As of 1 January the company will instead ask that customers make clear the group does not support or endorse their projects, if exhibited in public.Lego's earlier decision to refuse Ai's request angered the artist, who accused the company of censorship and discrimination, and of attempting to define political art.The artist told the BBC he welcomed Lego's change of heart."I think Lego made a good move, I think this would be a small victory for freedom of speech." The artist also linked Lego's stance with business interests in China.The controversy sparked a public backlash resulting in supporters around the world offering to donate toy bricks.
Ai set up "Lego collection points" in different cities, and ended up making a new series of artworks based on the incident as a commentary on freedom of speech and political art.Correction: This article was changed to make it clear that Ai Weiwei's Melbourne exhibition used non-Lego bricks.Outside of the usual major retailers, there are quite a few independent shops around Adelaide and South Australia. We’ll be keeping this list up-to-date as best we can, but if you know of another shop, please leave a comment below! Visit the Brick Lady website Visit the Galaxy Toys website Visit the Toys R Go website Visit the Toy Corner website Visit the Refreshing Memories Website Sueclays Antiques and Vintage Decor Visit the Sueclays Antiques and Vintage Decor Facebook Page Visit the Brickoholics Facebook Page Bricklink is a huge website that not only lists just about every set and LEGO piece you could want, but its filled with online stores of people selling new and used LEGO.