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SmartBrick Bluetooth LEGO controller replaces infra-red remote with your iPhone

If you your kids play with LEGO Technic, and the standard infra-red receiver feels just a little 1990s, a new Kickstarter project has the answer. The SmartBrick is a Bluetooth LE receiver that forms a direct swap for the IR one, enabling you to control your hi-tech LEGO projects with your iPhone.

The SmartBrick has four ports, enabling it to control four functions, and if that’s not enough you can control up to 16 SmartBricks from the app, providing a total of 64 controls. Because it’s Bluetooth LE, you can embed the controller inside your model, and you get around 300 feet of range – and even control your device over the Internet.

The app allows you to choose the remote control profile you’d like for your device. Joystick, gamepad and gyroscopic controls are offered as standard, and you can create your own custom controls.

A pledge of £40 ($68) gets you a brick from the first production run, but there are still some Early Bird specials available for £29 ($49).

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Comments

  1. mpias3785 - 10 years ago

    I miss the L5.

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Avatar for Ben Lovejoy Ben Lovejoy

Ben Lovejoy is a British technology writer and EU Editor for 9to5Mac. He’s known for his op-eds and diary pieces, exploring his experience of Apple products over time, for a more rounded review. He also writes fiction, with two technothriller novels, a couple of SF shorts and a rom-com!


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