Lego X: Physical Blocks Auto-Generate Digital Schematics

lego x construction kit

Translating analog constructions into virtual realities, a combination of hardware and software tracks what you build in realtime and effectively backsĀ up both process and product in digital format. The system uses a combination of accelerometers built into the blocks themselves and wireless radios that transmit their motion to your device.

The idea has a variety of potential applications, from industrial and architectural design to converting objects from one material or size to 3D-printable formats at other scales. The results can be rendered as you build in full color, wireframe or other display modes to give you different perspectives on what you are creating.

lego x in 3d

There are also myriad educational possibilities, allowing children to alternate interactions with digital and physical objects without any kind of complex rendering program.

augmented reality sketchbook

gravity 3d notepad

Its makers at Gravity are the same group responsible for a remarkable augmented reality sketchbook that allows you to effectively draw in three dimensions – this is in some ways an extension of the same digital/physical hybridization.

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See more in Gaming & Geek or under Gadgets. March, 2015.