The new sensor-packed Smart Play Brick will land this spring as part of a special Star Wars collection. The update adds interactive lights and sound to the Lego experience—including the minifigs.

Lego packs an electronics platform with 3D magnetic tracking, multi-radio communication, and inductive charging into a brick. Patents reveal how.

The Lego Group confirmed major changes since 1978 with its latest announcement of intelligent bricks marking a new era of interactive play.

LEGO has announced a huge update to its bricks, which the company is calling "one of the most significant evolutions" in 50 years.