Lego bricks have been in the top preferences for architectural toys for many generations of kids and adults alike. We all enjoy playing with the colorful Lego pieces. Many art exhibitions sometimes dedicate one full section to the famous bricks, creating an interactive experience designed to engage people in the architectural thinking of creative modeling. Gravity, a company based in London, has recently announced an application that will use “location mapping and gyroscopic sensors” to generate digital models of Lego creations.
“[Lego X] is a network of bricks that communicate through an application made in-house,” Oluwaseyi Sosanya from the Gravity team announced. “You have your bricks and you start building with them; the system understands the shapes being built and lets you control certain parameters to modify the shape for use when finished building.”
Imagine 3D modeling programs that create 3D printable models by playfully stacking sensored- like LEGO bricks. The program, “Lego X” uses exactly this kind of algorithm to intuitively smooth out edges and join corners, allowing for easy modifying and seamless 3D printing.
As one can see in the demonstration video above Gravity is currently testing their idea on Duplos. However, it is hoped that the application’s next version will simply allow models to be built with standard size LEGO bricks. This could potentially revolutionize the way we build (and print) building models in design and architecture and even engineering.
Lego bricks could be used to transfer design models into real-time digital files with this prototype system since it recognizes forms created with toy building blocks, just by using location-mapping and gyroscopic sensors in order to plot the position and orientation of each of the components as to properly create a digital 3D model.
The program “scans” Lego pieces in real time and further on creates 3D models by using sophisticated algorithms. 3D Lego structures are then translated into surfaces, such as walls or roofs. The final stage is designed to smooth out corners and curves in order to produce 3d printable objects. These can be sending directly for 3D printing.
The modular construction of legos is absolutely perfect for the development of such innovative and revolutionary application that combines augmented reality, 3D printing and 3D modelling . The educational value of the project is really unique. So is the revitalization of an old-time classic game. Looks like the future holds a balanced way for new generations to express through both virtual and real life.
