Neat idea, but with no mention of a dev kit it's another sign of Lego's descent into designing nothing but fun on rails

Not even Legos are safe from the inexorable march of smart technology, as the Danish construction toy stalwart introduced a new tech-in-a-brick Smart Play system at CES this week. 

Lego brick sets based around Smart Bricks will be packed with things like light and motion sensors, a speaker, lights, a wirelessly rechargeable battery and other components. According to Lego, that means builds that include a four-by-two Smart Brick are able to "react uniquely depending on how it's moved, twisted, and turned." 

"You might hear our SMART Brick roaring like a jet plane or flushing like a toilet," Lego explained in a rundown of how the system could work. 

There's a catch, though: Smart Bricks don't do a darn thing unless they're placed close to an accompanying Smart Minifigure or flat 2-by-2 sized Smart Tag, both of which appear, based on an image shared by Lego, to ...