Nerdly » New app brings LEGO to life!

30th Nov2017

New app brings LEGO to life!

by Phil Wheat

Coming out of the LEGO Group’s department that explores the future of play – Creative Play Lab – LEGO AR-Studio is a creative tool that allows children to play with digital versions of some of the most popular LEGO sets, in real-world scenes using augmented reality that mixes them with physical LEGO models -in a brand new and unique way. LEGO sets available in the app at launch include:

LEGO City Police Station – 60047
LEGO City Train Set – 60052
LEGO City Fire Station – 60110
LEGO Ninjago The Green NRG Dragon – 70593
LEGO Ninjago Movie – Cole’s Mech – 70632
LEGO Ninjago Movie – Destiny’s Bounty – 70618

In LEGO AR-Studio, children and LEGO fans can explore and control virtually enhanced animated versions of LEGO models in real-world environments, making and playing out their own unique stories and adventures. The app also allows users to record the action and save video clips directly to their smart device.

Tom Donaldson, VP, Creative Play Lab at the LEGO Group said:

We believe the best way to predict the future of play is to invent it. LEGO AR-Studio pioneers new possibilities for imaginative play where children can enjoy both physical interaction and digital engagement at the same time. This is one of many ways we innovate to combine physical and digital LEGO play into a fun and creative experience for children.

The play experience in LEGO AR-Studio is open-ended, leaving children’s imagination and creativity to shape up the play universe. It allows children to play in engaging ways, while having ‘one hand in each world’ – playing and building with the physical LEGO models, while holding on to their device and bring sets to life

LEGO AR-Studio brings LEGO sets to life with fun animations and audiovisual effects when they are placed together. Special play features include a dragon breathing fire, trains sounding a horn or a LEGO firetruck using a fire-hose – all of which can be activated while playing. Virtual Golden Bricks are also hidden around in the LEGO AR environment, for children to search and collect while playing.

LEGO AR-Studio is available now on iOS 11 devices with the A9 and A10 processors and above. Based on Apple’s guidelines, here are the iOS devices that will be able to run ARKit apps: