Another example of this interaction is Tangible Play’s Osmo, a toy that uses physical tiles as game pieces on a tablet game. We saw this same idea in Unfold’s wooden measuring tools, which automatically modify digital files. Technology is approaching the point where we can tie the physical and digital together in a way that helps sidestep cumbersome in-between stages. But it hints at an exciting future for designers and doodlers alike. Ultimately, Lego X is just another tool, a means to get an end. “That’s our dream vision for how it would be used,” says Sosanya. Instead of emailing digital files back and forth, each can grab a brick and watch as the design changes. Imagine a group of architects sitting around a table, bricks splayed out before them. Tactility, more so than software, can encourage collaboration and a deeper understanding of just what you’re trying to create. Looking at a perspective drawing, for instance, isn’t the same as adjusting a cantilever by adding another brick. “Our understanding of tools and how they relate to the material were transforming is something that dates back to almost stone ages,” says Oluwaseyi Sosanya, one of the designers. But the Gravity team believes there’s much to be gained from being able to actually build something. You might wonder if it isn't faster to simply design with software from the start. While Gravity Sketch achieved this using virtual reality, Lego X taps something more basic: Our desire to play with toys. Both projects bridge the gap between the digital and physical worlds by making the act of designing more tactile.

We're still waiting for that, but you can see the parallels with Lego X. Lego X comes from the same team of designers behind Gravity Sketch, the bonkers Oculus Rift program that lets you draw in 3-D using augmented reality. Much of this is for practicality’s sake in the early stages of design, it makes little sense to build a physical model when you can so easily revise and redo with the click of a button.īut what if you could build your design in real life, then tweak it virtually? That’s the idea behind Lego X, which uses networked plastic bricks to build digital 3-D files.

The reality is, building in 3-D requires doing a lot of 2-D work first. It’s the frustration of many a designer: You grow up sketching and making with your hands, only to find yourself 20 years later spending the day in front of a glowing screen.

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