I have a long and checkered history with Lego products. There was the time that they charred to a smelly mess when my brother had the idea of supercharging a motor by rigging up wires to plug it into the wall socket. Then there was Paul Graham’s party, where I “improved” upon his living room Lego sculptures (never did get invited back…). But I can’t help myself — they just beg to be played with
The “LEGO Digital Designer” software* allows users to take that behavior online, where they can pick out Lego bricks, place them on-screen in the desired location, build a model, create instructions for assembling the completed model, order a custom kit with exactly the parts required to build it, and even customize the imagery on the box in which it ships.
The interface is pleasantly simple — I was able to create this simple little twisted DNA-like construction and the movie you see here with no more effort than it would have been with the actual physical objects:
Lego bricks are an example of true digital construction. If you provide a set of instructions for how to assemble some Lego object, you can be sure that the new object will be exactly the same as the original. Much like when you download a digital photograph, you can be sure that you got all the same bits that were in the original.
By combining automated robotic assembly** with something like the Lego design tool, we end up with a personal fabrication machine. With this machine we can duplicate any construction. Imagine shopping for furniture online, and printing out the actual furniture while you wait. Don’t like what you downloaded? Just rearrange it!
Eventually we’ll have systems with blocks that are smaller (i.e. higher resolution printouts), and as technology improves over time, we can get to the point where we’re building with individual molecules. By using materials with a variety of properties (different electrical conductivities, for example), it won’t be long before your personal digital fabricator can build a TV or a toaster. ***
In the meantime, I’ll be here in my living room, playing with my toys.
* I would be remiss if I did not mention that other similarly inspired products exist, in particular LDraw provides an ““.
** See this video for a fun example of using Lego pieces to assemble other Lego constructions.
*** Inspiration for these comments comes from George Popescu’s MIT master’s thesis “Digital Materials for Digital Fabrication”, in which he shows that this is not nearly as far fetched as it may sound.
