The LEGO Group introduced a major new initiative at CES with the launch of LEGO Smart Play, a platform designed to merge physical LEGO bricks with embedded digital intelligence—without screens, apps, or traditional digital interfaces.
The company described the announcement as its most significant innovation in decades, marking a new chapter in LEGO’s 70-year history of physical play. Executives positioned Smart Play as a foundational platform rather than a single product, signaling a long-term strategy to integrate technology into hands-on creativity while preserving LEGO’s core identity.
A Modern Evolution of a Classic System
LEGO leaders opened the presentation by highlighting the enduring success of the LEGO system of play, which has remained structurally compatible since the interlocking brick was introduced in 1958. With more than 20,000 different elements that fit together, LEGO has maintained a consistent design philosophy centered on creativity, imagination, and open-ended building.
At the same time, the company acknowledged a changing cultural landscape. Today’s children grow up immersed in digital environments, prompting LEGO to explore how interactive technology could be integrated into physical play without replacing it.
Executives said the challenge was to introduce digital intelligence in a way that enhances creativity rather than shifting play toward screens or software-driven experiences.
Technology Designed to Stay Invisible
LEGO Smart Play is built around three core principles: seamless integration of technology into physical play, openness across the LEGO ecosystem, and simplicity in user experience.
Rather than relying on apps or digital interfaces, the system is designed to operate through natural physical interaction. There are no screens, no visible controls, and no learning curve for children. The technology remains embedded in the bricks, responding to how they are used rather than directing how they should be played with.
Inside the Smart Brick
At the center of the platform is the LEGO Smart Brick, a standard-looking brick that contains sensors, processing capabilities, and wireless communication technology. Despite its embedded intelligence, the brick has no screen or power button and functions automatically as part of a build.
According to LEGO, the Smart Brick can detect movement, sound, light, color, distance, orientation, and direction. It can recognize specially designed Smart Tags that define behaviors, identify Smart Minifigures within a model, and communicate wirelessly with other Smart Bricks.
This allows LEGO creations to respond dynamically to physical interaction. Vehicles can detect drivers and track movement, structures can respond to proximity, and entire play environments can interact in real time through decentralized networks of connected bricks.
Modular Intelligence Across Builds
A single Smart Brick can be reused across multiple builds and play scenarios. By changing tags and minifigures, the same brick can take on different roles, functioning as an engine, character, creature, or interactive object depending on how it is configured.
During demonstrations, LEGO showed how one Smart Brick could animate cars, aircraft, animals, and games, generating light, sound, and behavioral responses based solely on physical movement and positioning.
Spatially Aware Play
One of the platform’s distinguishing features is spatial awareness. Without relying on cameras or external tracking systems, Smart Bricks are able to detect distance, orientation, and directional relationships between builds.
This enables interactive play scenarios such as tracking race outcomes, triggering responses based on proximity, and creating game mechanics that operate in three-dimensional physical space.
A Long-Term Platform for Storytelling
LEGO executives emphasized that Smart Play is designed as a scalable platform rather than a single product line. The system is intended to support long-term storytelling, re-playability, collaboration, and evolving narratives across different LEGO themes.
To demonstrate the platform’s potential, LEGO announced its first Smart Play partnership with LEGO Star Wars.
LEGO Star Wars Becomes Interactive
In collaboration with Disney and Lucasfilm, LEGO revealed that Smart Play will be integrated into upcoming LEGO Star Wars sets. After more than 25 years of partnership, the franchise will move beyond static builds to interactive physical play environments.
Characters, vehicles, and locations will respond to movement, proximity, and interaction, allowing children to create dynamic Star Wars experiences without screens or digital displays.
The first LEGO Star Wars Smart Play sets are scheduled to launch in March.
Redefining Physical Play
LEGO Smart Play represents a shift in how physical toys can incorporate advanced technology. Rather than directing behavior through software, the system is designed to respond to play itself, keeping creative control in the hands of children.
Company leaders described the platform as a foundation for future development, positioning Smart Play as the beginning of a broader transformation in physical play design.
At CES, LEGO framed the initiative not as a move toward digital toys, but as a reimagining of physical creativity—one where technology remains invisible, and imagination remains central.
Hyundai Motor Group, Boston Dynamics, and Google DeepMind used this year’s Consumer Electronics Show to present a long-term vision for artificial intelligence and robotics focused on collaboration between humans and machines, rather than automation for its own sake.
The companies framed their message around what they described as human-centered AI robotics—systems designed to support human work, improve safety, and expand productivity, rather than replace human labor. Executives emphasized that robotics is moving beyond spectacle and demonstration toward real-world deployment and practical impact.
From humanoid robots in factories to AI systems that learn through experience, speakers stressed that the next phase of robotics development is about purpose-driven technology.
From Demonstration to Deployment
Boston Dynamics, long known for its high-profile demonstrations of robots that run, jump, and perform complex movements, positioned its work as increasingly focused on industrial and commercial applications.
Aya Durbin, Humanoid Application Product Lead and Zachary Jackowski, Vice President, General Manager of Atlas highlighted the shift toward robots designed for hazardous environments, repetitive labor, and physically demanding tasks. The stated goal is to reduce workplace injuries, increase safety, and improve operational efficiency across industries.
Rather than replacing human workers, executives said the company’s strategy is centered on extending human capability and removing people from dangerous or exhausting roles.
Atlas: A General-Purpose Humanoid Platform
The centerpiece of the presentation was the public unveiling of Atlas, Boston Dynamics’ next-generation humanoid robot.
Unlike traditional industrial robots built for single-task automation, Atlas is being developed as a general-purpose humanoid platform. According to company representatives, the robot is designed to navigate complex environments, manipulate objects with human-like dexterity, and adapt to different tasks as operational needs change.
Atlas is engineered for industrial settings and includes capabilities such as heavy lifting, extended reach, autonomous operation, operation in extreme temperatures, and self-managed battery systems. It is also designed to share learned tasks across multiple units through cloud-based intelligence systems, creating what the company described as a networked learning model.
Commercial Robotics in Operation
Boston Dynamics pointed to its existing commercial robots as evidence that this approach is already being deployed at scale.
The quadruped robot Spot is currently used in thousands of facilities across more than 40 countries, where it performs industrial inspection, data collection, and safety monitoring tasks. The warehouse robot Stretch has been deployed in logistics environments to automate truck unloading and material handling, with more than 20 million boxes reportedly processed through customer operations.
Company officials emphasized that these systems are already in commercial use and producing measurable operational outcomes.
Hyundai’s Global Robotics Strategy
Hyundai Motor Group outlined plans to build large-scale infrastructure to support global robotics deployment. The company is developing manufacturing facilities capable of producing tens of thousands of humanoid robots annually, alongside data-driven production systems and AI-enabled factory environments.
Executives described a long-term strategy that extends beyond manufacturing into logistics, construction, energy, infrastructure, and smart city development, with eventual plans for integration into consumer and home environments.
Hyundai’s approach includes service-based robotics models, integrated deployment networks, and AI-powered industrial ecosystems designed to scale robotics adoption across multiple sectors.
Partnership with Google DeepMind
A major announcement at the event was the partnership between Boston Dynamics and Google DeepMind Robotics, bringing together advanced physical robotics and large-scale AI foundation models.
The collaboration aims to develop general-purpose humanoid intelligence systems that combine physical capability with advanced reasoning, language understanding, and adaptive learning.
Rather than relying on pre-programmed task execution, the companies said future robots will be able to learn through observation and experience, generalize skills across environments, and continuously improve performance over time.
Redefining Human–Robot Collaboration
Speakers emphasized that the vision presented at CES is based on collaboration rather than replacement.
Under this model, humans remain responsible for supervision, decision-making, judgment, and ethics, while robots take on physically demanding, repetitive, and hazardous tasks. The goal, according to company leaders, is to improve workplace safety, increase productivity, and allow people to focus on higher-value activities such as problem-solving, leadership, and creative work.
A Broader Shift in Robotics
The companies framed the developments as part of a broader transformation in how robotics is designed and deployed. Rather than isolated automation systems, they described the emergence of integrated human–robot ecosystems built around shared intelligence, learning systems, and scalable infrastructure.
Executives summarized the vision as a model of technological development centered on partnership between humans and machines, rather than competition between them.
Looking Ahead
As AI systems, robotics platforms, and industrial infrastructure continue to converge, industry leaders said the line between digital intelligence and physical systems will continue to blur.
What is emerging, they argued, is a new model of robotics—one where machines are designed not simply to operate autonomously, but to function as collaborators within human systems.
At CES 2026, that future was presented not as a distant concept, but as a roadmap already moving into real-world deployment.
CES 2026 kicked off Sunday, January 4th, with the annual “CTA Tech Trends to Watch” presentation for members of media, hosted by Melissa Harrison, VP communication & marketing, CTA, and Brian Comiskey, senior director, Innovation & Trends, CTA.
Innovation doesn’t happen in isolation. Breakthroughs rarely stay confined to a single sidewalk, industry, or discipline. Instead, progress emerges where technologies intersect—where advances in one field accelerate transformation in another. Because of this interdependence, the most impactful technologies are never just one thing.
Today’s wave of innovation can be understood through three major megatrends: Intelligent Transformation, Longevity, and Engineering Tomorrow. Together, they are redefining how we live, work, and build the future.
1. Intelligent Transformation: Beyond Digital
For the past two decades, digital transformation shaped enterprises and economies. Cloud computing, mobile connectivity, and digital platforms redefined how businesses operate and how consumers engage with the world. This era enabled scale, lowered barriers to entry, and connected billions globally.
Now, we have entered a new phase: intelligent transformation.
Driven by rapid advances in artificial intelligence, intelligent transformation goes beyond digitizing processes. It embeds intelligence directly into systems, devices, and infrastructure—reshaping enterprise operations, workforce roles, and everyday consumer experiences at massive scale.
The Foundations of Intelligence
This transformation rests on three critical pillars:
Trust and Security Modern cybersecurity ensures data integrity, encrypted communication, and resilience against threats. Without trust, intelligent systems cannot scale. Secure infrastructure enables innovation to move faster and farther.
Scalable Cloud Infrastructure Hyperscale platforms allow AI to operate globally and elastically. From startups to multinational enterprises, cloud scalability ensures intelligent capabilities are accessible across industries and geographies.
Computation and Simulation Intelligence begins at the chip level. Advanced processors and simulation technologies transform raw data into actionable insight, enabling faster, smarter decision-making across every sector.
AI at Work and in Industry
AI has moved from experimentation to necessity. Across global markets, awareness and adoption exceed critical thresholds. Workers are already reclaiming hours each week through AI-assisted productivity, signaling a shift toward human–AI collaboration rather than replacement.
Industries such as healthcare, mobility, agriculture, logistics, and manufacturing are adopting industrial AI, embedding intelligence directly into infrastructure and operations. These systems improve productivity, resilience, and scalability—allowing complex industrial environments to function as connected, adaptive ecosystems.
Physical AI and Robotics
The rise of physical AI—robots and autonomous systems—marks another leap forward. Consumer, healthcare, and industrial robots are gaining contextual awareness, enabling them to perform increasingly complex tasks. Autonomous vehicles, warehouse robots, and service robots are learning to navigate real-world environments safely and efficiently.
Extended reality (XR), smart glasses, and voice-driven interfaces further blur the boundary between digital and physical worlds. These technologies enhance human capability across healthcare, logistics, manufacturing, and hospitality—making intelligence tangible and interactive.
2. Longevity: Redefining Quality of Life
While intelligent systems transform productivity, longevity technologies redefine what progress means. The new measure of advancement is no longer just economic growth—but longer, healthier, higher-quality lives.
Precision Health and Personalized Care
Healthcare is shifting from reactive, one-size-fits-all treatment to precision medicine. Advances in genomics, AI-driven diagnostics, and biological modeling enable early detection, predictive insights, and tailored interventions.
Connected wearables, remote diagnostics, and telehealth platforms extend care beyond hospitals, allowing continuous, proactive health management. Individuals increasingly become active participants—executives of their own health—empowered by real-time data and personalized insights.
From Treatment to Prevention
Health technology ecosystems now integrate glucose monitors, digital stethoscopes, cardiovascular sensors, and AI-powered health platforms. These tools reduce strain on healthcare systems while improving outcomes through early intervention and continuous monitoring.
Mental health is also evolving, with AI-driven tools identifying early signals of stress, anxiety, and depression, and providing scalable, accessible support through conversational and behavioral technologies.
Human-Centered Enhancement
Longevity innovation extends beyond health into accessibility and inclusion. Exoskeletons, advanced hearing solutions, neuro-responsive interfaces, and assistive technologies enhance mobility, sensory perception, and quality of life—ensuring progress benefits broader populations.
3. Engineering Tomorrow: Building Sustainable Systems
The third transformation focuses on how technology reshapes the physical world—engineering tomorrow’s infrastructure, mobility, energy, and production systems.
Intelligent Mobility
Vehicles are no longer static machines. They are becoming software-defined platforms with over-the-air updates, personalization, predictive maintenance, and autonomous capabilities. Automakers increasingly collaborate with cloud providers, AI developers, and content platforms to accelerate innovation.
Autonomous driving systems, advanced sensing technologies, and human–machine interfaces are improving safety, accessibility, and efficiency—turning transportation into a connected, intelligent ecosystem.
Smart Industry and Agriculture
AI-powered heavy equipment, autonomous construction systems, and precision agriculture technologies are redefining productivity while reducing environmental impact. Autonomous tractors, predictive analytics, and vertical farming systems enhance food security and sustainability in the face of climate and labor challenges.
Energy and Electrification
Electrification is accelerating across industries. Smart grids, adaptive solar systems, energy storage, and AI-driven demand optimization are transforming how energy is generated, distributed, and consumed. Emerging technologies—including advanced nuclear and alternative energy systems—promise resilient, low-carbon infrastructure for the future.
The Road Ahead
By 2026 and beyond, intelligent transformation will drive autonomous systems, adaptive devices, and deeply personalized experiences. Smartphones, PCs, TVs, vehicles, and wearables are evolving into intelligent platforms that respond dynamically to individual needs.
Together, intelligent transformation, longevity innovation, and engineering tomorrow are converging to solve some of the world’s biggest challenges—improving productivity, extending healthy lifespans, and building resilient, sustainable systems.
Innovation doesn’t occur in isolation. It happens at the intersections—and those intersections are shaping the future now.
Imec closed out 2025 with significant announcements that underscore its growing influence in semiconductor R&D and AI systems design. Between a high-profile debut at Super Computing 2025 and a strong showing at the International Electron Devices Meeting (IEDM), the Belgium-based research center marked the end of the year with momentum across multiple technology fronts.
In November at Super Computing 2025, one of the world’s largest gatherings for high-performance computing, imec unveiled imec.kelis, an analytical performance modeling tool aimed at reshaping how AI datacenters are planned and optimized.
Imec positioned the platform as a response to pressures facing datacenter designers, as AI workloads expand into the trillions of parameters and energy demands climb. According to the organization, imec.kelis offers a faster and more transparent alternative to conventional simulation tools, which are often slow or limited in scope.
Early adopters have already begun exploring the platform, an early sign of commercial interest.
“Imec.kelis is more than a simulator—it’s a strategic enabler for the next generation of AI infrastructure,” said Axel Nackaerts, system scaling lead.
Imec.kelis provides an end-to-end analytical framework that evaluates performance across compute, communication, and memory subsystems. The tool is optimized for large languagemodel (LLM) training and inference, offering predictions validated on widely used systems such as Nvidia’s A100 and H100 GPUs.
The platform draws heavily on imec’s longstanding expertise in hardware-software co-design, system-level modeling, and semiconductor technology road mapping. Imec said the goal is to give system architects the ability to make better-informed decisions at datacenter scale, where design choices directly impact cost, efficiency, and sustainability.
At the beginning of December 2025, imec continued to demonstrate research leadership at the 71st International Electron Devices Meeting (IEDM), presenting 21 papers spanning advanced logic, memory, quantum computing, imaging, and bioelectronics.
With a high-visibility launch in HPC computing and a deep bench of contributions at IEDM, imec concludes 2025 with strengthened leadership in both advanced semiconductor research and the rapidly expanding AI datacenter ecosystem. The organization is positioning itself as a critical contributor to the technologies that will define next-generation computing infrastructure.
Guillaume de Fondaumiere is the Co-CEO of the Quantic Dream Studio based in France, which developed games such as, “Fahrenheit” (2005), “Heavy Rain” (2010), and in collaboration with Sony Computer Entertainment, the PS3 exclusive title, “Beyond: Two Souls”, starring actors Ellen Page and Willem Dafoe (2013).
Today, on the 15th anniversary of “Heavy Rain,” he finds himself reminiscing: “In the mid-2000s when we started production on “Heavy Rain” I was executive producer on the project. I was also responsible for managing relationships with actors, composers, etc. In the weeks leading up to the launch, we decided with Sony, to send the game to several editorial teams. I remember very clearly sending out those codes, one after another. And a few weeks later we started receiving the first reviews. It was a huge relief to realize that the reviewers had understood what we are trying to do. When we hit after six weeks, one million copies I couldn’t help but shed a tear, telling myself “Phew!”. What I’d tell to myself fifteen years ago in the tough moments, because there are always some during a game’s development, is this: “Don’t worry. It’s going to be okay.”
Guillaume de Fondaumiere was also appointed the Chairman of the European Games Developer Federation. During his position, the French government and the European Union agreed to introduce a 20% tax credit for video games studios. He not only fought for many years to support the gaming industry, but had also lobbied for the games industry to be recognized as an art form.
“To me, all games are a form of cultural expression”, he says. “I see no reason why games should be treated differently than any type of literature or any type of movie. I think that more and more video games are becoming artful, and are becoming a form of art that should be recognized next to the others.” In his opinion, games should be placed among institutional forms of art such as, architecture, sculpture, visual arts, music, literature, theater, cinema art and media arts (television, radio and photography).
Media and internet often sell the information; games trigger the violence, players get addicted to them, and at the end, they are merely entertainment for young and immature minds. The stereotype of thinking associate games with either the shooting or the lighthearted entertainment for children. The reasons for such thinking originate from the early years of the gaming industry, which was actually targeted the children. The first games were very simple, they had boosted the simplest instinctive behavior and the release of adrenaline, which is also referred to as hormone 3F – fear, fight, flight.
But since that time has changed almost everything: games, hardware and the players themselves. Today, the old game enthusiasts had grown up and they still want to play games but they expect deeper, artistic and intellectual entertainment. Under such demanding clients there was a dynamic and multidirectional development of games, and palette of emotions has greatly increased. Today, players can incarnate in any characters, make their own choices, stand for duels with hundreds of players from all over the world. Production studios strive for authenticity and put meticulous attention to details.
Every little part is important, and approaching players to reality. There is also a 3D technology that changed the flat images into three-dimensional images. Today’s game has a story, uses the visual graphics and new, advanced forms of interaction with the player. In addition, there is also increased proliferation of the authors in the games industry, artists express themselves creatively and individually. The impact of games on mass culture is unquestionable and its value is growing at a dynamic pace.
So, is art or not?
A precise, unambiguous, and commonly held definition of art does not exist. However, it is known that art acts through aesthetic, ethical or cultural functions. It affects its audience through watching, listening, creating and reflecting. Without a doubt, the video game industry, which is the fastest growing sector of the modern entertainment industry, is a part of modern culture.
P.S. Roger Ebert, the legendary (Pulitzer Prize) film critic, who for 46 years shaped the tastes of American film audiences, remarked, “as long as there is a great movie unseen or a great book unread, I will continue to be unable to find the time to play video games”. He repeated this statement for eight years and once he hit harder “video games can never be art.”. He died in 2013, with no chance for revision of his assessment.
