Lego will discontinue its Mindstorms robotic kits by the end of the year
Lego's Mindstorms robotic kits have been on the market since 1998, born of a collaboration between Lego and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Now, Lego has announced that it will discontinue Mindstorms at the end of the year and provide support for the mobile app for at least two years beyond that, Gizmodo reported.
Beginning with the Lego Mindstorms Robotic Invention System over 24 years ago, the kits used Lego's advanced Technics parts with gears and other robotic parts, powered by the base processing unit" Brig". They took a big step forward in 2006 with the introduction of the company's next generation of Mindstorms kits, dubbed NXT.
Another big leap came in 2013 with the EV3 robotics platform. This new range was backwards compatible with the NXT series, offering improvements to its sensor load and processing power. Lego has also launched dedicated mobile apps, turning iOS and Android devices into remote controls for Mindstorms projects. Finally, he set up a Mindstorms community where users could share their creations and collaborate with other builders.
The last official product was 2020's Robot Inventor range, but without seeing anything since, the writing seemed on the wall for Mindstorms - especially as Lego focused on other educational projects.
"Now having a number of priorities in LEGO Education and other Build & Code experiences, we decided to focus our resources and future plans by redirecting our Mindstorms Robot Inventor team and their expertise to different areas of the company," the company said. said in a statement to Brick Fanatics. "This means that the physical Mindstorms Robot Inventor product (51515) and its associated items (88016 and 88018) are due to leave our portfolio from the end of 2022, while digital platforms, such as the LEGO Mindstorms Robot Inventor app, will remain online until at least the end of 2024."
It was one of the first toys to actively promote STEM learning while getting kids and adults interested in robotics. (Engadget collaborated with Lego on a Mindstorms robotics competition in 2014.) While it's the end of an era in robotics education, there are now many kits on the market, including Kit's own Lego Boost robotics for beginners. And if you own a Mindstorms robot, it could soon become a collector's item.
All products recommended by Engadget are selected by our editorial team, independent of our parent company. Some of our stories include affiliate links. If you purchase something through one of these links, we may earn an affiliate commission. All prices correct at time of publication.
Lego's Mindstorms robotic kits have been on the market since 1998, born of a collaboration between Lego and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Now, Lego has announced that it will discontinue Mindstorms at the end of the year and provide support for the mobile app for at least two years beyond that, Gizmodo reported.
Beginning with the Lego Mindstorms Robotic Invention System over 24 years ago, the kits used Lego's advanced Technics parts with gears and other robotic parts, powered by the base processing unit" Brig". They took a big step forward in 2006 with the introduction of the company's next generation of Mindstorms kits, dubbed NXT.
Another big leap came in 2013 with the EV3 robotics platform. This new range was backwards compatible with the NXT series, offering improvements to its sensor load and processing power. Lego has also launched dedicated mobile apps, turning iOS and Android devices into remote controls for Mindstorms projects. Finally, he set up a Mindstorms community where users could share their creations and collaborate with other builders.
The last official product was 2020's Robot Inventor range, but without seeing anything since, the writing seemed on the wall for Mindstorms - especially as Lego focused on other educational projects.
"Now having a number of priorities in LEGO Education and other Build & Code experiences, we decided to focus our resources and future plans by redirecting our Mindstorms Robot Inventor team and their expertise to different areas of the company," the company said. said in a statement to Brick Fanatics. "This means that the physical Mindstorms Robot Inventor product (51515) and its associated items (88016 and 88018) are due to leave our portfolio from the end of 2022, while digital platforms, such as the LEGO Mindstorms Robot Inventor app, will remain online until at least the end of 2024."
It was one of the first toys to actively promote STEM learning while getting kids and adults interested in robotics. (Engadget collaborated with Lego on a Mindstorms robotics competition in 2014.) While it's the end of an era in robotics education, there are now many kits on the market, including Kit's own Lego Boost robotics for beginners. And if you own a Mindstorms robot, it could soon become a collector's item.
All products recommended by Engadget are selected by our editorial team, independent of our parent company. Some of our stories include affiliate links. If you purchase something through one of these links, we may earn an affiliate commission. All prices correct at time of publication.
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