Brick DJ is a multi-sensory experience that enhances the brick in hand: an open play space that turns LEGO bricks into musical beats, creating a soundtrack from LEGO builds. Using computer vision, we detect the colour of each brick a child places on the base plate. Each colour represents a music sample, and the number of bricks of the same colour defines that sample’s importance in the composition, a combination of volume and sample complexity. The beauty of it is that it’s not only fun to play, it also doesn’t change how kids already play with LEGO: they build, and as they build, a soundtrack comes to life. Different themes can be offered, each with its own unique samples, and players can switch between a simple and an advanced view.

The proof-of-concept has received a lot of attention, and the plan is to do a real-life build and testing in Leicester Square and Billund, with the ultimate ambition of making the experience available everywhere.