Editing Lego (section)

=== Robotics themes ===
{{Main|Lego Mindstorms|Lego Mindstorms NXT|Lego Mindstorms NXT 2.0|Lego Mindstorms EV3}}
The company also initiated a [[robotics]] line of toys called Mindstorms in 1999, and continued to expand and update this range until it was eventually discontinued in 2022.<ref name="Mindstorms discontinued">{{cite web |url=https://www.brickfanatics.com/lego-discontinuing-mindstorms-end-of-2022/ |title=Lego is discontinuing Mindstorms in 2022 |website=Brick Fanatics |date=26 October 2022 |access-date=26 October 2022}}</ref> The roots of the product originated with a programmable brick developed at the [[MIT Media Lab]], and the name was taken from a paper by [[Seymour Papert]], a computer scientist and educator who developed the educational theory of [[Constructionism (learning theory)|constructionism]], and whose research was at times funded by the [[Lego Group]].<ref name="Mindstorms History">{{cite web |title=Mindstorms History |url=http://www.lego.com/en-us/mindstorms/history |website=Lego |access-date=6 September 2015 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150831053906/http://www.lego.com/en-us/mindstorms/history |archive-date=31 August 2015}}</ref>

The programmable Lego brick which was at the heart of these robotics sets underwent several updates and redesigns, with the last being called the 'EV3' brick, being sold under the name of Lego Mindstorms EV3. The set included various sensors such as touch, light, sound and ultrasonic waves, with several others being sold separately, including an [[Radio-frequency identification|RFID]] reader.<ref name="About EV3">{{cite web |title=About EV3 |url=http://www.lego.com/en-us/mindstorms/about-ev3 |website=Lego |access-date=6 September 2015 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150905160032/http://www.lego.com/en-us/mindstorms/about-ev3 |archive-date=5 September 2015}}</ref>

The programmable brick could be programmed using official software available for [[Microsoft Windows|Windows]] and [[Mac OS X|Mac]] computers. In the earliest iteration of the product, the program would be uploaded to the programmable brick via an infrared transmitter, while in later versions this was achieved via [[Bluetooth]] or a USB cable. Unofficial programming languages that can be used with Lego Mindstorms programmable bricks have also been developed.<ref name="Not Quite C">{{cite web |title=Not Quite C |url=https://bricxcc.sourceforge.net/nqc/ |website=Sourceforge |access-date=29 August 2024 |ref=Not Quite C}}</ref><ref name="Not eXactly C">{{cite web |title=Not eXactly C |url=https://bricxcc.sourceforge.net/nbc/ |website=Sourceforge |access-date=29 August 2024 |ref=Not eXactly C}}</ref>

There have been several robotics competitions which used the Lego robotics sets. The earliest was [[Botball]], a national U.S. [[middle school|middle]]- and [[high-school]] competition stemming from the MIT 6.270 Lego robotics tournament. Other Lego robotics competitions include FIRST LEGO League Discover for children ages 4–6, [[FIRST Lego League Explore|FIRST LEGO League Explore]] for students ages 6–9 and [[FIRST Lego League Challenge]] for students ages 9–16 (age 9–14 in the United States, Canada, and Mexico). These programs have offered real-world engineering challenges to participants using LEGO-based robots to complete tasks. In its 2019–2020 season, there were 38,609 FIRST LEGO League Challenge teams and 21,703 FIRST LEGO League Explore teams around the world. The international [[RoboCup Junior]] [[Association football|football]] competition involved extensive use of [[Lego Mindstorms]] equipment which was often pushed to its extreme limits.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.usfirst.org |title=USFIRST.org |publisher=USFIRST.org |access-date=3 October 2011 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111003051426/http://www.usfirst.org/ |archive-date=3 October 2011}}</ref>

The capabilities of the Mindstorms range have also been harnessed for use in the Iko Creative Prosthetic System, a prosthetic limbs system designed for children. Designs for these Lego prosthetics allow everything from mechanical diggers to laser-firing spaceships to be screwed on to the end of a child's limb. Iko was the work of the Chicago-based Colombian designer Carlos Arturo Torres, and is a modular system that allows children to customise their own prosthetics with the ease of clicking together plastic bricks. Designed with Lego's Future Lab, the Danish toy company's experimental research department, and Cirec, a Colombian foundation for physical rehabilitation, the modular prosthetic incorporated myoelectric sensors that register the activity of the muscle in the stump and send a signal to control movement in the attachment. A processing unit in the body of the prosthetic contained an engine compatible with Lego Mindstorms, which allowed the wearer to build an extensive range of customised, programmable limbs.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/architecture-design-blog/2015/jul/22/lego-prosthetic-arm-that-kids-can-hack-themselves |title=The Lego prosthetic arm that children can create and hack themselves |first=Oliver |last=Wainwright |work=[[The Guardian]] |date=22 July 2015 |access-date=23 July 2015 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150723183344/http://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/architecture-design-blog/2015/jul/22/lego-prosthetic-arm-that-kids-can-hack-themselves |archive-date=23 July 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://designawards.core77.com/Open-Design/29865/IKO-Creative-Prosthetic-System |title=IKO Creative Prosthetic System |work=[[Core77]] |access-date=23 July 2015 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150723184938/http://designawards.core77.com/Open-Design/29865/IKO-Creative-Prosthetic-System |archive-date=23 July 2015}}</ref>