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Lego printers, robots, a candy machine: Coding projects made with bricks

At its Coding Express event in New York, Lego Education spotlighted students who've engineered their own impressive brick creations.

Mike Sorrentino
Mike Sorrentino is a Senior Editor for Mobile, covering phones, texting apps and smartwatches -- obsessing about how we can make the most of them. Mike also keeps an eye out on the movie and toy industry, and outside of work enjoys biking and pizza making.
Mike Sorrentino
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Sanjay Seshan and Arvind Seshan

As part of an event last week highlighting the role Lego can play in teaching kids about coding and engineering, Lego brought students to New York to show off their cool Lego-based projects, which included infrared-sensing robots, mobile printers and a tasty M&M candy machine.

Brothers Sanjay Seshan (left, 15) and Arvind Seshan (13) run the EV3Lessons Lego Mindstorms programming website.

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Lego printer

This Lego printer developed by brothers Sanjay and Arvind Seshan can sync with a mobile app to print photos using just two ink colors.

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Earlier Lego printer

That previous printer refines this earlier one they developed, which uses one color.

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Match game

The Seshan brothers also brought an electronic shape-matching game, with boards that flip over. 

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Kyle Markland

Kyle Markland, 17, runs the BuilderDude35 YouTube channel. He brought several robots.

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Tank

Some of Kyle Markland's robots, such as this moving tank, respond to an infrared sensor. 

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GPS car

This car created by Kyle Markland can make use of GPS, much like a Google Maps app on a phone.

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Marcel Bonnici

Marcel Bonnici, 19, of the Astonishing Studios YouTube channel put together an M&M's Chocolate Dispenser with Danish builder ElectryDragonite. It's gotten 10,000 supporters on the Lego Ideas website.

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Colorful candies

Much like the dispenser at New York's M&M's World store, flipping a switch on the Lego version dispenses colorful chocolates.

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Lego Education Coding Express

Those projects were on display as part of an event revealing a new educational set called Lego Education Coding Express.

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Lego Education Coding Express

Lego Education Coding Express teaches programming concepts to young kids through simple colors. Kids can play with a programmable train, caterpillar or other buildable creation that works with an optional mobile app.

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Lego Education Coding Express

Kids can place blue, yellow, green, red and white bricks on the track, and the Coding Express vehicle will recognize the colors as it travels and respond accordingly. 

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Lego Education Coding Express

The Coding Express train may change directions, refuel or stop.

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Lego Education Coding Express

The little caterpillar might sneeze or take a short nap. Students can watch these actions take place on the optional companion app.

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Lego Education Coding Express

Apart from the programming concepts, the Lego set is much like any other train set.

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Lego Education Coding Express

The Lego Education Coding Express will be available in the US and China for educators and administrators starting this October for $190.

It will be available in other regions in 2019, and while international pricing isn't yet available the US price converts roughly to £150 and AU$260.

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