LEGO MINDSTORMS has an Android app to program custom-built robots

LEGO has been around a while; most of us can fondly remember days spent on the floor, building a castle or the coolest ray gun ever, or a submersible combat aircraft with ejector seats (yes, I'm projecting). And those simple little coloured blocks have come a long way. Now you have pieces with moving parts, decorative designs, entire set-piece packs, and apparently even programmable robots. 

The robots are courtesy of LEGO's MINDSTORMS series. The pack gives you a number of blocks and moving pieces, as well as a special "P-brick" that lets you program the finished robot to perform tasks or respond to input from its sensors. The man-child in us couldn't ask for more. You have to manually program the robot by connecting the P-brick to a  computer, but can then connect to it via an Android smartphone or tablet to control it with this app. However, the newest release from LEGO is attempting to make the set more intuitive and convenient.

There's an all new LEGO MINDSTORMS Programmer app that lets you connect to the P-brick with an Android device using Bluetooth, allowing you to drag and drop commands and give your bot instructions. The app so far ony supports a tablet interface. While both the programming and driving app are free, the set itsef wil set you back a cool Rs 28,000.