In 1980 Seymour Papert wrote a book called, “Mindstorms: Children, Computers and Powerful Ideas.” Papert is a protégé the famed child psychologist Jean Piaget, and was a professor at MIT for many years. There are two central themes in the book: children can become proficient with computers, and learning to use computers can change they way they learn in all other areas. (Papert 1993)

LEGO/Logo was developed using theories that Papert, Michael Resnick, and others at the MIT Media Lab had been researching regarding the way children learn with and about technology. They wanted to give learners the ability to not just analyze problems, but to design solutions to those problems (Resnick and Ocko, 1998). The Logo language had been developed specifically as a computer language for children (Papert 1993). Logo was originally used to program "floor turtles", which moved around on the floor in response to computer commands. In the days before high quality computer graphics, the turtle could create more intricate designs than could be produced on a computer screen. By placing the turtle on a sheet of paper and sending Logo instruction "PEN DOWN" the turtle could then draw and endless variety of geometric patterns. (p. 11)

Over a number of years Seymour Papert realized that to have children engage in the unstructured type of experimenting he envisioned, that he would need to "give up trying to entice children into my cybernetic world of turtles and instead to put cybernetics into their world."  This idea is eventually what led to Papert's collaboration with Lego (Papert, 1993).

The team at MIT connected a personal computer running Logo to a control board via a serial port. The control board had plugs for wires leading to Lego motors and sensors. The sensors, motors and standard Lego pieces could be used to create robots where controlled through Logo. The producted was marketed by a Lego division called "Dacta".(Resnick and Ocko, 1998)

The mobility of the robots created with LEGO/Logo was limited by the wires going to the serial control board. By the mid-1990's, computer technology had improved and prices had dropped, making it possible for the MIT Medial Lab team to develop a LEGO 'toy' that could operate without being attached to a computer. The team published an article in 1996 entitled, "Programmable Bricks: Toys to Think With." (Resnick et. al., 1996)

The Programmable Brick eventually became the Lego RCX. Lego began selling an entire Robotics Construction Set, which included the RCX, motors and sensors, the Robolab software for programming the RCX, and hundred of Lego parts including bricks, gears and wheels. The set was called Mindstorms, after Seymour Papert's 1980 book.

Lego RCX and a newer invention from the MIT Media Lab called a cricket. It's even smaller than the RCX so that many can be used at once. You can read a Businessweek article about the cricket here. The commercial version of the cricket, called the "PicoCricket" is sold by the Playful Invention Company.

To read on about Mindstorms, go to the RCX 2.0 and Mindstorms page.