Seattle Companies Battle To Create Most Innovative Robot In The LEGO® MINDSTORMS® "Build for Good" Competition

SEATTLE, April 11, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- LEGO Systems, Inc. hosted the 'Build for Good' competition where Seattle's most innovative companies, including Amazon, Egencia, Expedia, HTC, Nordstrom, Xbox and zulily, were invited to compete by building a LEGO® MINDSTORMS® robot designed to improve everyday life on April 10. Shubham Banerjee, 12 year old inventor of BRAIGO, a Braille printer that anyone can build using a LEGO MINDSTORMS set, inspired the challenge and was among the judges who awarded Nordstrom with top honors for creating a robot that made it easier to dispense medication. A standing room only crowd at the EMP Museum cheered on teams from Seattle's marquee corporations who showcased robots that did everything from housesitting to planting crops for the chance to win five LEGO MINDSTORMS kits to be donated to a local children's charity of their choice.

"I've been building for fun my whole life. When I learned how many people can't afford to buy a braille printer, I realized that I could probably build a solution using MINDSTORMS," said Shubham Banerjee. "It was really cool seeing all of these robots in action today and having the opportunity to judge the competition gave me even more ideas of what I could build next!"

"We continue to be amazed by inventors of all ages who utilize the MINDSTORMS platform to express their creativity, building everything from robotic pets to robots that solve real life needs, like Shubham's inventive Braille printer," said Michael McNally, senior director of brand relations for LEGO Systems. "In the spirit of these LEGO MINDSTORMS inventors and inspired by today's competitors from Seattle's elite companies, we encourage children around the world to put their ingenuity to work through play to creatively build a better world."

And what will the next generation build?

LEGO MINDSTORMS EV3 was designed to introduce an even younger generation to the excitement of building and programming robots while adding new flexibility for a devoted following of robotics enthusiasts. The Seattle competition showcased what robotics enthusiasts can do with a MINDSTORMS set, but the real show-stoppers could be coming from the next generation.

According to a survey recently conducted online among parents (with kids under 18 in the household) by Harris Poll for The LEGO Group, today's children may be their family's in-house tech experts. Among those parents who ask their children for advice, almost two-thirds (64%) report asking for tech-related support which includes tech support for computers/TV, using a smartphone, tablet or mobile apps. Showing they have a sense of humor about the topic, more moms indicated that they are more capable of "doing the robot" (70%) than programming a robot to move (12%). However, moms have more faith in their children's technical skills, with more than two-thirds (68%) stating that their child would be better at building or programming a robot to move.

LEGO MINDSTORMS EV3 is available at most toy and discount merchandise retailers and online stores, at a suggested retail price of $349.99(USD). For more information, visit www.LEGO.com/mindstorms.

About the LEGO Group
The LEGO Group is a privately held, family-owned company, based in Billund, Denmark. It was founded in 1932 and today the group is one of the world's leading manufacturers of play materials for children. The LEGO Group is committed to the development of children's creative and imaginative abilities. LEGO products can be purchased in more than 130 countries. For more information, visit www.LEGO.com

LEGO, MINDSTORMS, Technic and the LEGO logo are registered trademarks of The LEGO Group.  ©2014 The LEGO Group.

Survey Methodology
The survey was conducted online within the United States by Harris Poll on behalf of Flashpoint PR and LEGO MINDSTORMS from March 18-20, 2014 among 2,063 U.S. adults ages 18 and older, of whom 486 indicated being parents to children under the age of 18 who live in their household. This online survey is not based on a probability sample and therefore no estimate of theoretical sampling error can be calculated. For complete survey methodology, including weighting variables, please contact Kelly Hickman at [email protected]

MEDIA CONTACT:
Clint Bagley, Flashpoint PR
(415) 699-8280 / [email protected]  

Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20140411/SF03587

SOURCE LEGO Systems, Inc.