The folks at BrickIt were commissioned by a company called Dynaway to build this miniature, but impressive, Lego sorting factory to demonstrate the firm's manufacturing execution system. And lucky for us, they created a mesmerizing video of it in action.


The plant was created with around 37,500 pieces of Lego, including 28 motors, 22 touch, color, and ultrasonic sensors, and 7 Mindstorm NXT controller bricks. They all work together, along with conveyor belts and tumbling drums, to effectively sort 2x4 and 1x2 bricks by size and color.

When a container full of sorted bricks gets full, a robot will even automatically remove it, replacing it with an empty container so the plant can continue working away. I'm particularly impressed that BrickIt engineered the whole thing so that it could easily be packed into a flight case, allowing Dynaway to easily bring it on the road with them. [BrickIt via The NXT Step]