Wiki / References
Sets & bricks index
Every LEGO brick with an optical interface, the sets it came in, and where to look it up. Start here if you have a brick in your hand and want to know what it hears.
Catalogue links go to Rebrickable unless something better exists, and the extras are marked also: Technicopedia write-ups, LEGO's own pages, Wikipedia and BIOsector01 overviews, Bricker part scans. See Link directory.
Bricks & their optical interface
| Brick | Optical interface | Protocol | Era | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Micro Scout | light sensor (visible + IR), receive | VLL (baseband) | 1999–2000 | part 32344c01 (white / grey) |
| Code Pilot | light sensor + barcode reader | VLL + printed barcodes | 1997 | barcode sheet part 8479bar01 |
| Scout | light sensor (in) + VLL emitter (out) | VLL + serial programming | 1999 | blue brick, part 32104c01 |
| RCX | bidirectional IR via tower + light sensor | RCX IR (serial, ~2400 baud) | 1998–2001 | needs IR tower 9713/9783 |
| Spybotics | 2× IR sensors + light sensor + IR emitters | IR (76 kHz carrier) | 2002 | + PC serial for programming |
| Power Functions (IR) | IR receiver (8884) | PF RC (38 kHz) | 2007–2018 | true optical motor control |
| EV3 | IR sensor + IR beacon (remote) | EV3 IR (own, 4 channels) | 2013 | also color sensor |
| Bionicle Manas | IR receiver | 76 kHz IR | 2001 | 3 channels |
| RC Train (IR) | IR receiver | 76 kHz (2006) / 38 kHz PF (2009+) | 2006+ | two IR generations |
| NXT | light / color sensor only | — (USB/Bluetooth programming) | 2006–2009 | optical = sensing only |
| WeDo | IR motion/distance sensor only | — (USB / BLE) | 2009 / 2016 | optical = sensing only |
| Powered Up | color & distance sensor, light brick | — (BLE / LWP) | 2018+ | optical = sensing/lighting |
| CyberMaster | — radio (27 MHz RF) | — | 1998 | not optical — disambiguation |
Sets
| Set | Name | Year | Pieces | Brick | Catalog |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9748 | Droid Developer Kit | 1999 | 657 | Micro Scout (white) | Rebrickable |
| 9754 | Dark Side Developer Kit | 2000 | 578 | Micro Scout (grey) | Rebrickable |
| 8479 | Barcode Multi-Set (Code Pilot) | 1997 | 1161 | Code Pilot | Rebrickable · also: Technicopedia (write-up) |
| 9735 | Robotics Discovery Set (Scout) | 1999 | — | Scout | Rebrickable |
| 9719 | Robotics Invention System 1.0 | 1998 | 733 | RCX | Rebrickable |
| 9747 | Robotics Invention System 1.5 | 1999 | 731 | RCX | Rebrickable |
| 3804 | Robotics Invention System 2.0 | 2001 | 680 | RCX 2.0 (+USB tower) | Rebrickable |
| 9713 | Infrared Transmission Tower (serial) | 1998 | — | IR tower | Rebrickable |
| 9783 | USB IR Tower | 2001 | — | IR tower (USB) | Rebrickable |
| 3806–3809 | Spybotics (Gigamesh/Snaptrax/Shadowstrike/Technojaw) | 2002 | — | Spybotics brick | Rebrickable · also: Wikipedia (overview) |
| 8884 | Power Functions IR Receiver | 2008 | — | PF | Rebrickable · also: LEGO.com (official) |
| 8879 / 8885 | PF IR Speed Remote / IR Remote | 2009 / 2008 | — | PF remotes | Rebrickable 8885 · also: 8885 LEGO.com |
| 8527 | Mindstorms NXT | 2006 | — | NXT | Rebrickable |
| 8547 | Mindstorms NXT 2.0 | 2009 | 619 | NXT | Rebrickable |
| 31313 | Mindstorms EV3 | 2013 | 601 | EV3 | Rebrickable |
| 45544 | Mindstorms Education EV3 Core | 2013 | — | EV3 | Rebrickable |
| 9580 | WeDo Construction Set | 2009 | 158 | WeDo 1.0 hub | Rebrickable |
| 45300 | WeDo 2.0 Core Set | 2016 | 280 | WeDo 2.0 SmartHub | Rebrickable · also: LEGO Education (official) |
| 8539 | Bionicle Manas | 2001 | — | IR remote (76 kHz) | Rebrickable · also: BIOsector01 (lore) |
| 8482 | CyberMaster | 1998 | — | RF brick (27 MHz, not optical) | Rebrickable |
| 88007 | Powered Up Color & Distance Sensor | 2019 | — | optical sensor | Rebrickable |
| 88005 | Powered Up Light | 2018 | — | LED output | Rebrickable · also: LEGO.com (official) |
Key parts
| Part | What | Link |
|---|---|---|
| 32344c01 | Micro Scout (white DDK / grey Dark Side) | Rebrickable |
| 32104c01 | Scout (blue) complete brick | Rebrickable |
| 8479bar01 | Code Pilot barcode sheet (laminated A3) | Rebrickable · also: Bricker (A3 scan) |
Protocol specifications, tools and communities: Link directory. What to buy to build an emitter: VLL emitters — options & status.