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If a Brick was a Robot, It Would be a Brixel

Inventors have been dabbling with kinetic architecture for a few years now, mostly in the form of flat panels that spin or slide. Kinetic panels can be used to create a variety of visual spectacles through simple, fluid movements, but they’re a bit lacking in the practical application department. It’s time for kinetic panels to enter… the third dimension.

Mechanical development team Breakfast has created a new form of kinetic architecture: rotating bricks named “Brixels.” Brixels come in a variety of sizes, materials, and finishes, but all possess a central cavity through which a support shaft can pass and hold them. When affixed to the shaft, Brixels can rotate in either direction at up to 60 RPM. Brixels can be controlled through a web-based app, but they also contain a visual sensor that can make them respond to nearby movement.

To demonstrate their invention, Breakfast created the “Brixal Mirror,” a 19×6 surface of matte black Brixels. With a wave of a demonstrator’s hands, the Brixels spin, creating fascinating shapes and movements. Breakfast’s co-founder, Andrew Zolty, believes that Brixels can be more than just a tool of spectacle, believing they could be used in a house’s construction to freely form and remove walls, dividers, vents, and more. Brixels could also potentially be used as paneling, having already been tested against nature’s elements.

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