Nintendo Labo To Allow Building And Programming Of Custom Robots

As a video game company known for its outlandish products that are then devoured by the public with gusto, Nintendo has no problems using the consumers as Guinea pigs. In its latest experiment, the Japanese firm released customizable cardboard items called Labo, and it can be used to create custom robots. These robots can then be programmed by the users.

The custom robot feature can be found in the service called Toy Con Garage, which basically comes with simple programming schemes that allow users to determine what their robots will do, Kotaku reports. This occurs after the robots have been assembled since they do start out as cardboard cutouts. From there, the users can turn the robots into several forms, which can be programmed to perform multiple functions.

This particular feature was shown off by Nintendo representatives in a recent show in New York. Based on the result, the programming systems seems to follow the simple “if-then” setup. Basically, users set a command and if the conditions are met, the response is produced.

For example, if the user wants to push the left Joy con stick up, the Right Joy con can vibrate. This is just the tip of the iceberg for Labo, as well.

Based on what has been shown off so far, the Labo’s functionality isn’t restricted to the forms they can take. Turning the cardboard into a fishing rod can play music or a motorbike to control an RC car seems to be possible.

As Engadget notes, it’s not yet clear how much freedom users have in terms of what they can do with the Labo and what forms they are able to create to perform what function. This could actually be the key to prolonging the lifespan and increasing adoption of the product, however, if Nintendo can do it right.