This is the first generation of LEGO Mindstorms, built around 9719 Robotics Invention System from 1998. The name came from Mindstorms, a 1980 book by Seymour Papert of the MIT Media Lab, whose research on programmable bricks led to the RCX, the yellow brick at the centre of the kit. It holds a small computer with three motor outputs and three sensor inputs, and programs written on a PC went to it by infrared through a tower plugged into the computer.
1998 LEGO Sets
1998 marked LEGO’s leap into programmable play with the launch of LEGO Mindstorms, combining motors, sensors, and code for user-built robots. LEGO also entered digital entertainment with games like LEGO Creator, LEGO Loco, and LEGO Chess. New themes included Adventurers, following Johnny Thunder’s global expeditions, and Insectoids, a sci-fi successor to Exploriens. LEGO Castle revisited classic factions such as Crusaders and Dragon Masters, reconnecting with its medieval roots while bridging into modern set design.