Microsoft demos Lego Mindstorms EV3 platform using Surface-controlled robot
![](https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/HHbUg6UgHrX5Zh9sv96BOQ--/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTk2MDtoPTQ5NQ--/https://s.yimg.com/uu/api/res/1.2/lvKeRuEhTrMz96tjO5Uxnw--~B/aD0zMTk7dz02MTk7YXBwaWQ9eXRhY2h5b24-/https://www.blogcdn.com/www.engadget.com/media/2013/06/mslegobuild.jpg)
Robot toys aren't what you'd normally expect from Microsoft's developer-focused Build conference, but that's just what the company served up today. In a chat about developer tools, Microsoft's VP of Web Services Antoine Leblond demoed a version of Lego Education's unreleased Mindstorms EV3 platform using -- what else? -- a brick-built robot and a Surface tablet. Citing the Win RT APIs that let users interact with device-specific protocols (i.e., USB, Bluetooth, etc.) Leblond was able to stream live video of his face, using a separate Windows tablet, to the tank-like franken-toy. All whimsy aside, this MS / Lego collaboration's less about giving kids a neat, remote spying tool and more about making programming fun and approachable. You know, STEM stuff. And we're all for it.