The brand-new Lego Mindstorms EV3 platform is designed to make it easy for adults and children alike to program robots. The new platform comes with an all-new series of sensors and motors.

The EV3 robotic system from LEGO will go on sale sometime this summer for a pretty penny — 35,000 of them, or $350. The MINDSTORMS EV3 will essentially replace the MINDSTORMS NXT 2.0 line, which ...

Building the Ev3rstorm robot using the instructions from inside the Mindstorms EV3 app. Credit: Lee Hutchinson The control brick gets connected to the sensors and motors via a set of included cables.

The system is backwards- compatible with previous-generation Lego Mindstorms NXT robots. To help novices get started, EV3 will include building instructions for 17 robots.

On Thursday, Apple announced that, starting June 5, its increasingly popular iPad-based programming app, Swift Playgrounds, can be used to program robots built with LEGO Mindstorms EV3.

It’s Lego’s first major update to their programmable line of robots in six years--a redesign to be more social, connected, and approachable for kids and adults alike.