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Collaboration Building Blocks from Denmark

The Danish toy maker Lego is among the first to transform product development by collaborating with its global fans to gain fresh ideas and create new products. More than 9,600 people from 79 countries responded when Lego asked for volunteers to help develop its future "Mindstorms" robot kit. This filtered down to 100 enthusiasts, including 13 architects or engineers. They were given four months to experiment with the product and put forward practical ideas. Developers accessed a secure Web forum to collaborate with one another, get information and work out solutions. Søren Lund, Director of Lego's Mindstorms, believes that the project has worked well because the diverse "backgrounds, talents, interests and livelihoods" of the team of fans reflect the character of the robot kit aimed at 'tinkerers, enthusiasts and roboticists of all ages".