Four technical secondary schools join forces to visualise drone data on traffic using LEGO® model, microelectronics and 3D print
The City as a LEGO® workshop in Bratislava, Slovakia, brought together students from four technical high schools, university mentors, city representatives and SK-AT Twin City Hub project partners. Held at Nová Tržnica and MakerSpace Bratislava Nová Cvernovka, the workshop combined model building, electronics, city data and 3D printing within the EU co-financed Interreg SK–AT Twin City Hub project, supporting STEM talent and technical education in the Bratislava–Vienna region.
Over two days, on 30 September and 1 October 2026, participants assembled 4,481 LEGO® pieces into a working demonstrator of the street outside ZŠ a MŠ Milana Hodžu on Škarniclova Street in Bratislava’s Old Town. Students also built a wooden base to house and protect the electronics. Designed by Hendrik Engel of ModulAREbricks, the model draws on drone measurements showing vehicle speeds, parents’ drop-off locations and children’s walking routes to school.
The Workshop
Three buttons display three scenarios
Three buttons reveal three traffic scenarios, with LED lights representing cars and their speed. Red shows too many cars travelling too fast outside the school. Blue demonstrates how drone analysis can identify critical locations and inform lower speed limits or new traffic signs, slowing traffic. Green presents an ideal future: more students walking and cycling, fewer cars, and a lower risk of accidents and congestion. The model makes the connection between data, planning decisions and safer streets visible and easy to understand.
PhD students from SPECTRA CE at Comenius University in Bratislava led an urban planning activity focused on the area around ZŠ a MŠ Milana Hodžu on Škarniclova Street, depicted in the final LEGO® model. The students worked together to develop solutions for traffic around the school and successfully presented their findings and proposals to a jury.
The workshop connected practical technical skills with the goal of creating a city where children can move around more independently. It involved students and teachers from SPŠ stavebná a geodetická, SPŠ elektrotechnická, SPŠ strojnícka and SPŠ dopravná, with support from the City of Bratislava, the Metropolitan Institute of Bratislava and MakerSpace Bratislava.
Participation in Student Welcome Week provided an opportunity to bring this collaboration and its approach to urban challenges closer to the public. The LEGO® model was designed by ModulAREbricka and the data for visualisation was provided by the City of Bratislava and Metropolitan Institute Bratislava.
A cross-border STEM education bridge
The pilot program is part of the Twin City Future Innovation Manufacturing Hub and is implemented by SPECTRA CE at Comenius University in Bratislava (Slovakia) and EIT Manufacturing East (Austria).
The aim is to strengthen cross-border cooperation between Austria and Slovakia and help accelerate STEM education and talent development for the manufacturing sector in Slovakia and Austria.
