Lego Mindstorms NXT In The Community on SuprGlu

Fueling robot

Wed, 6 Feb 2008 09:52:00 UTC

In Netherlands (a country that seems particularly amenable to technical innovations - the woman on the image is the Dutch Secretary of Economy), the first fueling robot of the world in practical use has been introduced on some gasoline stations, called TankPitstop.

In Europe, where self-service on gasoline stations is a rule, drivers might not be unwilling to get their car fueled by a machine (though fast-paced ones will prefer to remain at performing it by their own, considering the rather easy-going pace of the fueling robot).

The video is nice - however, I wonder how many cars got scratched before that worked reliably. ;-)

Not a NXT robot, but maybe an inspiration for one that can fuel some of the new LEGO® TECHNIC trucks...

How young is too young for the NXT?

Tue, 5 Feb 2008 19:32:00 UTC

LEGO's recommended age on the box is 10 & up... but we all know some younger builders for which that simply doesn't apply - and they're designing some interesting robots.

Reader Beth posed an interesting question on our forum (edited below), and I'd like to invite our readers to visit the forum and offer their suggestions to Beth as well as to add to the discussion. Click on the question below to join the discussion.

"My son and I received an NXT for Xmas. I am looking for some book recommendations with ideas/plans he can follow. He has a little trouble with the programming (and I am slowly learning) but is great at building the actual robot. I ordered the Zoo book but it is not expected for another month. Are any of the other books geared more for younger kids? I found a website with great building instructions and downloadable programs but I think a book would be easier (then he won't be messing with my laptop unassisted :-) ). Are there any more modules available for the included software with the step by step instructions and help?"

Trying to Improve Print Images

Tue, 5 Feb 2008 11:36:00 UTC

Since our publishers will only publish in black and white, I'm experimenting with some modification of building images in Photoshop. Normally, this white motor disappears into a white background. I'd appreciate your feedback on my attempts to fix that. (Click on the links for larger images.)

Fay
Sample 1
Sample 2
Sample 3
Sample 4
Sample 5

TeMo - Telerobotics over Mobile

Mon, 4 Feb 2008 15:26:00 UTC

Although this robot doesn't use the MINDSTORMS Brick, it does provide an interesting discussion involving communication via BT and a mobile network.

(Chris Anderson has done something similar with his UAV being sent commands via a cell phone. Anyone know of more examples?)

FLL International - Who's coming?

Mon, 4 Feb 2008 15:14:00 UTC

Just a little over 2 months away, FLL International is looking to be bigger and better than last year. So, who's coming? Did your team make it through the qualifiers? Are you coming just to watch and look around?

LEGO, LEGO Education, and HiTechnic will all have representatives on site (as well as many MUP/MDP/MCP members in attendance) - The NXT Step will be covering the event as well, with pictures, interviews, news, and more.

If you're going to be here, let us know. We'd love to meet you and your team and anyone else you bring along.

Classroom Activities for the Busy Teacher: NXT

Mon, 4 Feb 2008 00:10:00 UTC

We have just released our first dedicated resource book for teachers "Classroom Activities for the Busy Teacher : NXT"

This book outlines a 10 week set of lesson plans for teacher wishing to implement robotics in their classroom. A set of robotics challenges are presented, centered around the LEGO NXT MINDSTORMS system. The workbook includes 10 robotic based challenges as well as 3 additional modules with assessment activities covering Robots in Society, Flowcharting and Multimedia Presentations.

It is aimed towards Middle Years schooling (ages 9 - 15) although the challenges can be adapeted to suit older age groups.

Each module includes:

A real world scenario
Basic theory of the concepts presented
Teachers notes outlining the most common issues and how to solve them
Example Programs in the NXT-G development environment
Extension activities
Student worksheets

Sample pages can be downloaded from here and the full book can be ordered from the cafepress site http://www.cafepress.com/domabotics

--
Damien Kee

Blue Knights Take First at Regional

Sun, 3 Feb 2008 19:40:00 UTC

On January 19 (a long time ago!), my FLL team, the Beck Academy Blue Knights, took the first place Champion's Award at the Clemson Regional! They also took the second place Robot Performance Award, with a score of 315, and the first place Techincal Award! Due to unforseen problems with the robot and the mat, our other 2 rounds resulted in a rather depressing 105 and 110. Nonetheless, we qualified for the SC state tournament, which will take place Feburary 16.

You can view some pictures of the event in our school's gallery: http://www.greenville.k12.sc.us/beck/news/0708/RoboticsTeamWinsAgain/index.html

I'll be posting some comments and observations from the tournament later.

If anyone will also be going to the SC state tournament also at Clemson, be sure to stop by our pit area, the #784 Blue Knights: We will challenge you to game of LEGO Chess and have many giveaways.

-Richard

Learn all about LEGO MINDSTORMS NXT pieces

Sun, 3 Feb 2008 08:00:00 UTC

How do you build great NXT robots? The key is simply to master the use of the LEGO pieces in the NXT set. David Perdue helps you to understand the names, classifications, and uses of the MINDSTORMS NXT parts in chapter 4 of the Unofficial LEGO MINDSTORMS NXT Inventor's Guide.

Download a sample chapter on the MINDSTORMS.com/Books pageHow do you build great NXT robots? The key is simply to master the use of the LEGO pieces in the NXT set. David Perdue helps you to understand the names, classifications, and uses of the MINDSTORMS NXT parts in chapter 4 of the Unofficial LEGO MINDSTORMS NXT Inventor's Guide.

Download a sample chapter on the MINDSTORMS.com/Books page

Final Cover for the "NXT ZOO" Book

Fri, 1 Feb 2008 18:57:00 UTC

Click on the above graphic to see an enlargement of both the front and rear covers of the upcoming "NXT ZOO" book. The rear cover provides more information about the nine robots included, as well as general information about the book.

The book is at the printers and will be published by the end of this month. Fay will provide more information and supporting materials for blog readers by month's end.

New NXTLOG Challenge

Fri, 1 Feb 2008 14:05:00 UTC

The latest NXTLOG Challenge is up. From the description:

"The MINDSTORMS NXT Camera Bot Building Challenge is asking you to create the NXT spy bot, paparazzi bot, photojournalist bot, or even a robotic fashion photographer.

We are looking for robots that can take still photos (not video), and we want you to also share the pictures taken from your robot’s point of view.

There's no limit on amount of LEGO MINDSTORMS NXT sensors, motors, NXT programmable bricks, HiTechnic sensors, or Bluetooth communication you can use on your MINDSTORMS NXT Camera Bot."

Read more here.

Multi-Sensitivity Acceleration Sensor

Fri, 1 Feb 2008 12:46:00 UTC

Mindsensors released a new version of the acceleration sensor.

"Multi-Sensitivity Acceleration Sensor (ACCL-Nx-v2) is a 3 axis digital acceleration sensor designed for LEGO MINDSTORMS NXT. This sensor works at 4 different sensitivity levels of gravitiy.
The sensitivity can be chosen in your program. This sensor can be used to measure static and dynamic acceleration in different axes. You can use this on your robot as tilt sensor or to track the velocity profile."

More information can be found here.

NXT, XBox Controller, and RoboRealm...

Fri, 1 Feb 2008 00:06:00 UTC

Jan emailed the following:

"We have our new video, images and source code online, showing the NXT tracked rover being controlled with an XBox 360 controller through RoboRealm software. The building instructions for this robot will be up in the next couple of days, but the setup works with any differential drive NXT bot."

Check it all out here.

LEGO Brick 50th Anniversary Timeline

Thu, 31 Jan 2008 11:42:00 UTC

On gizmodo.com, there's a nice article in connection with the 50^th anniversary of the LEGO™ brick that features a timeline with milestones like the LEGOLAND, TECHNIC, Star Wars or MINDSTORMS sets. It also contains a lot of curiosity facts on LEGO™ (did you know, for instance, that one could reach the moon with stacking on each others only a tenth of the bricks that have been produced so far? Or that there are no less than 55,600 LEGO™ videos on YouTube presently?), the official anniversary video and a link to the "best LEGO sets ever" (a classification that certainly depends on the eye of the beholder to some extent, though).

Enjoy!

R/C Ping-Pong Ball Shooter

Wed, 30 Jan 2008 22:08:00 UTC

Totally fearsome. (Cannonball shooters are imminent).

Robot Lawnmower

Wed, 30 Jan 2008 17:12:00 UTC

Last week we shared with you the new nxtprograms.com website that has some great robot designs with complete building instructions (and programs) for you to follow. This is just a reminder that the site updates regularly - the latest is a personal favorite of mine - the Robot Lawnmower. It's a nice little design and very true to the real world object - it's even got push button start! Check it out here.

I especially like the "Challenges" that are provided for learning more and expanding the functionality of the robots.