Mindstorms LEGO
If you thought LEGO Technic were advanced, prepare to be blown away by LEGO Mindstorms, LEGO for making fully functional, programmable robots. LEGO Mindstorms goes much further than the simple moving mechanics of Technic and enters the realm of robotics, with programmable actions. Mindstorms as we know it first came in the form of LEGO Mindstorms NXT released in 2006, with a new edition, Mindstorms NXT 2.0, released only in 2009. However, its origin dates all the way back to an MIT project from the 80s.
MIT Origin
Essentially the good people at the MIT Media Laboratory came up with the idea of a programmable brick, starting in the late 80s. The brick could function completelly separately on its own, without being connected to a computer, and issue orders, or receive input, from other connected parts, like light sensors, motors, or even other LEGO bricks. It was operated with a variety of software programmes, including LEGO TC Logo at the outset, Control Lab software later in the 90s and others like LogoWriter, MicroWorlds and LogoWriter Robotics. Essentially, the brick served as the inspirational foundation for what would become the first LEGO robot and eventually Mindstorms.
The Mindstorms NXT
The MIT brick led to LEGO’s own similar effort, known as RCX. This brick found its initial uses primarily in controlling LEGO train sets, but it would lead to greater things, most notably, LEGO Mindstorms NXT unveiled in 2006. Mindstorms NXT is a completely functional LEGO robot that includes a grand total of 577 parts, quite high even as far as LEGO sets are concerned, four different sensors for touch, light, sound and ultrasonic, as well as 3 servo motors.
Core programmable brick
Just like the MIT projects before it, the NXT robot takes its orders from the main ‘brain’ intelligent brick unit, complete with an LCD display and buttons for operation. Moreover, this single brick unit can receive input from up to four sensors and direct up to three motors, the exact number included with the whole kit. As for the brick itself, simple directions can be entered directly on the brick’s menu using the available four keys. More advanced programmes and instructions can be downloaded and transferred to the NXT brick via its USB port (or Bluetooth), as well as programmed with various applications including the NXT-G software, Matlab and many others.
New NXT 2.0
Then, of course, we have the all new LEGO Mindstorms NXT 2.0, released only last year, that features a completely updated programmable brick, in addition to an all new (colour) sensor. The colour sensor is able to, you guessed, see and sense colours, as well as light, and even act as a lamp of sorts. It’s also easier to programme and made more accessible for beginners, although not anywhere near as easy as your ordinary LEGO.
Countless possibilities
So, what exactly can you make and do with these creative Mindstorms robots? Really the sky is the limit, but with the NXT 2.0 robot, LEGO offer a helping hand. The kits comes with complete instructions for assembling four very different types of robots, including the so-called Robogator which looks predictably like its alligator namesake. It’s also programmed to bite anything that gets too near its jaws, so take care after assembly. Then there’s humanoid looking Alpha Rex that can dance, avoid obstacles and tell colours apart, among its many talents. Finally we have the rolling Shooterbot, capable of shooting balls at people and then the Color Sorter that can also shoot balls, but sorts them by colour before hand. These are only the official templates that come with the NXT 2.0, but really the possibilities are almost infinite. For a look at some of the finest consumer created Mindstorms robots be sure to check out the NXTLOG community for literally thousands of examples. Also keep an out for the videos we have here at the LEGO Landfill for even more.
Advanced but still for kids
Although officially sanctioned for ages 10 and above, the Mindstorms are no ordinary kids toy and many would say no kids toy at all. However, for the precocious and inquisitive youngster, with an interest in robotics, and perhaps a parent nearby to help, LEGO Mindstorms can prove an excellent educational tool. Yet unlike most educational tools, LEGO Mindstorms are also very fun to work with and remain, at the heart of matters, a toy. So, despite being the most adult centric of all LEGO, Mindstorms robots also do a good job of appealing to kids and teenagers.
Top Mindstorms LEGO Prices
Mindstorms LEGO Videos
Watch Mindstorms Autofabrik Video on YoutubeDescription: Eine Anlage, die Legoautos herstellt. Gebaut von der Robotik-Gruppe des Veit-Höser-Gymnasiums Bogen. A machine producing small LEGO cars.
Watch CubeStormer II Video on YoutubeDescription: CubeStormer II solves the Rubik's Cube puzzle faster than the human world record. This ARM Powered robot was designed, built and programmed by Mike Dobson and David Gilday, creators respectively of CubeStormer youtu.be and Android Speedcuber youtu.be The mechanics are constructed entirely from LEGO, including four MINDSTORMS NXT kits, with the addition of a Samsung Galaxy S II smartphone running a custom Android app as the robot's brain. Both the MINDSTORMS NXT kits and the Samsung Galaxy SII use a variety of ARM --based processors. The app uses the phone's camera to capture images of each face of the Rubik's Cube which it processes to determine the scrambled colours. The solution is found using an advanced two-phase algorithm, originally developed for Speedcuber, enhanced to be multi-threaded to make effective use of the smartphone's dual-core ARM Cortex-A9 1.2GHz processor. The software finds an efficient solution to the puzzle which is optimised specifically for the capabilities of the four-grip mechanism. The app communicates via Bluetooth with software running on the ARM microprocessors in the LEGO NXT Intelligent Bricks which controls the motors driving the robot. During the physical solve, the app uses OpenGL ES on the phone's ARM Mali-400 MP GPU to display a graphical version of the cube being solved in real time. Human speedcubers' solve times only include the physical manipulation of the cube and don't include some time which is allowed to "inspect" the cube ...
