LEGO TECHNIC Idea Book

LEGO Technic Tora no Maki

While reading another one of my favorite LEGO web sites (TechnicBRICKs blog) I came across a discussion and link to an interesting PDF and books. The books are not strictly NXT related, but they do contain some very interesting construction techniques. All are elements described are very simple but can be included in more complex devices.

The books are available for pre order on Amazon and Isogawa Yoshihito still has a wonderful 200 page PDF available for only $10.

I downloaded the PDF, looked through it and immediately went to PayPal and paid the $10 he was asking. It is a free download and there are no restrictions on the content, but I suggest if you download it, like it and intend to keep it, please pay for it! This will encourage him and others to continue to publish books in this format. I like PDF format books as they are usually in full color and very portable (I can read on my laptop or iPad).

I hope to see more books on both NXT and non-NXT topics available in PDF format.

The link to his site and PDF is: http://www.isogawastudio.co.jp/legostudio/toranomaki/en/

Enjoy,

Andy Dannelley

If life gives you LEGO®, build ROBOTS

NXT Sequencer

This is a follow up to my previous sequencer.

Version 2 can be built from the NXT2.0 kit, and you can download the instructions and program here




The program is quite straightforward, just takes in a colour sensor reading (0-5) which feeds a 'value' switch. Each tab in the switch corresponds with a particular colour/note combination. Black (carpet) gives no note.

--
Damien Kee
www.damienkee.com
twitter:damienkee

FLL 2010, Body Forward Challenge

Through the 2010 Body Forward™ Challenge, FLL teams will explore the cutting-edge world of Biomedical Engineering to discover innovative ways to repair injuries, overcome genetic predispositions, and maximize the body's potential, with the intended purpose of leading happier and healthier lives.

Each FLL Challenge has two parts –the Robot Game and the Project. Teams need to attempt both in order to be eligible for awards at official tournaments.
2010 Challenge Details to be released September 3rd!

While waiting for the Challenge to be released, meet the Challenge Advisory Team (CAT) that helped develop the Body Forward Challenge. And take a look at these cool biomedical engineering links!

Teams can also customize the official poster for the Body Forward Challenge and use it to promote upcoming meetings, fundraisers, and any unofficial local events they organize.

read more

Martyn

Low Cost Smart Wheel Chair

Daniele Benedettelli has been working on several new projects with the NXT lately. One of them is a robotic wheel chair with that uses the NXT. On his website he says:

"The aim is to realize a robotic wheelchair that will allow disabled people to gain mobility and independency. The motivation of this project is that existing smart wheelchairs are very expensive and they are not so smart.

The idea is to realize such a vehicle using low cost hardware such as LEGO MINDSTORMS NXT, a netbook, other off-the-shelf technology, and custom sensors."

You can watch Danny's project presentation and several other videos using this link.

The duck family and the bad rat

last weekend 14/15 September, at a clubday of the dutch LEGO club "de bouwsteen" I saw this real nice demo.
A story about "The duck family and the bad rat".
The lady in the white designed and build the duck
the duck wonders around and when it finds its nest, it will lay an egg.
the rat is stealing the egg form the nest.
the small ducks have PF motors and are remote controlled.



more info: http://mocpages.com/moc.php/220755

Over The Edge: abusing "toy" hardware in new (wet) ways

Someday, the hardware police are going to come and take away my toys, citing me for criminal abuse. Until then, I'll continue to see what an NXT can handle... and what I can learn in the process.

On a recent trip to Niagara Falls, I was fascinated again with this huge, impressive natural feature. And thinking about the foolhardy souls that over the years have tried to survive going over the falls in a barrel, I did what was natural for me - thought about the NXT doing it. Of course, getting permission to throw something over Niagara Falls is unlikely to happen... and it's dangerous, and retrieving it would be extremely difficult. But I could certainly do some test runs... so was born the "NXT in a barrel".

I used an NXT slid into a 4" PVC pipe segment, sealed tightly at either end with removable closeout plugs. To keep it from bouncing around inside, I used a hot-wire cutter to shape foam "bulkheads" to support and lock the NXT into place within the tube, and attached a 50' line to retrieve it after. Then I went to a small local dam, started it, sealed it tightly, took a deep breath... and threw it over.

The NXT logged two sensors 30 times a second, a 3-axis accelerometer from Mindsensors, and the LEGO sound sensor. Above the dam it floated tranquilly, quietly, and approached the edge. During the fall, the sound level went up only a little, but the accelerometer clearly registered a freefall as it went over the edge. Then there's a sharp acceleration as the pipe hits the rocky bottom end-on, and the noise level suddenly spikes up, as water crashes down on top of the PVC pipe and the unit is tossed and turned at the sloped, rocky base of the falls. Then suddenly it quiets down, bouncing in the tailrace in the fast-moving water below the waterfall.

All in all, this gave me yet another chance to "live vicariously" and understand something that I have no (safe) way of experiencing myself. Could I scale this up? Certainly (& I'm planning to, in a couple of different ways). Could this be used as a teaching tool? Absolutely, in so many ways. Total cost beyond the NXT was maybe $15 total for the plumbing, and programming was very easy.

Niagara Falls it's not... but it's as close as most of us are likely to get. Now excuse me, I've got to find a bigger waterfall...

NXT 2.0 Discovery Book Video

This is a new video that I made for the NXT 2.0 Discovery Book. Check it out, and if you have any questions about the book, feel free to post them here.