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There are electrical multiplexers as mentioned, however there are also many types of mechanical multiplexers. The idea behind this is to use fever motors to do more.
The advantage is the reduced weight and the disadvantage is the increased complexity and lower flexibility.
For example, you can control both tracks with one motor. However instead of one motor ...
23
The programming interface used by LEGO creates programs which make use of the standard firmware, that is, the one provided by LEGO.
If you look at alternatives (see also this answer for more information), you'll notice that quite a lot of them use the same firmware.
This means that the programs they produce use the same language which is interpreted by the ...
18
Update:
I have written a tool to disassemble EV3 programs. The EV3 software compiles the .ev3 file to a .rbf file and sends that to the EV3 brick. The disassembler can convert the .rbf file into a .lms file, which is a sort of assembly language that can be used to create programs for the EV3.
Here is a simple example using a trivial .ev3 project.
To ...
15
Yes.
The current Mindstorms sets are completely Technic orientated and use the Technic pins (i.e. [part:3673:7]) to connect to the newer Technic Beams (i.e. [part:32316:7]) as well as the original Technic Bricks (i.e. [part:3894:7])
The various different size pins and axles are the way to interchange between these.
answered Mar 20 '12 at 21:28
14
The most current Mindstorms set would be the NXT 2.0.
The set is advertised for children aged 10+ (previously 16+). If you or your child is under 10 but has a talent for building with LEGO and a basic understanding of computers or engineering the whole process should be fairly easy to get to grips with.
The set itself is quite an investment (RRP £235/$...
13
Mindsensors sells third-party parts that are compatible with the NXT. They sell several motor drivers and multiplexers, for use with NXT motors, RCX motors, hobbyist servo motors, or by sending commands to a PF motor remote control receiver.
HiTechnic is another such company, and they likewise make a device that sends remote control signals for PF and ...
13
There are a few subtle differences in internal hardware between the NXT 1.0 and 2.0 bricks. The most notable one is that the 1.0's screen would give out over time due to stress being put on a capacitor when the buttons are pressed, but the NXT 2.0 is engineered such that this does not occur. But, none of these differences affect what hardware the bricks are ...
13
From the official EV3 FAQ:
What does EV3 stand for?
This is the third generation of the LEGO MINDSTORMS platform and the
"EV" stands for evolution, hence EV3.
The first two generations referred to here are LEGO MINDSTORMS RCX and NXT, respectively.
12
LEGO used to sell Converter Cables for Mindstorms NXT at a price of £8.99 / US$9.99 for 3 cables at their online shop, they can still be bought online from stores like Bricklink.
Considering the price of each cable converter it may be worth purchasing newer sensors/motors that are more advanced. The NXT system cables are separate from sensors and motors and ...
12
There are alternate text-based programming languages for the NXT. Three of the most popular ones are NXC/NBC, LeJOS NXJ, and RobotC. There are many more, all with their pros and cons, and are much more versatile than NXT-G, even on slow computers. I my personal favorite is NXC/NBC. But really it's up to you. The best way to see what suits your needs is to ...
12
Here are the two easiest options:
Replace it. Contact LEGO, and tell them of your problem. I've
hear many success stories from people who did this, and LEGO
replacing it for free. For one person, it took a week to arrive, but
for another, three days. Note that if you want to keep your old NXT,
you'll have to have the receipt. If you don't have the receipt, ...
12
Short answer: The ultrasonic sensor is perfectly accurate while moving!
A regular NXT robot will move at a maximum speed of several meters per second (usually about 1 or 2 m/s max.). Ultrasound, on the other hand, travels with about 330 meters per second through air. So during the "snapshot" the ultrasound sensor does (basically it sends a ping, listens for ...
12
The LEGO Group have advertised the EV3's excellent backwards compatibility with NXT.
As the cables are the same, the EV3 will work with NXT sensors, motors and, of course, LEGO Technic bricks. RCX sensors will work with the aid of converter cables.
Software designed for programming the NXT will not work for the EV3 as the NXT runs firmware, but the EV3 ...
11
There are two non-wireless ways that I know of.
One of them, (which is better most likely) is to use a Mindsensors Motor Multiplexer (Motor MUX for short), which allows the use of all motor functions and splits one port into several. Note that each multiplexer requires an additional battery box, making your robot heavier and less compact. Each multiplexer ...
11
As stated in the description of that video, the big issue is that the iPhone won't pair with uncertified devices:
The car is built with standard Lego Mindstorms NXT components. Since iPhone SDK does NOT allow using non certified devices (which are limited to other iPhones and some headsets etc.) I have used BTStack library.
I guess this is why there's ...
answered Nov 16 '11 at 14:22
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You can start with the Hardware Developer Kit which includes "documentation and schematics for the NXT and related sensors", supplied by The LEGO group to help you "design and develop your own sensors and actuators [motors] that can interact with the NXT".
I've not really looked at the latest ones, but the original O'Reilly Unofficial Guide to LEGO ...
11
There are several editors which are based on the open LDraw part database.
I believe that the most popular are MLCAD and LeoCAD. I personally use LDD, so I can't speak to the quality of the instruction generation from these tools, but they do at least offer the ability to create instructions.
LeoCAD is probably your best bet for doing animations, and it is ...
11
As mentioned by @guestguy123 and @eficker, it is easy to combine an EV3 cable and a PF cable to make a custom cable that allows the EV3 to control. This can even be done without soldering - I just twist the wires together and tape them with electrical tape. The full schematic is here:
All you need is 2 resistors (1x1kOhm and 1x10kOhm) which are cheap to get ...
10
There is an educational version. It is set number 9797.
The NXT 2.0 set is set 8547.
Both come with:
1 - NXT brick
3 - Motors
1 - Ultrasonic range sensor
2 - Touch sensors
1 - 20 cm cable
4 - 35 cm cable
2 - 50 cm cable
The NXT 2.0 has some things the education set does not:
1 - color sensor
1 - Test Mat
Software (The education software is sold ...
10
The older RCX 1.0 had a power plug inbuilt. However Philo has shown how to create one yourself in a fairly simple way:
LEGO® 9V Technic Motors compared characteristics, scroll down to the section "Getting maximum mechanical power from RCX output" towards the bottom of the page.
The idea is to create two fake batteries and draw a wire from each, creating a +...
10
Yes, this is definitely possible! You can connect up to 7 different NXT devices from one computer and one Bluetooth dongle (theoretical limit). I have tested this with the RWTH - Mindstorms NXT Toolbox for MATLAB) successfully with 5 NXTs on Linux and with at least 2 NXTs on Windows.
In real life, it depends on your Bluetooth hardware. Your Bluetooth stack ...
9
Yes, you can use all RCX sensors and motors with a NXT brick. Don't forget about lamps, too.
The connections are different though, so as Ambo100 says, you will need converter cables. However, if you don't want to pay the full price for them, you can also make some yourself which isn't really that difficult.
The other thing you need to consider is how to ...
9
The best thing you can do to get experience with Mindstorms is to try to build some robots with the kit. You should get the normal NXT kit, as this includes the software, the electronics and some sample Mindstorms models.
Anyway, there are two aspects to Mindstorms, building and programming.
Building: If you have experience with Lego Technic, building ...
9
If you wish to program the EV3 with Scratch, then check out this project on github:
https://github.com/koen-dejonghe/ev3-scratch-helper-app
This software is a so-called helper app, that interfaces between the Scratch 2.0 offline editor and the Lego Mindstorms EV3.
The EV3 must be booted from Lejos (http://sourceforge.net/p/lejos/wiki/Home/), requires a ...
9
As I've said before in another answer, I find the #92585 Crowbar is the most versatile and is especially good at removing rubber bands from the #3736 (Technic, Steering Pulley Large) and the #4185 (Technic, Wedge Belt Wheel) elements.
Don't use any sharp/metallic objects like a screwdriver or a pen knife as you may scratch the brick or sever the rubber band....
9
Update Dec 2016
There is now an app for chromebooks on the chrome store:
https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/lego-mindstorms-education/jhnhfnolmcleankdkhfklakpchnccipg?hl=en-US
I have used it to program EV3 version of the bricks. It connects via bluetooth to the EV3 brick (I don't think USB is even supported). The bluetooth connection can be buggy ...
8
Everybody else has pretty much said it all, but there is one more thing I can think of.
The IR Link Sensor can communicate with Power Functions, RCX, and trains.
So you can use three NXT motors, plus, say, two Power Functions motors. (Only the NXTs will have rotations sensors, obviously.)
If you already have some PF kit, you will only need the sensor (£40)...
8
The 9398-1: 4x4 Crawler is an interesting candidate with the new servo motor. It comes in 2H2012.
There are more pictures on TechnicBricks.
8
Please help make this post better! This needs:
Clean up
Removal of irrelevant information plagiarized from copied off Wikipedia
Links
[Possibly] Pictures or Code samples
NXT-G
Graphical programming environment
Uses Blocks
Based on LabView
Parallel "sequence beams" are actually parallel threads
Comes bundled with the NXT
The language ...
8
No, but you can use a very similar programming language: Enchanting.
(I haven't tried it yet. It was recommended by the programming instructor).
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