Hello all,
I decided to start posting projects that I made myself.
There will be videos.
Art
Artistic
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
Monday, May 30, 2011
LabVIEW for LEGO® MINDSTORMS NXT
National Instruments, the Texas-based manufacturer of the official programming environment for the NXT, based on NXT-G, has recently introduced LabVIEW for LEGO® MINDSTORMS.
LabVIEW is the the company’s professional LabVIEW graphical system design software and well established in the industry for controlling machines and robots; the new version for LEGO® MINDSTORMS is focused on the educational sector and is thus meant to be used with the Education version of the NXT set:
Consequently, the new programming platform well be sold exclusively through LEGO Education and its authorised resellers.
LabVIEW is the the company’s professional LabVIEW graphical system design software and well established in the industry for controlling machines and robots; the new version for LEGO® MINDSTORMS is focused on the educational sector and is thus meant to be used with the Education version of the NXT set:
"Developed specifically for secondary school students to use with the LEGO Education robotics platform in classrooms or competitions, LabVIEW for LEGO MINDSTORMS is a teaching tool that helps students visually control and program MINDSTORMS NXT robots, while learning the same software used by scientists and engineers"as the company states.
Consequently, the new programming platform well be sold exclusively through LEGO Education and its authorised resellers.
Demo at Robo Cup Jr.
Xander Soldaat and Larens Valk did a LEGO NXT demo at the Nemo Science center in Amsterdam. Here's a video that features some of the robots they showed, including two robots from The Unofficial LEGO MINDSTORMS NXT 2.0 Inventor's Guide: The front wheel driven Jeep and the Printer.
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
Lego Help
Hello all,
I have made a new tab on my blog at the top.
It will help you when you don't know what Lego set your child would like.
Thanks!
I have made a new tab on my blog at the top.
It will help you when you don't know what Lego set your child would like.
Thanks!
Sunday, May 22, 2011
WiFi NXT
Xander Soldaat has set up an interesting interface that uses the new Dexter Industries WiFi sensor. The idea is simple: control Xander's NXT from anywhere in the universe that's connected to the internet.
Before I post any spoilers, have a look at his NXT live with this link.
Then, in a different window, send a command to his NXT with the WiFi sensor using this link:
http://xammy.demon.nl:81/MOTA=-99
Replace "-99" with any value between -100 and 100 and see what happens.
Before I post any spoilers, have a look at his NXT live with this link.
Then, in a different window, send a command to his NXT with the WiFi sensor using this link:
http://xammy.demon.nl:81/MOTA=-99
Replace "-99" with any value between -100 and 100 and see what happens.
New Model from Hitechnic
HiTechnic have released the building instructions for a new model, this time a small go-kart. This go cart is controlled by a Power Functions remote, that sends commands to the HiTechnic IR-Receiver sensor which in turn communicates with the NXT.
It looks quick and I'm sure would be a blast to play with. Also a nice bonus that it can be built with both the 1.0 and 2.0 NXT sets :)
I Love how they get around not needing a differential (you'll have to watch the video to find out!)
More info here - http://www.hitechnic.com/models
It looks quick and I'm sure would be a blast to play with. Also a nice bonus that it can be built with both the 1.0 and 2.0 NXT sets :)
I Love how they get around not needing a differential (you'll have to watch the video to find out!)
More info here - http://www.hitechnic.com/models
Moonbots 2.0
The Lego Group and The Prize X Foundation has released the second annual Moonbots challenge:Moonbots 2.0, A Google Lunar X PRIZE LEGO® MINDSTORMS® Challenge.
Free registration and Phase One of the contest will be open from May 9th through June 13.
Free registration and Phase One of the contest will be open from May 9th through June 13.
Lego in Space
Last Monday, the Space ShuttleEndeavour lifted off to its last journey to Space, and on board she has a very special pay-load: a bunch of LEGO® kits.These are be the very first LEGO® kits that ever have travelled into space (there have been some pre-glued models so far only) as engineers were scared of loose parts floating around and getting sucked into the Shuttle's ventilation; Astronaut Cady Coleman (well-known for her recent ISS-Earth flute duet with Jethro Tull's Ian Anderson) will build some models from them in a clear glove box on board of the ISS in order to demonstrate to children the effects of zero gravity, both on single parts as well as on some simple LEGO® machines.
I'm looking forward to the videos!
The building instructions for these models will be available for download on LegoSpace.com so we earthlings can create them also on the ground.
Joe Meno from Brickjournal hinted me to the fact that these are not the first LEGO® kits in space: on board of an earlier mission there were two CITY Space shuttle kits. However, the kits of the mission at hand will still be the first ones ever built in space.
Thanks, Joe!
The information that all of the pre-built models that have been sent to Space so far have been glued seems to be unconfirmed also. Does any of our readers have additional knowledge about that fact? If so, please tell us.
Programming in Plain English VOTE!!!!
Luke Taylor developed a software to program the NXT in pure English language, and his project has been selected by the Google Science Fair as semi-finalist!
Click here to vote for him!
Click here to vote for him!
Saturday, May 14, 2011
New Motor Block
HiTechnic has released a new motor block for NXT-G using the servo motor that comes with the set.
Here is the description of the block as said on the Hitechnic Website.
Why the HiTechnic Motor PID Block?
This block is an alternative to the standard LEGO Motor Block. Unlike the Motor block, which when used with a duration of degrees or rotations, gives you relative control over the position of the motor, the PID Block is designed to give you absolute position control. With the standard Motor block, you might use it to go forward 45 degrees, go another 45 degrees, then go backward 90 degrees. Each time the motor turns an amount that is relative to the position that the block starts in. With the PID Block you specify an absolute position. For example, if you want the motor to go to position 45, you can pass in that value to the Set Point input of the PID Block and it will drive the motor to that position. If the motor starts at position 100, then it will go backward to 45; if it starts at 0 then it will go forward.
This type of control makes sense when your motor has a limited range of motion. For example, if you are using the motor to control the position of a robotic arm, you will likely want to make the arm go to a certain position and then have it do something. Since you may not want to keep track of the current position, it is often easier if you can just specify the position to go to. That is what this block lets you do. If you use the standard Motor block, then the direction and duration needed to get to a certain position will depend on the current position.
Here are some possible uses for the Motor PID Block:
- Steering mechanism on a car
- Linkage control system to follow the input from a sensor
- A selector mechanism for a sorter.
- A gripper mechanism that has multiple positions that you want to select between. Perhaps: Open, Closed, Crunch.
- A panning control mechanism where you want to accurately control the direction something is pointing.
Gus Jansson from HiTechnic demonstrates the block in the video below. Find more information and a download link here.
Here is the description of the block as said on the Hitechnic Website.
Why the HiTechnic Motor PID Block?
This block is an alternative to the standard LEGO Motor Block. Unlike the Motor block, which when used with a duration of degrees or rotations, gives you relative control over the position of the motor, the PID Block is designed to give you absolute position control. With the standard Motor block, you might use it to go forward 45 degrees, go another 45 degrees, then go backward 90 degrees. Each time the motor turns an amount that is relative to the position that the block starts in. With the PID Block you specify an absolute position. For example, if you want the motor to go to position 45, you can pass in that value to the Set Point input of the PID Block and it will drive the motor to that position. If the motor starts at position 100, then it will go backward to 45; if it starts at 0 then it will go forward.
This type of control makes sense when your motor has a limited range of motion. For example, if you are using the motor to control the position of a robotic arm, you will likely want to make the arm go to a certain position and then have it do something. Since you may not want to keep track of the current position, it is often easier if you can just specify the position to go to. That is what this block lets you do. If you use the standard Motor block, then the direction and duration needed to get to a certain position will depend on the current position.
Here are some possible uses for the Motor PID Block:
- Steering mechanism on a car
- Linkage control system to follow the input from a sensor
- A selector mechanism for a sorter.
- A gripper mechanism that has multiple positions that you want to select between. Perhaps: Open, Closed, Crunch.
- A panning control mechanism where you want to accurately control the direction something is pointing.
Gus Jansson from HiTechnic demonstrates the block in the video below. Find more information and a download link here.
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