If any of you guys remember Anika she made a NXTification of the Technic set UNIMOG.
Here it is!!
Not only is Anika a Mindstorms expert, she is also able to entertain us with very well presented videos featuring stop motion animation story line. Well done Anika!!
Art
Artistic
Saturday, August 13, 2011
New Cyclops Robot
A new creature is coming! Stay tuned on robotics.benedettelli.com
Can you guess what is it and which amazing capabilities will it feature?
Monday, August 1, 2011
Mindstorms Academy?
An article in the most recent WIRED magazine got me to thinking about alternative methods (maybe even better?) for delivering training related to both robot building and programming. I was sort-of familiar with Khan Academy (I had watched a video or two a few years ago when someone told me about it) but never truly understood what I was seeing (and hearing) from the website.
If you're not familiar with Khan Academy please pause here and simply read the article and then watch this video. it will get you up to speed much better than I could possibly do so in a paragraph or two. After you've watched the video (or not if you're familiar with KA and its concept), hopefully you'll have an understanding of how the videos work and what the goals of KA are longterm.
I'm not here to debate the pros or cons of KA -- the site and its methodology are the subject of much debate already so let's not add to the noise here... my purpose for this post is not to discuss KA's videos but to pose a question to LEgoBOTS's audience as a whole:
Would it be possible to provide to those new to Mindstorms(teachers, students, parents) a collection of short videos (5 to 10 minutes max) that would introduce concepts such as The Loop block, Line Following and Object Detection?
Just as KA has a couple dozen categories (Pre-Algebra, Calculus, Economics, etc.), I can imagine a similar group of categories such as Programming Blocks and Basic Movements and Advanced Logic Control... the list goes on. The idea would be to create a standard format for how the videos look and how they are narrated... maybe even some standards on video format thrown in for consistency.
Just as many students who use the KA videos can go back over a difficult topic as many times as they like (without anyone looking over his/her shoulder) and review the content before moving on, I can imagine a similar set of videos being developed where relationships between videos are tagged so that novices don't watch a more advanced video before they've watched (and hopefully learned) the basic videos that contain the information the more technical subjects build upon.
Don't get me wrong -- I still think books are a great method for learning. But imagine rather than reading a page or two that describes how to drop in a MOVE block and tweak it for the various settings -- forward, reverse, power, coast, etc. -- that you can instead queue up a video that maybe shows the block being dragged onto the work area, a few tweaks made on the left side of the screen and a Tribot or other robot on the right side demonstrating the code in action. I also think there's something a bit more personal in having a narrator explain a concept, but probably not everyone will agree.
Let's assume for a second that the video concept is favorable and enough people voice support. What next? I'm not a project manager, but I imagine that there would need to be some sort of formalized method for managing the videos -- this would likely need to be an individual or small group that would be responsible for not only assigning video topics but also viewing and critiquing them before they are released in the wild. (Of course, a "beta" video could also be released for feedback from the community.)
There are other matters that would need to be considered and decided on:
1. How would video of the NXT software be recorded?
2. Would the video capture software need to be consistent or could a list of acceptable applications be selected?
3. What language would the video narrator need to speak? I dislike assuming English, but then again this is an English-based blog and the majority of the audience are English-speakers.
4. Where would the videos be stored/hosted?
There may also be copyright/legal issues that I'm likely unfamiliar with, but given the purpose of these videos would be to promote Mindstorms and grow its user base, I would hope that there would be ways around these issues, especially if the goal isn't profit-minded.
There are thousands upon thousands of videos out there that show viewers how to solder, how to wire up all kinds of electronics, how to program in dozens of languages, and so many more. And yes, there are already videos out there that demo how to do various things with the NXT kit and its software, but what's lacking is organization and logical planning of the topics to be covered.
I'm very impressed with Khan Academy, and I can't help but think that the methodology he uses is perfectly suited for teaching Mindstorms.
Thoughts?
If you're not familiar with Khan Academy please pause here and simply read the article and then watch this video. it will get you up to speed much better than I could possibly do so in a paragraph or two. After you've watched the video (or not if you're familiar with KA and its concept), hopefully you'll have an understanding of how the videos work and what the goals of KA are longterm.
I'm not here to debate the pros or cons of KA -- the site and its methodology are the subject of much debate already so let's not add to the noise here... my purpose for this post is not to discuss KA's videos but to pose a question to LEgoBOTS's audience as a whole:
Would it be possible to provide to those new to Mindstorms(teachers, students, parents) a collection of short videos (5 to 10 minutes max) that would introduce concepts such as The Loop block, Line Following and Object Detection?
Just as KA has a couple dozen categories (Pre-Algebra, Calculus, Economics, etc.), I can imagine a similar group of categories such as Programming Blocks and Basic Movements and Advanced Logic Control... the list goes on. The idea would be to create a standard format for how the videos look and how they are narrated... maybe even some standards on video format thrown in for consistency.
Just as many students who use the KA videos can go back over a difficult topic as many times as they like (without anyone looking over his/her shoulder) and review the content before moving on, I can imagine a similar set of videos being developed where relationships between videos are tagged so that novices don't watch a more advanced video before they've watched (and hopefully learned) the basic videos that contain the information the more technical subjects build upon.
Don't get me wrong -- I still think books are a great method for learning. But imagine rather than reading a page or two that describes how to drop in a MOVE block and tweak it for the various settings -- forward, reverse, power, coast, etc. -- that you can instead queue up a video that maybe shows the block being dragged onto the work area, a few tweaks made on the left side of the screen and a Tribot or other robot on the right side demonstrating the code in action. I also think there's something a bit more personal in having a narrator explain a concept, but probably not everyone will agree.
Let's assume for a second that the video concept is favorable and enough people voice support. What next? I'm not a project manager, but I imagine that there would need to be some sort of formalized method for managing the videos -- this would likely need to be an individual or small group that would be responsible for not only assigning video topics but also viewing and critiquing them before they are released in the wild. (Of course, a "beta" video could also be released for feedback from the community.)
There are other matters that would need to be considered and decided on:
1. How would video of the NXT software be recorded?
2. Would the video capture software need to be consistent or could a list of acceptable applications be selected?
3. What language would the video narrator need to speak? I dislike assuming English, but then again this is an English-based blog and the majority of the audience are English-speakers.
4. Where would the videos be stored/hosted?
There may also be copyright/legal issues that I'm likely unfamiliar with, but given the purpose of these videos would be to promote Mindstorms and grow its user base, I would hope that there would be ways around these issues, especially if the goal isn't profit-minded.
There are thousands upon thousands of videos out there that show viewers how to solder, how to wire up all kinds of electronics, how to program in dozens of languages, and so many more. And yes, there are already videos out there that demo how to do various things with the NXT kit and its software, but what's lacking is organization and logical planning of the topics to be covered.
I'm very impressed with Khan Academy, and I can't help but think that the methodology he uses is perfectly suited for teaching Mindstorms.
Thoughts?
Another NXTification of the Star Wars Shuttle!!
Remember the NXTification of the LEGO® Star Wars Shuttle by bazmarc we posted a month ago here?
Here's another one, this time by another well-known NXT hero, NeXTSTORM:
Here's another one, this time by another well-known NXT hero, NeXTSTORM:
Sunday, July 17, 2011
HiTechnic sensors
If any of you are interested I will post some of the new sensors that they make.
(But I don't really use them)
(But I don't really use them)
Saturday, July 16, 2011
WALL-E 5
On the MINDSTORMS website under "news" a new robot story is posted as it is told by Marc-André Bazergui & team about "Making a Robotic Model of a Robot".
read the full story here
Now, this version 5 transforms from a cube shape to a fully articulated well proportioned look alike of the famous Disney/Pixar WALL-E®. The first public appearance of this robot was at BrickWORLD Chicago, 2011.
read the full story here
NXShield - a shield for TEEMINO
Maybe this could not seem directly LEGO MINDSTORMS related, or evenblasphemous to the purists, but the secret Android device published in a previous post is not a secret anymore!
Its name is Teemino, a device that can be controlled by an Android ADK compatible phone.
This means that your Android version should be 3.1 or 2.3.4 to have the Open Accessory support.
Soon also the NXShield will be available: it will allow the Teemino to control up to 4 NXT Servo Motors and read 4 digital and analogic sensors.
Here's a video to see it in action (impatient people should skip to 5:20)
NXTBee - NXT-G Blocks
Andy over at Milluzzi Labs - http://08milluz.wordpress.com/ has just released some NXT-G blocks for use with the Dexter Industries NXTBee sensors.
Not sure what the NXTBee is? Basically it's Wireless communication for the NXT!
Not sure what the NXTBee is? Basically it's Wireless communication for the NXT!
- Fast, long distance wireless communications for the NXT.
- Communicate Far: Send data over 1 KM away.
- Communicate Fast: High speed communication between NXT's and other devices.
- Communicate Wide: Talk to multiple NXTs, other devices and robots.
Soooooooo... What can you do with an NXTBee? Here is a quick video of what some people have managed. What would you do?
Friday, July 8, 2011
Robot Sundae Maker
The good people over at Tufts University (the home of the RoboLab software) have created a nifty Robotic sundae maker as part of their summer intern project.
More info on the trials and tribulations to make it happen can be found at their website
http://sites.tufts.edu/robosundae/
It also has a great collection of photos documenting the process.
More info on the trials and tribulations to make it happen can be found at their website
http://sites.tufts.edu/robosundae/
It also has a great collection of photos documenting the process.
Thursday, July 7, 2011
Review of Technic Unimog 8110
Conchas at TechnicBricks has posted an excellent review of the new LEGO TECHNIC 8110 Unimog. It's the largest set in TECHNIC history. Find the review with plenty of pictures and videos here.
The Unimog itself looks like a great model with lots of functions. And once you're done playing with the main model, it seems this set will be a very useful parts pack for your NXT robots, like making it completely autonomous or making the scoop at the back to detect objects and scoop it up.......
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