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This thing will more than likely cost between $1000-$2000 - I think I would rather spend the money on a Mindstorms set and some parts from Pitsco-Lego-Dacta, then head over here
Long live MIBO!!!

I support the EFF - do you?

What would be the advantage of buying this?

For $250 bucks, you could go out and buy yourself a some mindstorms and an add on kit (May I suggest the videocam addon?) and build this exact bot. And have a lot more fun doing it.

Lego Mindstorms Robotics Invention System 1.5
about $200 -- info @ http://mindstorms.lego.com

Developed from work by the MIT AI Lab, the programmable brick is the ultimate synthesis of two great techie toys: LEGO, and computers. The Mindstorms RIS appeals to the hacker mindset, too. By exposing the internals, LEGO makes it easy to ignore the included software and program the brick using a wide range of tools and environments, including Linux.

Definitely gets my vote for the "cheaper than a Playstation" entry.

I got my Lego Mindstorms for Christmas 1998 but I haven't used it much. I think I will take it out of the closet and hack around with it.

Visual Basic is a good way to program your Lego Brick. You install the Mindstorms OCX and then you can do what you want. There is a big PDF manual too. This way you can control the RCX with more precision.

I have compiled some links to Mindstorms pages and direct links to files for those who fear the cookies.

SDK info

PDF Manual

Sample Program

SDK 2 Beta file+docs. Cool stuff

I got my Lego Mindstorms for Christmas 1998 but I haven't used it much. I think I will take it out of the closet and hack around with it.

Visual Basic is a good way to program your Lego Brick. You install the Mindstorms OCX and then you can do what you want. There is a big PDF manual too. This way you can control the RCX with more precision.

I have compiled some links to Mindstorms pages and direct links to files for those who fear the cookies.

SDK info

PDF Manual

Sample Program

SDK 2 Beta file+docs. Cool stuff

I got my Lego Mindstorms for Christmas 1998 but I haven't used it much. I think I will take it out of the closet and hack around with it.

Visual Basic is a good way to program your Lego Brick. You install the Mindstorms OCX and then you can do what you want. There is a big PDF manual too. This way you can control the RCX with more precision.

I have compiled some links to Mindstorms pages and direct links to files for those who fear the cookies.

SDK info

PDF Manual

Sample Program

SDK 2 Beta file+docs. Cool stuff

I got my Lego Mindstorms for Christmas 1998 but I haven't used it much. I think I will take it out of the closet and hack around with it.

Visual Basic is a good way to program your Lego Brick. You install the Mindstorms OCX and then you can do what you want. There is a big PDF manual too. This way you can control the RCX with more precision.

I have compiled some links to Mindstorms pages and direct links to files for those who fear the cookies.

SDK info

PDF Manual

Sample Program

SDK 2 Beta file+docs. Cool stuff

Sure. You can Lego news at this site.

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They're not "dimentions". It's a "Propriatary User Interface."

Back OT... The reason that the plastic always seems to be different is that yes, Lego does indeed use a patented plastic for their blocks. But they didn't always. Some of the originals were wood. Check out their History page for more cool info on Legos.

BTW.. here is something nifty here lifted right from their site, if you have some free time on your hands:

"102,981,500 are how many different ways there are to combine six 8-stud bricks of the same colour. If you haven't that much time, you can take three 8-stud bricks - same colour - and fit them together in 1,060 ways. Two 8-stud bricks - still the same colour - can be put together in 24 ways."

Good luck! Any math geeks out there that could figure out how many combo's could be made from 35,000 blocks?

Ok, now there's no excuse not to start building your own large-scale Lego project. You can now order Lego pieces in bulk. How cool is that?

They are also dogamtic about the use of the LEGO trademark on websites- Hemos, take note, assuming you ever bother to read posts... I know this was covered well last time Lego was mentioned but, one more time, from the above linked page:

Proper Use of the LEGO Trademark on a Web Site

If the LEGO trademark is used at all, it should always be used as an adjective, not as a noun. For example, say "MODELS BUILT OF LEGO BRICKS". Never say "MODELS BUILT OF LEGOs".

I suppose it is too much to ask that this is the last time we'll ever see the LEGOs word on /.

But, I do see a problem with this: Children with ADD (as you know) do have a tendency to drift from doing what they are actually working on. Especially to things that do not pose a challenge to them.
When I would come home from grade school, I would plop myself in front of the video game consol and not look up for hours on end. Legos had the same effect on me as well where I would create and destroy worlds all before dinner.
Then, came the time to do home work. Home work? What's that? There was more interesting worlds to explore within the world of building blocks and little people.

Now, I have read in places and magazines where there had been the children that had ADD seem to have been "cured". When, in fact, the children with ADD had become adults with ADD. There is also an organization called CHADD that deals with Children and adults with ADD.

Also, schools who would have "problem children" and usually quick to diagnose these children, just because they fit into a certain category of symptoms. The children are given a label and put on drugs without a thorough diagnosis.

Now, thru CHADD, and other organizations, adults who are diagnosed with ADD seem to have found a nitch in where they belong in today's job market.
Those jobs do include:

• Emergency rooms
• Help Desks
• Computer programmers
• Other computer related fields
• and others I may have forgot

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The biggest thing you can buy is a 2x8 block? They had some thick plates that were positively HUGE as well as 4x8 blocks, too. Building stuff is fun, but we don't really need one MORE excuse to sit inside. And what about DUPLO blocks? Those things were positively HUGE! And much easier to play with when you're fscked up.... :)

No yellow available in bulk, but lots of black and white (see the catalog of bulk parts here and here), which is most of the surface area anyway.

The yellow you can get from regular Lego sets.

No yellow available in bulk, but lots of black and white (see the catalog of bulk parts here and here), which is most of the surface area anyway.

The yellow you can get from regular Lego sets.

These fun facts and more can be learned with a bit o' reading over here: LEGO's history

BTW she now understands why we have a ZX80 as a cat flap.

You can learn more than engineering with Lego.

Even better than the above, Lego Buckyballs are new this year! (And you thought you'd need to resort to K'nex for a properly rendered buckyball!)

I think a little trip over to lego would do just nicely or maybe toys r us. I don't know what to do about the "bright and shiny" part maybe some furniture polish on a oak cofee table might do the trick or perhaps pyrite I hear that works well for shiny and fooled a great deal of people :)

You're right about this, and you can get more info either by visiting the DACTA site or the ROBOLAB page from National Instruments.

The ROBOLAB version is multi-platform (currently Windows and Mac) because the software interface used to program the RCX controller brick is a derivative of a multi-platform graphical programming environment called LabVIEW that's been around for about 15 years. LabVIEW itself is available under Windows, Macintosh, Linux, Solaris, etc.

I've used ROBOLAB quite a bit and can vouch for the power of its programming environment--on the higher levels, anyway. The lower levels allow younger kids to build their own control programs more easily.

LEGO-wise, the ROBOLAB kit uses most of the same sensors that you can get with Mindstorms, and also comes with some templates (both LEGO and code) to get the new user going.

You can get the RoboLab software from a Lego Dacta disributor (find them at http://www.lego.com/dacta You will also need a serial cable to connect to the IR box. (also from Dacta)

There are several kits available from The LEGO Company (TLC) which let you build Mindstorms-style robots; the Robotics Invention System (RIS, the Mindstorms 'basic' set) the Robotics Discovery Set (which has the 'Scout' microcomputer instead of the RCX that comes in the RIS; the Scout doesn't require a PC for you to program it) and the Droid Developer Kit (which has yet another 'Scout'-style programmable brick). These are the three robotics kits available from The Lego Company .
Available from Pitsco/DACTA is the RoboLab, a LEGO robotics kit aimed more towards the Educational sector, primarily as a teaching tool for educators looking to teach scientific-minded youths the joys of programming and the wonderment that is robotry. It's available from PITSCO/Dacta. I've ordered stuff from them online without having to prove if I'm an educator, but YMMV.

I've had the Unofficial Guide to LEGO Mindstorms for a month now, and my cats are starting to think I like my robots (Clumsy Pike and Hovis) better than them (Hydrox and Pork Chop, so they don't get jealous)(I think they've got FELUX running on my PC).

I hope that this is of some use to someone looking for the perfect gift for that geek on their Christmas list.

-The Cheese, who's next plan is to RULE THE WORLD!

PS; LEGO also sells a wireless IR remote for controlling the RCX.

PPS; Check out the online resources at LUGNET .

I've heard a couple people mention the Robolab system, which apparently is a more configurable version of the Invention System (correct me if I'm wrong). However, as far as I've been able to tell from Lego's website, Robolab is only for schools. Does anyone know if Robolab is available to individuals, and if it is worth checking out over the Invention System?

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