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Lego + Linux HOWTO
luge writes "In more than a few Lego articles posted here, I've seen the question asked "But can I use the Mindstorms under Linux?" Well, the new Lego + Linux mini-HOWTO provides the answer. There are (currently) 7 different software options in 7 different languages (including C, Perl, and Java) for the Linux-based Mindstorms owner."
Anyone have any ideas on how I can build a little mindstorms thing that will sit on my kitchen counter and spray my cats with water when they jump up there? I know when I'm at work they jump up on the counter and dance around until they get tired and then fall asleep next to the coffee maker until they hear my car pull up, then they run to the other room and pretend they've been there all day.
Motion sensing might not work very well because people who walk by would get sprayed. Image recognition would be best, but I'm not quite sure how to go about it.
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Getting off-topic, but you raise a very interesting point. I'm approaching 30 (shudder), and I think I saw the transition of legos from wholly generic to specialized. The space sets came out when I was a kid, as well as the first motor (big, black brick), and then the technics, and there compact motor. Generally, though, even with space sets and such, you got mostly generic bricks, with a few special types, but even those could be used for many things.
I think the first motors were in the mid 60's, so unless you're approaching 30 like Merlin does, they predated you.
Over the years, it seems the specialization continued to where legos are hyper-specialized. A set comes with a few normal bricks and many specialty items that don't have many uses.
Now, maybe it's reversing, with the greater amounts of generic pieces in the mindstorms and such sets, despite highly-specified star-wars, castle, and rock war sets.
Yes, this whole process is decried as the juniorization of Lego, and apparently even mentioned in Coupland's Microserfs.
Don't lump Star Wars in with the castle or Rock Raiders sets, though. The Star Wars sets are an excellent value for the money, and don't have many overspecialized parts, unlike Rock Raiders.
The X-wing for example, had R2D2, a canopy and a few printed parts for specialized parts, everything else was stock. Lots of grey slopes and plates, very tasty.
George
Now if only there was an environment that provided something outside the Algol family. Oh wait, of course, I can use Forth. I RPN like not. :-) A nice functional language (Haskell being my current fave) would be well-suited to the MindStorms system. Pure functional PLs handle data flow so cleanly, and the flow from sensors to actuators is exactly that. Six built-in primitives for the three sensors and the three actuators.
A simple Braitenberg-style mouse:
Simple, clear, understandable. I like it.-----
Klactovedestene!
In college I built a maze traversing Mindstorms Robot. It would actually find its way through a 6 foot by 6 foot cardboard maze. I used NQC (Not Quite C) as the programming language because it was impossible to program the "follow the right wall" algorithm in Bricks (the programming language that comes with the set.)
This is supposed to be great art. So why does it look like a bunch of decapitated naked people? -- Calvin
- RCX
- LegOS (C/C++)
- Lego::RCX.pm (Perl)
- Not Quite C
- pbForth
- TinyVM & leJOS (java)
- TCL RCX
Wow I suck.You try to make a car, but end up with a speed boat. But you don't care. its a really cool speadboat!
After months of development your lego car starts quickly, but then grows so big it crushes you. And crashes.
After half an hours hacking you have a dune buggy that works. Unfortunatly further development is impossable.
After months of development you realise its not quite feasable.
you lego build
Your lego car works everywhere, but its quicker to walk.
Your car doesn't work, but if it did you could control it remotly with a pretty GUI
Thad
Thad
It's official; they have finally combined the world's two greatest playthings: Legos and Linux Figure out a way to get sex and beer into the mix, then you'll really have something!
Yet Another Web Site
I have one lying around from my 6.270 robot...
The HandyBoard is damned cool though...
Could you build a PC case using Mindsorms components and have your machine look after itself physically? Like, you come back from work and it's taken a few bricks out of itself to reduce temperature? Or added a west wing on the side to house a couple of new hard drives? Or built itself some wheels and... uh, I've got to stop thinking about this now.
"History doesn't repeat itself, but it does rhyme." Mark Twain
Children playing with Legos? Interesting concept! Does this mean I have to share?
Bush should have died, not Reagan -- Morrissey
Morrissey rides a cockhorse -- The Warlock Pinchers
``
No Laughing Allowed!
I have a set of the old Lego Dacta system with the computer interface. It used a language called LEGO TC LOGO under DOS. It uses a proprietary LEGO 8 bit ISA Interface card. Is there any information on making this beast work in Linux? LOGO/DOS only has so much extensibility! John
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Has anybody actually purchased one of these Lego Mindstorm kits? Was it easy to work with? For what age group would it make a good gift?
ByteMyCode.com: A Web 2.0 code sharing community.
It's official; they have finally combined the world's two greatest playthings: Legos and Linux
How Jaded Are You?
It'd be the first time a Lego construction ever got Slashdotted.
Now I can create a turtle using Java and a hare using C. Things get more realistic every day!
Now if only I could use my ultimate VB and AOL skills somehow...
Source code is a lot like a parachute; it needs to be open in order to function properly.
Wouldn't it be cool to use mindstorm to construct a physical bar graph of the traffic to my webserver?
The next site to slashdot will be ready soon, but subscribers can beat the rush and start slashdotting it early!
It's great that we've got all these "real" programming languages to use, but doesn't the average kid need something a little simpler?
It doesn't sound like you grew up so much as grew older. Your post sounds like a typical bitter old-timer, "Damn kids, when are ye gonna learn ye gots to grow up!"
I'm 26, happily married, have good financial investments and am a systems/network administrator for a small company with a good salary and bonus. However, I still play with toys (and the old Transformers and Legos are my favorites) and I still watch cartoons (Cartoon Network is only second to the sci-fi channel in my book, and those two occassionally trade places during certain months). Does that make me a child? Hardly. I work my butt off, I pay my bills, and I treat my wife with respect (or she wouldn't be my wife). Yet I'm still able to enjoy a good 'childish' thing like cartoons and toys.
You knock Legos as childish. The funny thing is that Legos are designed with the basic premise of helping you develop your mind and your imagination. You are never too old to give up on those sorts of ideals. You need to constantly exercise your brain to keep it growing. And just because it is targetted at kids doesn't mean you can't use it as an adult. If you feel that way, you've already lost part of your humanity. Hopefully you'll get it back.
Oh yeah, and if you think my wife has a problem with my 'childish' endeavors, why the hell did she pull me through Valley Fair, running from ride to ride, screaming her head off and in general acting like a big kid? Simple, she (like myself) hasn't grown old.
You can grow up without growing old. We choose to seperate those two things. It looks like you choose to combine them into one process. In a way I feel for you, but it's your choice. However, don't knock it just cause you don't like it. It's a lot more fun than you might think.
(Now, my hypothesis is you are either a troll, or the following applies: You have avoided using Legos and other 'toys' because you know deep down inside that if you went anywhere near them you would play with them and have a great time. This fear of looking 'childish' has kept you from exploring something you may enjoy. It's too bad, but it happens.)
Bite my yammer.
Yup, seven different projects for Lego Mindstorms, but no window manager that works. There you have it, ladies and gentlemen, in a nutshell, the reason why Eric Raymond's "Cathedral and Bazaar" is wrong. Although we could actually have worked this out ourselves with a bit of thought -- how many real life bazaars have ever actually built anything larger than a hep of camel shit?
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I'm pretty good with Technic, but now with all this Mindstorms/C/Java stuff, that I am an antiquated Lego freak.
Ahh, I miss the days when you didn't have to know programming to make Lego killer robots. Now I just have to find a way to make a Technic automatic transmission.
busse
I can see it now. The next movement in Open Source meets Mechanical Engineering:
"Free" as in "Free your hand from the vise-grips."
[
One of the first things I did when I got my mindstorms kit was to go out and buy the Unofficial Guide to Lego Mindstorms (O'Reilly, no less). It starts nicely with the system that the Lego people give you to program in, then talks about NQC and pbForth - along with instructions on how to get these for whatever operating system you want.
Sure, it's nice to have an online resource, but I find a printed book easier to use. That, and the pictures in the book for assembly of lego monsters take no time to transfer over the wire!
-Denor
C: The bricks fit together quickly, as long as you put them in place carefully, but push too hard in the wrong direction and the whole structure will spring apart.
Perl: You have over 43,000 different bricks, though most of them seem to do the same thing. The model is built quickly, but seems to have used a lot more bricks than you expected.
Java: The bricks can also be used with Duplo and Meccano. However, they operate so slowly that you go for a coffee instead.
Come on, someone who actually knows what they're talking about continue/correct me...
PigPog.
... I figured it'd be a lot safer than heroin... :)
One of my acquantinces from school makes lego mindstorm stuff...you can look at a bunch of his creations at flipse.com/legos.html They seem sort of neat...but I am still a little worried that legos are now computer controlled.......what next? wooden blocks?
The anti-salmon
Simple - use a basic stamp.
if you look at the web you'll find many examples on how to do this.. www.google.com is your friend.
Do not look at laser with remaining good eye.
If you have a stainless steel counter, or can make it conductive, pick up a cheap electronic Studsensor. Wire the big trace on the back to a alligator clip, and attach to the lip of the counter. Wire the LED to a 3V relay, and use it to drive the motor on a battery powered squirtgun.
Problem solved!
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Calls to 911 that we're likely to hear: 911 operator: "911 what is your emergency?" Frantic Person: "ARgghhh! Somebody rooted my computer this morning and now my toy dogbot attacked and tried to kill me. I'm hiding in the bathroom right now, but the robot is building itself a lock pick"
Sig it.