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Lego Mindstorms NXT Robotics Announced

Posted by Zonk on from the i-am-the-atomic-alien-robot-please-give-my-best-wished-to-everybody dept.

Denver_80203 writes "Just when you thought Lego Mindstorms was grinding its last gear, comes the announcement of Lego Mindstorms NXT Robotics Toolset, with sleek servo motors, an ultrasonic sensor which allows robots to 'see' by responding to movement, a sound sensor which enables robots to react to sound commands (including sound pattern and tone recognition) improved touch and light sensors, and a and a programmable brick with at least 7 or 8 RJ11 type jacks. Robot fun! Out in August 2006, and in true Lego style will cost $249." Wired has a preview of the cover story about the new kit on their site.

2 of 190 comments (clear)

  1. I don't think grinding it's last gears is correct. by Lester67 · · Score: 5, Interesting

    The original (and 2.0) version of their kit was massively popular, and it attracted a "geek base" of fans that wouldn't have accepted your typical "version 2.5". Props to Lego for realizing this and taking a little longer than most companies would to release the "right" product instead of the "quick" product.

  2. orcboard, open source robotics controller by edwinolson · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Or you might be interested in the OrcBoard robotic controller, which is open source (schematics, layout, firmware, userland tools all GPL). It's being used by a number of robotics classes (6.188, 2.12), and a robotics competition (MASLab) at MIT.

    It's a bit different than mindstorms in that it's designed to be used as a slave to a laptop or other more CPU-rich device. But you can use it in stand-alone mode too, if your robots are simple.

    -Ed
    (disclaimer: creator of orcboard)