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The Unofficial Guide to Lego Mindstorms

Posted by CmdrTaco on from the aint-that-cool dept.

Clifton Tipon wrote in to tell us that O'Reilly has a book on Lego Mindstorms for all you robot junkies out there. They're definitely covering the spectrum over there.

26 of 86 comments (clear)

  1. Re:Slight addition to make everyone drool... by Bald+Wookie · · Score: 2

    What you need is a Lego Mindstorms robot capable of assembling a clone of itself. Use one kit to build the first robot, and then automagically build six more using what you have on hand. Drop them all off in a Toys R Us late at night, and let them liberate and assemble their buddies. If the toy store is a rockin...

    Build a driver bot, and have them hijack a truck to Legoland. Once they get there, its all over. The resulting army will help you take over the world. You will rule with your army of Legobots from a hollowed out volcano with giant video screens. Of course you could build a Mindstorms football team instead...


    Holding, bot number 100101, ten brick penalty, repeat second down.

    -BW



  2. Re:Well not to exactly downplay this but. by rogersba · · Score: 2

    I work for a company that does laboratory automation. Most of our equipment, including our robotic arm, is designed only to move small sample plates that weigh a few ounces. I think that perhaps your definition of a useful robot is a little too narrow.

    Here's a link to one of our robots: ORCA Robotic Arm

    We send some of our smaller projects out to local universities for use as senior projects, and some of those teams have used Mindstorms as a tool for building prototypes. My alma mater, Rose-Hulman, is actually using Mindstorms as a part of their Mechatronics course.

  3. Re:Explains a lot about you nerds. by the_tsi · · Score: 2

    Hmm, I see, on their list of recent and upcoming titles:

    The Fearless Shopper (arguably an aspect of finance/economics)
    Adventure of Food (diets of other cultures)
    Several books on cancer, leukemia, psychological disorders (significant aspects of hygeine)
    Testosterone Planet (hehehe..sex...hehehe)

    ..as well as several travel books. They ARE diversifying. And they've been for a while: look at their full product index sometime. Sure, we can't live by O'Reilly's words yet. Give it a few more months. :)

    -Chris

  4. Re:Robotics in the workplace by javajonathan · · Score: 2

    1. Do they come with temperature, motion, pressure or any similar sensor packages?

    The Robotics Invention System comes with two touch sensors and one light sensor. You can buy rotation and temperature sensors from LEGO. Beyond that, you'll have to build your own. (I have a chapter about this, including instructions for a Hall effect sensor.)

    2. Does the ora book give a pinout on the connectors so custom electronics can be added?

    No. Nobody's tried to open up the box to attach stuff directly to the circuitboard, as far as I know. The closest information I know about is at Kekoa Proudfoot's site: http://graphics.stanford.edu/~kekoa/rcx/

    3. Are there motor specifications so that motors can be removed/ redesigned/ remounted?

    There's some motor information at Dave Baum's site: http://www.enteract.com/~dbaum/lego/motors.html

  5. Re:"Unofficial Guide"? Interesting ... by luge · · Score: 3

    Yeah, coincidence. There were some legal issues with the name, as the Lego Group is very protective of their trademark. Check out this post where the author discusses some of the problems.
    ~luge

    --

    IAAL,BIANLY

  6. firmware by mattdm · · Score: 2
    Don't throw away the CD though, because if you want to do NQC, you need the official lego firmare. NQC is nice to use for the cases where it can handle your program's needs (most of the time, I've found) because you're able to share your code with a wider audience.

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  7. BTW-Ordering information by luge · · Score: 2

    If you can't get it from Amazon or the normal sources (which, as far as I can tell, all list November as the issue date) order it direct from O'Reilly- they've got it in stock. I just filed mine.
    ~luge

    --

    IAAL,BIANLY

  8. Woo hoo! by Enoch+Root · · Score: 2
    This is such great news. :) I've been looking for a compendium of Lego Mindstorms knowledge that went beyond the colourful books that come with the kit.

    I'm not surprised such a book is coming out. I think even Lego must be surprised at the range of applications people are thinking up for these babies. Lego Mindstorms is the sole reason why I have gotten back into Lego after many joyless years of Legoless life... It's every geek child's wet dream. It's an adult geek's wet dream. From digital cameras to scanners to Enigma machines (I'm working on that one), the possibilities are just endless. I'm glad to see some serious literature being put out on the subject.

    Could someone please review this book on Slashdot?

    P.S.: For fans of Star Wars and Lego Mindstorms... It's been announced that Lego will put out a AT-AT Mindstorms kit. Am I the only one drooling at this? My childhood Lego fantasy was to have a AT-AT Lego model... I spent hours trying to build one. And now... I'll have one, and it'll be controlled through my computer... *happy sigh*

    "There is no surer way to ruin a good discussion than to contaminate it with the facts."

    1. Re:Woo hoo! by chromatic · · Score: 2


      Could someone please review this book on Slashdot?

      Since you asked so nicely, yes. It's really interesting -- more of an overview of the different things you can do than an in-depth exploration of any one thing. It reminds me of Programming Web Graphics with Perl and GNU Utilities in that sense. The demo robots are quite interesting.

      Full review coming when I finish it.

      --
      QDMerge 0.4 just released!

      --
      how to invest, a novice's guide
  9. "If their is no O'Reilly book on the subject... by Dast · · Score: 2

    Some possible new O'Reilly Slogans:

    "If their is no O'Reilly book on the subject, it isn't worth knowing."

    "Everything I ever needed to know, I learned from O'Reilly books."

    :P

    You have to hand it to O'Reilly. They do a great job of keeping on top of the newest topics and produce great books on them. And with all of the books they have put out on various Free Software, they have proven themselves to be our ally.

    (Will someone do a review on this book?)

    Kudos to O'Reilly!

    --

    This sig is false.

  10. Delicious cookbook by GnomeAttic · · Score: 2

    Judging from O'Reilly's previous books, I feel it is safe to say that this book will be extremely helpful. I love Eggos!! This book will no doubt contain scrumptious recipes for these instant delights!

  11. don't depend on lego by mattdm · · Score: 2
    There's a lot of information in this book for using tools like NQC and LegOS that work under Linux.

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  12. Online Resources by luge · · Score: 4

    Jonathan has been quite active on the lego user group mailing lists, and he definitely knows his stuff- I'll be ordering the book soon. In the meantime, for those of you who aren't quite ready to buy the book, he has published an excellent list of online resources for Mindstorms. It is quite thorough, and a great place to start if you are thinking about buying a set and wondering what you can find online.
    ~luge(who is mentioned down there in ch. 10)

    --

    IAAL,BIANLY

  13. Another example of dumbing down... by deefer · · Score: 2

    Hey, we're handing it to the next generation of geeks on a plate, here!!!
    When I was 16, I designed, built & tested (it worked, too! :) my own Turtle from parts bought from RS Supplies. Then wrote a LOGO - like language (interpreted) & editor for my Commodore 64 to run it, complete with hand assembled machine code (anybody remember DATA 255,0,123,55... statements - heheh!).
    That said, back in those days, you could buy the C64 Programmers' Reference Guide quite cheaply; it had almost a complete breakdown of the internals of the machine, way before OSS was even thought of.
    I wish I could get something like that going on my PC these days; all analogue/digital expansion cards to plug non-standard H/W seem to cost a fortune these days (last I checked UK £100+).
    Still, if this Mindstorm kit can give our up and coming under-geeks a head start and that all - important "how does it work" bug, the future of geekdom seems assured!
    Anybody know of an OSS equivalent of the Mindstorm stuff?

    --

    Strong data typing is for those with weak minds.

    1. Re:Another example of dumbing down... by luge · · Score: 2

      "Anybody know of an OSS equivalent of the Mindstorm stuff?"

      Yep. Check out NQC or Forth(no links at the moment, sorry) or legOS. All are free (legOS is MPL) and reasonably well supported by their communities. If you want something reminiscent of the "good old days," you might do well to remember that reverse engineering is just as hard if not harder than DIY, and then take a look at kekoa's page. If he hadn't destroyed his bot, there would be no open source anything for the mindstorm. Very good geek stuff.
      ~luge

      --

      IAAL,BIANLY

    2. Re:Another example of dumbing down... by Enoch+Root · · Score: 2
      Boy do I disagree with you here.

      It's not because technology becomes more accessible that it's being dumbed down! Ok, so people now won't know how to build a robot from scratch. However, the time you spent building robots, they're spending pushing the enveloppe on how artificial intelligence works. Did you have time to design neural networks when you were a kid? No, you were welding parts together.

      This is exactly like the calculator argument... Sure, having calculators readily available means that kids nowadays can't calculate anything operations on anything above a two-figure number off the top of their heads. But it also means they can move on more quickly to stuff like Calculus.

      Having strong bases is important, sure. But it doesn't mean it has to be difficult for everyone out of "fairness" for the "old guard". I for one am happy to see that today, it is as easy building a robot as building Lego sets. It means the kids can concentrate on the cooler stuff. Like designing more complex AI, for instance.

      To answer your question on OSS: what do you mean, an "equivalent" to Mindstorms? Lego Mindstorms are Open Source, because they give you the "code" (plans) and they're free, so you can expand on them!

      If you mean the software that comes with the Lego Mindstorms kit, then Not Quite C (NQC) is what you're looking for. Runs under Linux, too.

      "There is no surer way to ruin a good discussion than to contaminate it with the facts."

  14. Someone in /. likes me... by rde · · Score: 2

    Several days after I bought a widescreen tv, a story appeared on /.
    A few days ago I bought the Droid Construction Kit, and this is the best news I could have.
    Tim O'reilly, I love you. I want to have your droids.

  15. Re:When will LEGO get a clue? by Enoch+Root · · Score: 2
    Who cares? What you want is the Programmable Lego Brick, not the CD ROM. Consider the CD ROM as a freeby.

    The kit itself, however, can easily be programmed with NQC, and that runs fine under Linux.

    Take it like bying a new PC: it might come with Windows, but you just have to reformat and partition. I mean, why wouldn't Lego package their product for Windows? The majority of users have Windows, and they're selling a toy, not a piece of software. Boycotting Mindstorms for this reason is plain silly. And you're the one missing on the fun.

    "There is no surer way to ruin a good discussion than to contaminate it with the facts."

  16. Alright, help talk me into these! by handorf · · Score: 2

    Since I saw this yesterday I've been arguing with myself over this one. It looks too damn cool, but I have a nasty habit of buying expensive toys and letting them rot in the closet.

    Give me some incentive! Any personal expriences with these? Anything that scares cats is a plus!

    --
    -- IANAEG - I am not an elder god.
  17. Colophon by j_d · · Score: 2

    The animal on the cover of The Unofficial Guide to Lego Mindstorms is a giant mecha-rabbit. Mechanized rabbits were popularized in anime, and frequently terrorize Neo-Tokyo. They stand between 100 and 250 feet, and carry a wide variety of armaments.

  18. Robotics in the workplace by walnut · · Score: 2

    I wonder if I could con work into purchasing a few of these kits so we could do our proof of concept demonstration models. Just think: build it, code it, and re-use it for the next POC demonstration. Plus now that O'Reilly produces a book it might be possible to claim it as a "tool" not a just a "toy".

    This would actually mean that controls systems became thought out etc...

    Some questions for you lego heads out there:
    1. Do they come with temperature, motion, pressure or any similar sensor packages?
    2. Does the ora book give a pinout on the connectors so custom electronics can be added?
    3. Are there motor specifications so that motors can be removed/ redesigned/ remounted?


    Any thoughts?

    --
    You say you want a revolution?
  19. quite good news by coaxial · · Score: 2

    I was stoked about getting one of these sets until I really looked at it (I too was going to make a lego AT-AT.). I thought I would need about 6 motors, (4 legs, 2 head) but the brick only has 3 motor outputs. If this book can tell me how to get more outputs (i.e. multiple bricks) it will be worth it. (Of course building my own board might be cool too.)

  20. Re:Is it any good? by luge · · Score: 2

    Yeah, I figure I'm one of the luckiest guys in geekdom- I've spent the last two semesters getting class credit to play with legos, and got paid to do it over the summer. They are definitely worth the investment- the purest joy I've ever seen college kids have *in class* was CPS196 opening all of their kits on the second day of class. Check out the class page for links and pictures.
    ~luge

    --

    IAAL,BIANLY

  21. Re:Well not to exactly downplay this but. by daviddennis · · Score: 2

    I can think of a lot of useful things one can do without exposing myself (or my lego) to extremes of heat, chemical spills or pressures.

    I think your definition of "useful" is pretty narrow.

    D

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  22. About Sensors by luge · · Score: 3

    Check out Michael Gasperi's page. It is far and away the most extensive discussion of sensor construction, and includes a long list of sensors that he and others have built.
    ~luge

    --

    IAAL,BIANLY

  23. Another O'Reilly classic... by jabber · · Score: 2

    I know it's been mentioned before, long ago, but while on the subject of the depth and breadth of the O'Reilly library, here's another one that's sure to be useful to most of us.

    --

    -- What you do today will cost you a day of your life.