Synopses & Reviews
The LEGO® MINDSTORMS® NXT 2.0 set offers hundreds of building elements, programming software, and powerful electronics that you can use to create amazing robots. But where do you begin?
This eagerly awaited second edition of the bestselling Unofficial LEGO MINDSTORMS NXT Inventor's Guide is your key to designing, building, and programming robots with the NXT 2.0 set.
You'll learn practical building techniques, like how to build sturdy structures and use gears, and gain a solid understanding of the set's NXT-G programming language. A series of projects new to this edition offers step-by-step instructions for building and programming six robots, each of which can be built with just one NXT 2.0 set, including:
- Inventor-Bot, a fast, simple, modular vehicle with treads
- Sentry-Bot, a robot guard that shoots balls at intruders
- Table-Bot, a vehicle that uses its antennae to avoid falling off a tabletop
- The Jeep, a four-wheeled vehicle that avoids obstacles and follows lines
- The Lizard, a large walking robot that uses the color sensor to detect and respond to different colored balls
- The Printer, a stationary robot that uses a pen or marker to draw letters, words, and shapes on paper
Additional resources include the Piece Library, which contains basic information on the more than 80 types of LEGO pieces in the NXT 2.0 set, and the Quick Reference, which lists the 34 types of standard programming blocks. So go ahead. Grab your NXT 2.0 set, fire up your imagination, and see what you can invent with The Unofficial LEGO MINDSTORMS NXT 2.0 Inventor's Guide.
Synopsis
The Unofficial LEGO® MINDSTORMS® NXT 2.0 Inventor's Guide helps you to harness the capabilities of the NXT set and effectively plan, build, and program NXT 2.0 robots. After a brief introduction to the pieces in the NXT set, author David J. Perdue offers practical building techniques, like how to build sturdy structures and work with gears. Perdue then teaches you how to program with the official NXT-G programming language, using both its basic and advanced functions. The second half of the book contains step-by-step instructions for building, programming, and testing a variety of sample robots (all of which can be built using only the parts found in one NXT 2.0 set). This revised edition of the bestselling book on the NXT kit has been completely updated to cover the changes in NXT 2.0.
About the Author
David J. Perdue (https://www.davidjperdue.com/) has been inventing robots with MINDSTORMS since 2001. The author of Competitive MINDSTORMS: A Complete Guide to Robotic Sumo Using LEGO MINDSTORMS (Apress, 2004), he has also written for BrickJournal and Computing Unplugged. Perdue is an implementation delivery engineer for EMC, an information infrastructure provider. He lives in St. Paul, Minnesota.
Laurens Valk is a member of the MINDSTORMS Community Partners, and one of his robots appears on the NXT 2.0 box. Valk is the author of The LEGO MINDSTORMS NXT 2.0 Discovery Book, a co-author of LEGO MINDSTORMS NXT One-Kit Wonders (both No Starch Press), and a contributor to The NXT Step Blog. He lives in the Netherlands where he studies Mechanical Engineering at Delft University of Technology.
Table of Contents
; Praise for the First Edition of The Unofficial LEGO® MINDSTORMS® NXT Inventor's Guide; About the Author; About the Robot Builder; Technical Reviewers for the First Edition; Acknowledgments; Introduction; About this Book; Companion Website; Introduction to LEGO MINDSTORMS NXT 2.0; Chapter 1: LEGO MINDSTORMS NXT 2.0: People, Pieces, and Potential; 1.1 Building a Robot; 1.2 Programming a Robot; 1.3 Activating a Robot; 1.4 What Can I Create with My NXT 2.0 Set?; 1.5 Conclusion; Chapter 2: Getting Started with the NXT 2.0 Set; 2.1 Requirements; 2.2 Getting a Quick Start; 2.3 Installing the NXT Software; 2.4 Using the NXT Software; 2.5 Organizing the Pieces; 2.6 Conclusion; Building; Chapter 3: Understanding the Electronic Pieces; 3.1 The NXT; 3.2 The Servo Motors; 3.3 The Sensors; 3.4 Connecting the Electronic Pieces with Electrical Cables; 3.5 Getting NXTreme; 3.6 Conclusion; Chapter 4: Understanding the LEGO MINDSTORMS NXT 2.0 Pieces; 4.1 Introduction to the Pieces; 4.2 Examining the Pieces; 4.3 Conclusion; Chapter 5: Building Sturdy Structures; 5.1 Extending Beams; 5.2 Widening Beams; 5.3 Forming Corners; 5.4 Creating Angled Structures; 5.5 Creating Dynamic Structures; 5.6 Creating Flexible Structures; 5.7 Conclusion; Chapter 6: Building with Gears; 6.1 The Gear Train; 6.2 Controlling a Gear Train's Performance; 6.3 Assembling LEGO Gear Trains; 6.4 Conclusion; Programming; Chapter 7: Introduction to NXT-G; 7.1 Starting an NXT-G Program; 7.2 The NXT-G Interface; 7.3 Fundamental NXT-G Concepts; 7.4 The Common Palette; 7.5 Conclusion; Chapter 8: Advanced NXT-G Programming; 8.1 Data Wires; 8.2 The Complete Palette; 8.3 The Custom Palette; 8.4 Conclusion; Chapter 9: NXT-G Tools; 9.1 Calibrate Sensors; 9.2 Update NXT Firmware; 9.3 Create Pack and Go; 9.4 Block Import and Export Wizard; 9.5 Image Editor; 9.6 Remote Control; 9.7 Sound Editor; 9.8 Conclusion; Projects; Chapter 10: The MINDSTORMS Method; 10.1 Hitting the Target with the MINDSTORMS Method; 10.2 Conclusion; Chapter 11: Inventor-Bot: A Vehicle with Treads; 11.1 Building Inventor-Bot; 11.2 Connecting the Cables; 11.3 Programming Inventor-Bot; 11.4 Conclusion; Chapter 12: Sentry-Bot: An Intruder Detector; 12.1 Adding the Ultrasonic Sensor; 12.2 The Shooter Extension; 12.3 Conclusion; Chapter 13: Table-Bot: An Edge-Avoiding Robot; 13.1 Creating the Antennae Attachments; 13.2 Programming Table-Bot; 13.3 Conclusion; Chapter 14: The Jeep: A Front-Wheel Drive Vehicle; 14.1 Understanding the Jeep Design; 14.2 Moving Around with the Jeep's Front-Wheel Drive; 14.3 Building the Jeep; 14.4 Programming the Jeep; 14.5 Following a Line; 14.6 Further Explorations for the Jeep; 14.7 Conclusion; Chapter 15: The Lizard: A Color-Sensitive Reptile; 15.1 Understanding How the Lizard Walks; 15.2 Building the Lizard; 15.3 Programming the Lizard; 15.4 Exploring the Lizard Further; 15.5 Conclusion; Chapter 16: The Printer: A Drawing Machine; 16.1 Understanding How the Printer Works; 16.2 Building the Printer; 16.3 Connecting the Cables; 16.4 Programming the Printer; 16.5 Exploring the Printer Further; 16.6 Conclusion; LEGO MINDSTORMS NXT 2.0 Piece Library; NXT-G 2.0 Quick Reference; Internet Resources; General Resources; Programming Resources; Bluetooth Resources; NXT Blogs; LEGO Computeraided Design Resources; Building Techniques; Educational Resources; Buying LEGO; LEGO Storage; Personal Websites; LEGO Events;