Black NXT Brick On Sale!

Lego’s Sales And Deals page currently has the Black NXT (10287) for just $129.99 (in the US at least).  If you need a 2nd brick or just like the look  now is the time to get it!

Robotic Arm

This past fall I took a robotics class as part of my masters in Mechanical Engineering, and for the final project I developed a control algorithm for this robotic arm.  This was a very interesting project, and it was the first time I’ve used Matlab to control the NXT.  I used some software that had been developed by Linus Atorf, Alexander Behrens, Achim Knepper, Til Aach at RWTH Aachen University to interface between Matlab and the NXT.  This toolkit was very impressive and made the whole project alot easier.  The robot itself was not the focus of the class.

The build was just a simple linear joint, topped with two rotational joints.  However by using the control logic I was able to impliment code that would draw on the paper.  This might sound like a simple feat, however keeping all three motors in sync so that the pen would always be on the paper as it moved in a linear fashion was acutlay quite involved.  I was able to use the feedback sensors in the NXT motors to impliment a PID control law, that was undoubtly way overkill for this small project.

Motocube's been revamped!

After a long time I’ve finally got around to revamping Motocube, and hopefully will be adding some more content as well.  I’ve moved the site over from Joomla to WordPress.  That probaly won’t mean much to most of you, but it makes my life easier, and that means more posts!  I’m still busy tweaking the site a bit so you may see some more changes coming still.

LeJos releases NXJ version 0.5

The folks over at LeJos have released a new version of NXJ.  This is the API for the java virtual machine that they have created for the NXT.  Version 0.5 has a bunch of new features including:

• MAC OS X support
• Faster LCD writing 
  
• Bigger file directory, longer file names
• Execute program from flash (gives lots more RAM)
• Garbage collector (not real time yet)
  
• RCX comms using Mindsensors NRLink adapter
• Faster more accurate Motor regulation
  

They've also added some more examples to get you up and running faster as well as done a slew of new bug fixes.  Check out their forum for the full details.

First Look at the 2008 Technic Lineup

Since Lego does not release any other Mindstorms sets besides for the main one (and the educators resource kit) the main source of parts for NXT bots are the regular Technic sets.  All of the recent sets use mostly studless pieces and have lots of good gears, beams and other various pieces that compliment the base NXT set well.  For 2008 Lego is going to have three new sets that should be out sometime in the fall.  The one pictured will be the flagship set of the year, a sort of off-road jeep.  It's got some Power Functions bits, including a new light brick.  The power is used to raise and lower the front suspension, which I find a bit lame.  The set seems a bit week overall, especially as the top set for 2008.  Lego seems to be releasing a real flagship set every two years (the bulldozer in '07 and the Mobile crane in '05), giving plenty of time for folks to save up their money for them.

The other two sets are more interesting, mostly because they include a very interesting new piece!  Lego seems happy to have killed the Pneumatics (which were probably very expensive) and have come up with a very interesting replacement that they are calling 'Linear Actuators'.  It looks to be a sort of screw in a housing with a universal joint on the bottom.   They mimic the look of the pneumatic cylinders (which in turn mimicked the look of real hydraulic cylinders) and serve a similar function.  Hopefully they will be sturdy, and provide good power, but without seeing them there is no way to tell.  You get one Linear Actuator in the Telehander set, and two in the excavator.  The excavator looks to be the go to set of the year, as it includes not only the actuators, but also the always useful treads.

Check out all the pictures over at the Eurobricks forum 

NXT books on sale at Lego Shop@Home

The Lego Shop At Home Sales and Deals page should be familiar to most Lego enthusiasts as it is a great place to get sets at a good discount.  However you have to be quick as good sets don't stay there long.  Right now there are a pair of NXT books for ~30% off.  Maximum NXT, Written by Brian Bagnall, is a great book for someone who is intrested in using Java with their NXT.  The Lego Mindstorms NXT idea book is a great resource written by the folks over at the NXTStep.  Pick em up over at the store soon, before they're gone!

New Book: NXT Power Programming

John Hansen, the man behind NXC, NBC and the Bricx Command center, has written a new book!  Called NXT Power Programming, its a new book that deals solely with the programming aspects of the NXT.  Primarly using NXC it goes deep into some of the more complicated programming aspects for the NXT.  In addition to going into detail about the tools that John has written, it shows how to use the latest Mindsensors and HiTechnic sensors as well as using the NXT's built-in Bluetooth.  Although its list price is $32.95, Amazon has it for pre-order for only $21.75.  The books weighs in at 544 pages, so its a great deal for any aspiring programmer.  Check out some more details at Variant Press.

Lego Enigneering Online Class

LegoEngineering.com is having a free online class next month.  The class will deal with the programming aspects of the NXT-A-Sketch robot.  The robot is very simple (basicly just two motors mounted to the NXT Brick)  however the programming behind it is quite complex.  The class is beign taught using NXT-G and will use a variety of the more complex blocks to write the program.  Looks like a great introduction to some of the more advanced NXT-G topics, and although its free registration is limited.  Check it out over at LegoEngineering.com.

Power Functions Writeup

Philo, the Lego Motor expert, has posted a nice overview of the new Power Functions motors.  He details how the new cable system works, as well as showing the speicfications for each of the new motors.  He's also got some nice LDraw models of all the new elements, and a nice comparison to the old 9v mini-motors.  It looks like the new motors are much stronger,  but will also drain your batteries that much faster.   Read it over at Philo's site.

Mindsensors RCX Sensor Multiplexer

Mindsensors has annoucned a new product.  They've put together a new multiplexer that allows you to hook up four RCX sensors to the NXT.  This is great for those folks who have alot of RCX sensors hanging around.  Although you can't hook up any fancy sensors with it, it would be very useful to hook up a slew of touch sensors (as shown in the picture!)  This is also great because the RCX sensors are much cheaper than the NXT ones. Coming soon over at Mindsensors.com