LEGO Robotics Workshop

I recently attended a Robotics Workshop put on by Maine Robotics. The course was paid for via some grants that Maine Robotics has secured, so there were no entry fees. Maine Robotics is a non-profit organization run by Tom Bickford that helps promotes robotics in the state of Maine. They coordinate and run the FLL Competitions (in December for us here in Maine).

The workshop was pretty good. It gave some examples of the differences between the RCX and the NXT. Tom also gave an overview of the Robolab software (for the RCX) and the NXT-G language. Seeing 20 or so RCX kits, and 10 NXT kits (plus all the related parts) sitting on one table was a sight to behold. It was like… nirvana… But hey, I digress.

One of my favorite parts, was the overview of the Power Puzzle challenge. I am not coaching a competing team this year, so this was the first time I got to see the playing field up close. After seeing the challenges, and discussing them with a bunch of adults, all I can say is "WOW". I think this is going to be a good challenge this year. Lots of options for points, and many ways to approach and complete the challenges.

I came away from the workshop feeling that there were not a lot of curriculum choices out there for teachers. I know there are a couple of courses, but many of them are expensive, and almost all are geared towards the RCX. Some of the teachers were choosing the RCX as the basis for their course, simply because they can find curriculum easier.

If you're a teacher, what are you using for curriculum?

What would you like to see for curriculum?

Celebrating MINDSTORMS with a Remix - Part 3

The ROBOTMAK3RS continued their celebration of the 25th Anniversary of MINDSTORMS through these Fall and Winter remix projects. Each ROBOTMAK3R was tasked with selecting one LEGO set of their choice and combining it with a MINDSTORMS set. Below are the five amazing models they came up with. Braill3 by Jerry Nicholls Braill3 is an EV3-based LEGO Braille bricks reader. This robot uses its fingertip, made from three touch switches, to read messages written using the LEGO Braille bricks and will speak out what it detected. If it sees a simple maths problem it will attempt to solve it and give the answer as well. To learn more about the process of creating this machine, read Jerry's blog . Braill3 can be viewed here . Set Review: The Braille Bricks set is well thought out. The ratios of the letters is suitable for general use and the addition of some punctuation and arithmetic operators is excellent. There is a card showing what bricks there are and their quantities, but no form of sort...

Celebrating MINDSTORMS with a Remix - Part 2

The ROBOTMAK3RS continued their celebration of the 25th Anniversary of MINDSTORMS through these summer and fall remix projects. Each ROBOTMAK3R was tasked with selecting one LEGO set of their choice and combining it with a MINDSTORMS set. Below are the five amazing models they came up with. Remote controlled material handle r by Jozua van Ravenhorst (aka Mr Jo) This remix combines the LEGO Technic Material Handler (42144) with MINDSTORMS EV3 (31313) It uses the power of pneumatic cylinders to move objects around. By using a bluetooth remote control, very precise movements can be made with this model. Touch sensors in the base chassis prevent the turret twisting the cables that go through the turntable to much. The program has several protections to prevent over pressurizing the system for each of the 3 individual pumps and valves that control the 2 booms and claws. The real version of this machine is mostly used in waste material sites to bring the material to machines that sort and...

Celebrating 25 Years of MINDSTORMS

In celebration of the 25th Anniversary of MINDSTORMS, we take a trip through history. Please also visit ROBOTMAK3RS Community every week as we highlight different projects all through 2023 in celebration of the anniversary. Some of the early history is based on the content shared by Coder Shah in our MINDSTORMS EV3 Community Group . Some of the text and links may have been edited from his original posts for consistency and clarity. 1984 - Kjeld Kirk Kristiansen watched a TV program called "Talking Turtle," where MIT professor Seymour Papert demonstrated how children could control robot "turtles" using LOGO, a programming language he developed. 1988 - The collaboration between MIT and LEGO resulted in LEGO TC Logo in 1988, which allowed students to control LEGO models using computer commands. The video shows Papert demonstrating TC Logo. 1990 - LEGO TC Logo was hampered since the robots you built had to be tethered to a personal computer. LEGO and MIT...

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