Skip to main content

One Set, Infinite Possibilities

By Asha Seshan - ROBOTMAK3R

One Set, Infinite Possibilities: Meet Coder Shah

A LEGO MINDSTORMS set brings with it infinite possibilities. There are five robots featured on the box: EV3RSTORM, TRACK3R, SPIK3R, R3PTAR, and GRIPP3R.  When you are done with those you can start to build the twelve bonus models, ranging from a printer to a silly robot named, KRAZ3. 

LEGO is a building block, meant to be built, taken apart and built again. The LEGO MINDSTORMS 31313 set is no different. STEM trainer, Ahmad Sahar (aka Coder Shah), from Malaysia, maximizes the potential of the 31313 set. He is a prolific builder, with seemingly no end of ideas for how to make something new using just one set. He takes the 31313 set and transforms it from an imperial walker one week, to a race car the next, to an animal the week after.


Initially, Ahmad began building with one set because that is all he had. He wanted to share a different model with his classes each week. As time passed, it became a fun challenge for him to only use the parts from one set.  A limited number of parts forces the creator to become more creative and also come up with solutions to having limited parts. His work is imaginative and clever.





One of his best known creations is ROOST3R (PDF). It was featured at LEGO House in Billund, Denmark for the 20th anniversary of MINDSTORMS in September 2018. 








A few months earlier, the same set was transformed into a Halloween WYTCH3 riding a broom (PDF). Ahmad is able to take the same set of parts and with just a little bit of imagination build something new. Imagine what you can do with just one set!

We asked Ahmad if he had any tips for builders who also want to build with just one set. He said, "You are never going to be able to create a 100% perfect replica of anything. It's okay." The hardest part of building with just one set is the limited use of parts. Ahmad's advice is: "Be creative with how you use parts. Gears have become wheels on the TUMBL3r model, swords have become tail features on ROOST3R and WYTCH3 models, mudguards and panels have become an EAST3R BUNNY's (PDF) head and ears, and wheels are used as eyes on several models."




To see Ahmad's one-set models and get building instructions for them all, visit the Coder Shah YouTube Channel. If you are in Malaysia, you might be lucky enough to attend one of his classes too.




Labels:

Popular posts from this blog

ROBOT REMIX #6

By
Robot Remix #6 Since 2015, the ROBOTMAK3R community has been challenged to use their imagination and come up with a new model combining the LEGO® MINDSTORMS® 31313 set and a single Technic set. This gave rise to the very first #ROBOTREMIX. Today, I am proud to announce that we are on our sixth remix series. The makers were challenged to combine LEGO® MINDSTORMS 31313 with  LEGO ®  Technic Forest Machine (42080).  Many amazing ideas were proposed, and based on their design submissions, four were selected to become a reality.  The first four Robot Remixes for 2019 are: CAT3RPILLAR by Anika and Nard, LIZARD by Anton, STREET CLEAN3R by Arvind and Sanjay, and AFRICAN SNAIL by Emmanuel. During the next several months, we will share the story behind each creation, including preliminary sketches, behind-the-scences insights and of course, building instructions and code so that you can build one too. Do you have an idea for how to combine MINDSTORMS with the Technic F
Read more

MINDSTORMS Retires!

By Asha Seshan - ROBOTMAK3R
2023 is the 25th Anniversary of the MINDSTORMS brand. For 25 years, MINDSTORMS has educated and inspired a generation of robot builders, both children and adults. Unfortunately, the LEGO Group decided to end the line on December 2022. Many ROBOTMAK3RS have been passionately involved with the development of MINDSTORMS through the MUP and MCP programs. Even with the newest Robot Inventor line, several ROBOTMAK3RS were invited to submit additional bonus models that were included in the official app. Regardless of the retirement of a major LEGO robotics product line, ROBOTMAK3RS continue to MAKE-SHARE-INSPIRE using all LEGO robotics platforms available to us. Here is the official statement from LEGO. Since its launch in September 1998, LEGO MINDSTORMS has been one of the core ‘Build & Code’ experiences in the company’s portfolio, carrying with it significant brand equity and becoming a stand-out experience for the early days of consumer robotics and leading to current Build & Code
Read more

Machine Learning Meets MINDSTORMS

By Asha Seshan - ROBOTMAK3R
Machine Learning Extension LEGO MINDSTORMS announced today a brand new feature that is sure to excite all users. Machine Learning Extension is coming to the software in August 2022. This will allow users to implement new applications that were not possible before. Machine Learning has become exceedingly popular in recent years with applications in all sorts of industries from robotics to financial services to climate change. Now, even the youngest of robot enthusiasts and programmers have access to the world of Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence. Comparing two classes Machine Learning on MINDSTORMS will work with both images and audio. For instance, you could train your model to recognize smiles and frowns on your face and have the emotion displayed on your hub. You could train your model to recognize when a red ball is present or not or identify a particular LEGO element. You can control your robot with audio commands that use your own voice. It is exciting to see what new p
Read more