Introducing 51515: the Next Generation of MINDSTORMS

Exciting news for LEGO robotics fans! Today, LEGO announced the newest member of the MINDSTORMS family. LEGO 51515 MINDSTORMS Robot Inventor set is a 5-in-1 set for ages ten and up. Get ready to build, code, play, and rebuild as many times as you want!

The new MINDSTORMS set features five unique designs you construct using the 949 elements available in the set. Robot Inventor even features a remote control that allows you to use your own controller using Bluetooth. There are more than 50 built-in coding challenges and activities using a drag-and-drop coding language based on Scratch. In addition, more advanced users can now program in Python. This allows MINDSTORMS to grow with your child and opens up many new possibilities for adult fans as well.

The five main models are:

Blast – an action hero model that stands over 36cm tall

Charlie – a playful sidekick

Tricky – an athlete who enjoys playing sports

Gelo – a four-legged robot that can perform tricks

M.V.P – a Modular Vehicle Platform that transforms into a buggy, crane, shooter turret or brick-eating truck

Robot Inventor’s new Hub features a 5X5 light matrix, a 6-axis gyro sensor (3-axis gyro and 3-axis accelerometer), a micro USB port, a speaker and a rechargeable battery. Connectivity is via Bluetooth.

The set will come with four medium motors, a color sensor, and a distance sensor. These new motors have an integrated rotation sensor with absolute positioning. The color sensor recognizes eight colors and measures both reflected and ambient light. Finally, the distance sensor has programmable LED lights surrounding it and has an integrated 6-pin adapter for third-party sensors, boards and DIY hardware. This feature is likely to open up some great new opportunities for building, programming, and learning with MINDSTORMS.

You can learn more by visiting the LEGO website and reading the official press release. The 51515 Robot Inventor is expected to be available for purchase in Autumn 2020.

The ROBOTMAK3RS community hopes that the new LEGO MINDSTORMS Robot Inventor 51515 inspires even more children and adults to explore the world of LEGO robotics. We are excited to see what you will create with this newest generation of MINDSTORMS.

Please share your ideas and creations in our newest group LEGO Robot Inventor Community.

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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