Skip to main content

Meet the ROBOTMAK3R: Anna Opsahl

Anna Hui Opsahl is an engineering student from Norway. She is known for reverse engineering complicated LEGO models and for her MINDSTORMS droids. Anna likes to make LEGO robots from movies and television that are recognizable by kids and adults. She often builds digital models in Studio.io before she makes a physical version because this gives her a good idea of all the parts needed. When she is building them in Studio, she makes a rough instruction for herself that she can refer back to when she starts the physical build. Anna was a competitor in the first season of LEGO Masters Norway in 2021. She has won several awards at Norwegian LEGO conventions for her MINDSTORMS droids. Most recently, she was nominated in the category "Best Mechanical Creation" and won in the category "Best Star Wars" at Brickworld Chicago.

How did you get started playing with LEGO MINDSTORMS/LEGO Robots?

I have always been fascinated by LEGO robots and robotics. I love that you can build anything that you can imagine with LEGO and make it move by using motors, pneumatics, and mechanical mechanism. I think that the movement of a model gives the creation an extra dimension that I am really into.

How has MINDSTORMS/LEGO Robots impacted you?

It has challenged me to learn new things and made me want to pursue a career in robotics.

What is you favorite project? 

My favorite project until now is Star Wars Rebels Chopper. Chopper is my favorite because it has a lot of different functions and because it was my first big MINDSTORMS project.

Chopper is a 70cm tall build that can drive around on two and three legs. His body tilts when the third leg comes down. He has an arm at the body that moves and the head can spin around and wiggle a little bit from side to side. He has two arms in his head that can move in and out, together or separate from each other. Chopper also has an antenna that moves and he makes sounds. He can also be remote controlled via Bluetooth.

You can see Chopper in action here.

What are your tips for young robot builders?

My tip is to keep playing and explore the possibilities of what is possible.

What is a fun/significant LEGO-related story you would like to share?

My most significant LEGO-related story is when I got to be a part of the first season of LEGO Masters Norway. (Photo Credit: BrickNerd) The most exciting aspect of being part of LEGO Masters was to be a part of the whole production, and to meet the crew and the other competitors. The coolest thing I created on the show was probably the model where we made our creations blow up, and the one where we made different apartments that stacked on top of each other to form a giant penthouse. The most challenging part of LEGO Masters was that we had to build within the time limit. The single most challenging project was the one where we got a half guitar and make the other half such that it would tell a story.

Where can we see more of your work?

Visit Flickr or Instagram.

Popular posts from this blog

ROBOT REMIX #6

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

MINDSTORMS Retires!

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

Machine Learning Meets MINDSTORMS

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