Some GREAT new additions from HiTechnic

Take a trip over to HiTechnic's website and click on the "Development Lab" link. You're going to see some great new stuff coming from them.

From their site (excerpts):

iRLink - contains an Infrared (IR) Transmitter and Receiver, connects to an NXT sensor port and communicates with the RCX through its IR port - supports full bidirectional data transfer - message transfers initiated by the NXT or the RCX.

iRSeeker - an infrared detector that can tell your program if an infrared light source is within view, the direction of the source and the relative strength of the signal - ideal for detecting IR devices such as the Robocup Jr soccer ball - returns a numeric value to the NXT program indicating the direction of the target, as well as a value indicating the strength of the signal which will give an indication of the distance to the target.

HiTechnic Motor Multiplexer or mMux - provides a way to extend the number of motors that can be attached to the NXT - connects to an NXT sensor port and has four motor connections for four standard NXT motors - each motor may be controlled independently from the NXT and all standard motor operations are supported, including direction, power, duration and rotation. In order to support the extra motors, the mMUX is powered from a standard LEGO Battery box.

HiTechnic Sensor Multiplexer (sMUX) - connects to an NXT sensor ports - has four standard sensor ports expanding the NXT to be able to support four sensors from one NXT port - supports any combination of sensors of any type - includes the Ultrasonic, Compass, Color and other I2C sensors as well as the touch, sound and other analog sensors. Legacy sensors may also be connected using the legacy sensor wire.

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

Celebrating MINDSTORMS with a Remix Part 1

In honor of the 25th Anniversary of MINDSTORMS, we asked ROBOTMAK3RS to combine a LEGO set of their choice with a MINDSTORMS set. Here is what these five ROBOTMAK3RS came up with. MINDSTORMS Chess Assistant by Arvind Seshan Overview: When you are new to chess, it can be a challenge to remember which pieces go where. Now, you can use machine learning and LEGO MINDSTORMS Robot Inventor to build a tool to help you learn where all the chess pieces go on the chess board. Sets used: LEGO® Iconic Chess Set (40174) and MINDSTORMS Robot Inventor (51515) Review: I really like how the chess set base can store all the pieces underneath and that the board neatly splits in half for handy storage. The chess pieces themselves are very sturdy and well built. My only criticism is the building of the box itself. It was quite difficult to see what pieces to use and since the entire box is made mostly of thin plates, it took a lot of time and patience. I would have liked the storage area to be sliding dra

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

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