Robots With Vision

For the past few months, I've been trying to get a wireless camera that I could use for my NXT robots. I ended up getting the camera from Geeks.com that Jim posted about earlier (this was before the Mindsensors camera came out, so I didn't know about that one), plus a USB adapter from Happauge. Both of these items were recommended by RoboRealm, the free vision software I'm using for the camera. I got everything working recently and tried a few things with it, and it performs quite well. The software can do a lot... it's not made specifically for the NXT, but it has an interface to communicate to the Brick via Bluetooth. The RoboRealm folks put up a nice tutorial for using the software in NXT robots, here. Although the tutorial uses some VBScript programming, it's actually not necessary. You can use drag-and-drop "modules" to process the video, and then send variables with data to the robot, which can use an NXT-G program to react correctly. Below are two robots I've made to test the capabilities of the camera

This first robot I made is the usual track-the-ball robot. I wanted to see how well the software's color detection and tracking worked, and I was very satisfied with the result. Although the surroundings need to be controlled (to keep other objects of the same color out), the software does a great job tracking objects. One disadvantage that is very noticeable in this robot, however, is that the Bluetooth communication takes a little while, so the robot doesn't have very good "reaction time". Hence, I had to make it turn slowly so it wouldn't go past the ball before recieving the command to stop.

The below video first shows the robot following the ball from side to side, and then shows it following the ball forwards and backwards. I had some trouble getting it to do both at the same time, and didn't want to take the time to figure it out. :P

For the second robot, I made a "paper-thin" remote control. Basically, I got a piece of paper with four differently colored squares on it. When you put your hand over one of the squares, the robot will react to the command by either moving forward, backward, spinning left, or spinning right, depending on which square was covered. A camera makes this possible by watching the paper from overhead and detecting when a square is covered up. Here's a video of it in action:

-Jonathan

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

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

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