Procrastination at its most fun...

Okay, so usually when I get a horrid case of Writer's Block and just can't seem to push through a project, I just walk away for a while and pick something that satisfies any or all of 3 conditions:

(1) It has to be completely non-productive from a business angle.
(2) It should involve some sort of purchase that I might regret later.
(3) It should take away 2 to 3 hours that I won't get back.

I'm happy to announce that my latest NXT project has satisfied all 3 conditions, making it a worthy blog news item - it's a non-autonomous tri-wheeled rover with virtual exploration capabilities.

Okay, it's a remote controlled tribot with a wireless camera that feeds into some virtual goggles I bought and allows me to drive my tribot while I'm not in the room.

Here's how it breaks down:

1. Tribot
2. 2nd NXT Remote Control
3. Wireless Camera (with microphone!)
4. Wireless Camera Receiver
5. Video Eyewear (goggles)

The latest issue of MAKE magazine spurred me to do it - the cover has a remote control car that sends a wireless video signal to its owner's goggles. You've probably seen similar toys that allow you to view the action from the vehicle's point of view. Well, it works... and then some.

1. You can get dizzy if it gets moving too fast.
2. Turning left and right will actually cause you to either turn your head or lean in your chair.
3. It's addictive.
4. It makes your spouse shake her head and walk away mumbling something...
5. It's like having a 50" widescreen TV about 8 feet in front of you.
6. Yes, those goggles have ear pieces for sound (woo hoo - patrol your house for hostiles)
7. Did I mention you can get REAL dizzy doing it?
8. Yes, the goggles look a little goofy, but did I mention how fun it is to see things from your tribot's perspective?
9. I've got ALL KINDS of new robot ideas to try with this thing.

I wish I could post a video of what the experience is like - I'll do some digging and maybe I can find a way to split the signal and send it to my laptop so you can see what I see...

And... magically... my Writer's Block feels over. Back to work.

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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