NXT 2.0 Race Car, Remote Controls

I have posted a new Race Car design for NXT 2.0 and three remote control strategies to go along with it. This project was designed to look like a real car, steer like a car with pivoting front wheels, and go fast. It works best with remote control, but you can't control it with the built-in NXT 2.0 software remote control because of the way the steering works (nor very easily with the "nxt-remote" program), so I also posted three NXT-based remote control stategies: one wired, and two Bluetooth from a second NXT.

Now I know that a remote controlled car is not exactly the most original thing you can do with an NXT set, but at some point you need to do one... This was actually one of the first designs I did with the NXT 2.0 set when it came out because the parts selection was screaming out "car" to me with the new car-like tires, but I am just now getting around to finishing it off and posting it.

The 5 Button Remote Control (Bluetooth) was actually designed by my son. We were playing "Battle Bots" in our Robotics Club, and we kept finding that a LEGO remote control of any complexity when in the hands of a kid in the heat of battle will end up coming apart somehow. So I challanged the kids to come up with a remote design that was sturdy enough to not come apart, but still allowed decent control of driving and a weapon/action at the same time. This "5 button" design is so simple that you can build it under 1 minute, but it is super sturdy, and the controls are positioned so that you can use both the finger and thumb buttons at the same time. My son would also like to point out that it has Wii-style wrist safety straps as well :-)

The Steering Remote Control (Bluetooth) is mechanically similar to my earlier Dial Remote Control but puts the control wheel horizontal so that it feels and acts like a steering wheel, which is good for the Race Car and similar things, and I rearranged the ergonomics a bit. And the control strategy is different.

If you are not a fan of remote control, the Race Car can also do some simple autonomous tasks with the color sensor mounted underneath, although the car-like steering does not allow very tight or precise turning.

Here is a video of the Race Car using all the different control stratgies:

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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