ROBOTMAK3RS Blog

A new release of leJOS NXJ , the Java platform for the NXT, is out! The new version 0.8 contains plenty of new features, bug fixes and improvements, including Controlling the NXT from the computer  Faster bootup times Support for RS485 Support for RFID, RCX Rotation Sensor, and EOPD sensors Support for Java 1.6 classes  Support for Generics, Enum classes and foreach loops Support for subsumption architectures NXJControl utility for quick control of motors and sensors Wider support in the lejos.navigation packages javax.microedition.location for Bluetooth GPS Lots of sample code in the 'samples' directory Alongside with that, a new associated version of the Eclipse plug-in for leJOS NXJ is available.

For those who want to use Eclipse , one of the most popular programming IDEs around, with Ralph Hempel's pbLua for the NXT, Ralph has published an according tutorial on the pbLua web site. If you are into a fast execution language for the NXT, give it a try (and, as usual, tell us about your experiences).

The Eclipse plugin for the most recent version 0.5 of leJOS NXJ , the Java platform for the NXT, is available now. Integrated into the popular Eclipse platform, it allows for uploading the firmware and developing, compiling and uploading leJOS NXJ programs to the brick. With a lot of bug fixes and enhancements, it supports the most recent Eclipse version 3.3 (Europa) on Java 6, thus runs on Windows and Linux. For installation and usage, consult the according entry in the News section of the leJOS homepage . Please direct feedback and questions either to the author (me) or to the leJOS forum .

Prof. Frank Zimmermann from the Nordakademie polytechnic in Elmshorn, Germany, has published an Eclipse plugin that allows you to graphically model NXT applications based on statemachines and generate code from it that can be run on the brick (based on leJOS NXJ ). Very interesting approach and the only NXT language next to NXT-G (and maybe the VL contained in Microsoft's Robotics Studio ) with a graphical syntax. As an additional (quite helpful debugging) feature, you can even use the diagram to watch the execution of the program on the NXT! The whole thing can be seen live also on the OOP in Munich next week at Gentleware's booth. Update : a video of the plugin in action on the OOP can be viewed here .

Good news, everyone! (in my best Professor Farnsworth voice) At least for those amongst us who are into programming their NXT with Java , in particular with leJOS NXJ : there's finally an Eclipse plugin available that in an integrated way allows to upload the firmware and to develop, compile and upload NXT Java programs to the brick in Eclipse (the most popular Java IDE presently around, and justifiably so). Based on the latest leJOS NXJ release , it supports the most recent Eclipse version 3.3 ( Europa ), thus runs on Windows and Linux. Use Eclipse's Update manager to install it from the remote update site as follows: Name: leJOS NXJ (or whatever you like) URL: http://mynxt.matthiaspaulschol z.eu/lejos/eclipse/ For configuration and usage, consult the leJOS NXJ topic in Eclipse's Help->Help contents view after installation. Give it a try and provide feedback. Oh yes...

Some guys from the Eindhoven University of Technology have created a tutorial that provides step-by-step instructions for the installation and configuration of leJOS NXJ . leJOS NXJ is a Java platform that enables you to write Java programs for the LEGO MINDSTORMS NXT and run them on the brick. The tutorial also shows how to use the popular IDE Eclipse for that. Hence, if you are into Object Oriented Programming when it comes to your NXT, check it out. Thanks, Christoph and Hu!