ROBOTMAK3RS Blog

I frequently hear from teachers and other users who have only the LEGO Education NXT Base Set (9797) , looking for building instructions and an alternative to the standard Robot Educator Model (REM) design that is included in the LEGO Education software. Many are looking for a base robot design that is quick and easy to build but flexible enough to use in a variety of lessons and other activities. As an educator myself, I often have a need for such as design as well. So I recently developed and posted a design to try to fill this need. The Express-Bot is a simple robot vehicle with several modular attachments that can be individually built, selected, and combined, and everything can be built using a single 9797 set (I also resisted using the " Hassenpins " that were added to the new 9797 set, so that everything can still be built using only the original 9797 set, which lacked these). Designs for several simple attachments are included, using all of the standard sensors a...

The Multi-Bot project for NXT 2.0 from nxtprograms.com is a robot vehicle that can take a number of different forms, including taking on several different modular attachments that can be used individually or combined in various ways, all using a single NXT 2.0 (8547) kit, or equivalent/replacement parts from other NXT/Technic kits. Multi-Bot was designed to be a flexible "teaching robot" of sorts for NXT 2.0, especially as an aid to learning NXT-G programming, as you can use it to do a lot of classic robot vehicle tasks and expand it to do your own tasks. Home users of NXT 2.0 might find it a good way to learn about the basics of robotic vehicles, and especially in conjunction with the CD (see below) as a good way to learn a lot of NXT-G programming. FLL teams that have the 2.0 retail kit (8547) or equivalent parts and software might also be interested in using it as an educational tool before the regular FLL season starts or at the beginning of the season. Building ins...

This Modular Test Vehicle (MTV) project shows you how to build a set of five modules (with a single NXT retail or Edu + Resource Kit) that can be quickly and easily assembled into a complete vehicle in many different ways, using different wheel types, chassis layouts, and gear ratios. The example vehicles below were all built in under one minute using the MTV modules. Building instructions for the five modules are included, but not the final assembly, that part is left to the users. A couple of very simple test programs are also included. You can use this project to easily and quickly experiment with how different configurations affect the driving, turning, load carrying ability, accuracy, and consistency of the vehicle. One minute you might have a robot that can barely turn, and the next minute after a quick change you might have a much better one. FLL coaches/mentors/parents, and teachers that use the NXT might want to take a look through this. This project might make a good tr...