ROBOTMAK3RS Blog

There were several very nice surprises in the new LEGO Education catalog. Besides WeDo, there are three gems from HiTechnic . The first is a simple touch sensor multiplexer for the NXT. The idea is that by combining multiple touch sensor on one input port (but giving each a slightly different resistance), you can detect not only when one is pressed but which one is pressed. This was something that was commonly done with the RCX, but there hadn't been a commercial product to do it as yet for the NXT: it appears HiTechnic has stepped up and filled that gap. Four touch sensors can share a single input port on the NXT, greatly expanding the number of touch sensors you could use (at least 16; enough to build a simple keyboard, perhaps). The square "bumps" on the housing are spaced so that a studless beam nestles neatly between them, allowing you to "clamp" or "bracket" the housing in place (without going to the trouble of LEGO-certified pinholes etc.). Th...