ROBOTMAK3RS Blog

I do not normally blog about local events related to MINDSTORMS NXT here in New Zealand. However, given the increasing NZ readership the NXTStep has now, I thought I would mention some exiting events coming up. If you are in New Zealand and of school age and have access to a NXT kit, then this should be of interest to you: First one is this Saturday: The teams will be competing for trophies in Robot Rescue, Robot Dance and Robot Soccer. More details (including registration info / costs etc.) in here . I spoke to Mildie Meyer-Els from Toshiba (sponsor) – who has been working really hard getting everything organised. She is expecting big things this year. With over 100 teams competing on the day (of which 55 will be competing for the Auckland titles and the rest competing against the Auckland winners for the national Competition in the afternoon), this should be an exciting event tomorrow. I will certainly be there – feel free to twitter me at the event if you want to meet up. The...

HiTechnic has released its Infrared Electronic Ball to go along with its IRSeeker. From the HiTechnic website: This infrared electronic soccer ball is well balanced and emits infrared (IR) signals in all directions making it a great IR target that can be detected by the HiTechnic IRSeeker. The ball is perfect for Robot soccer and other games and is approved by the RoboCup Junior Technical Committee for use in Robocup Jr competitions. The ball contains 20 IR LEDs that are positioned to virtually eliminate blind spots and make sure the IR signal can be easily detected by your robot. The ball is 75mm (~ 3 inches) in diameter and requires 4 AAA batteries (not included).