ROBOTMAK3RS Blog

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).

A note from Ralph Hempel that pbLua beta version 14 is available. From Ralph: http://www.hempeldesigngroup.com/lego/pbLua New features include: 1. USB console works reliably now 2. Bluetooth console works reliably now 3. Flash file system has autoload capability - using filename "pbLuaStartup" 4. Added DisplayFlip() and DisplayInvert() so you can read the display upside down. 5. Added timer to PowerDown() so the NXT can shut off after n minutes of inactivity - you can disable it too 6. Added Reboot() function

Steve Hassenplug has done some amazing work over the years, and one of his newer models is no exception. I first saw this in person at NI Week '07, and was impressed with both the abilities of the big green wheels, as well as the novel turning and steering system. In The Green Monster , the front wheels are independently driven to allow differential steering. But in addition, the rear wheels are articulated to the front body, but also driven by the third NXT motor, leading to more power, and a wonderfully fun skidding way of going around tight turns. Much more impressive than the look or power of this beast (it handles dirt, grass, and other surfaces with ease... I'm waiting for the snow fan-tailing videos), is the fact that Steve has used it as a testbed for coupling GPS navigation with the NXT. Take a look at the videos (from 14 Sep) on Steve's webpage for some impressive (not to mention rather humorous) navigation attempts (PS, Steve's back yard is considerably ste...

Ralph Hempel has made available a description how to connect to NXT's ultrasonic sensor with pbLua . Great! Methinks that pbLua has gradually matured into a state where you reasonably might use it for programming real and complex NXT robots. Try it! - Matthias

Readers of this blog know that Ralph Hempel has been developing a very nice language called pbLua for the NXT based on Lua , and he recently put up a very nice page on using Bluetooth within pbLua. Not only that, but as the demonstration he networks the NXT with a Navibe GB735 GPS receiver so that the Lat/Long information can be parsed by the NXT and displayed on the LCD screen: Using a Bluetooth GPS with pbLua This is actually something that opens up a variety of outdoor options, such as the SRS Magellan event to LEGO robotics. To my mind this is a major accomplishment (I mean besides the fact that pbLua is small and very fast), and allows some significant flexibility to be incorperated into your "sensors" (in that now some off-the-shelf BT devices can be incorperated with no external wiring or modification required). Thank you Ralph! PS- the avalible version is now Beta 13c, released today. If you've been using pbLua, upgrade - there are some significant improvements....