LEGO Mindstorms NXT Basics

Comenius widening horizons

Theodoropoulos Schools - Liceo Giordano Bruno

The NXT Intelligent Brick

The NXT brick is based on a 32 bits microprocessor with the following technical specifications:
Microprocessor 32 bits ARM7 Bluetooth compliant 1 USB 2.0 port 4 input ports (to plug sensors) 3 output ports (to plug motors) Matrix screen 60x100 pixel N&B and its 4 control buttons Integrated Loudspeaker 8Khz Requires 6 R06 batteries (non-included) or a rechargeable NXT battery The Lego Mindstorms NXT brick is able to be connected to up to 3 other intelligent NXT bricks using Bluetooth.

ABOUT SENSORS

This is the Touch Sensor

The Touch Sensor reacts to touch and release, enabling your NXT robotic creation to "feel" like never before! It can detect single or multiple button presses, and reports back to the NXT Intelligent Brick.

This is the Ultrasonic Sensor

The Ultrasonic Sensor helps your NXT robot judge distances and "see" where objects are! Using the NXT Brick, the Ultrasonic Sensor is able to detect an object and measure its proximity in inches or centimetres.

This is the Color sensor

The color sensor is the newest feature of NXT 2.0 set. This sensor has three functions. First the color detection (can detect 6 colors), second, is measuring light intensity and third, can act as a color lamp.

This is the Light sensor

The Light Sensor assists in helping your robot to "see." Using the NXT Brick, it enables your robot to distinguish between light and dark, as well as determine the light intensity in a room or the light intensity of different colours.

This is the Sound sensor

Using the NXT Brick, the Sound Sensor allows your LEGO MINDSTORMS NXT robot to hear! The Sound Sensor is able to measure noise levels in both dB (decibels) and dBA (frequencies around 36 kHz where the human ear is most sensitive), as well as recognize sound patterns and identify tone.

The Servo Motors

NXT robots can move in many different ways. They can grasp, race, walk, swivel and do much more, and that capability comes from using the NXT servo motors. The servo motor uses a built-in rotation sensor to precisely control the motors output shaft.

When programming a motor, you can use degrees or rotations to specify a desired rotation, or you can simply instruct the motor to run indefinitely or for a specified amount of time (e.g. 5 seconds).

The main source for our projects

http://www.nxtprograms.com
This site provides free building instructions and downloadable programs for lots of fun projects.

Video examples
NXT Forklift

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V0Zcm8sj9ss

NXT Dolphin
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DCSRGlRITjc

Video examples
NXT Puppy

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3kIHbv8nMhI

NXT Drunk Robot

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oHf0QiIUleU