The Unofficial LEGO MINDSTORMS NXT 2.0 Inventor's Guide, 2nd Edition

The Unofficial LEGO MINDSTORMS NXT 2.0 Inventor's Guide, 2nd Edition

by David J. Perdue, Laurens Valk
Released December 2010
Publisher(s): No Starch Press
ISBN: 9781593272159

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Book description

The Unofficial LEGO® MINDSTORMS® NXT 2.0 Inventor's Guide helps you to harness the capabilities of the NXT set and effectively plan, build, and program NXT 2.0 robots.

Table of contents

  1. The Unofficial LEGO® MINDSTORMS® NXT 2.0 Inventor’s Guide
  2. Dedication
  3. Praise for the First Edition of The Unofficial LEGO® MINDSTORMS® NXT Inventor’s Guide
  4. About the Author
  5. About the Robot Builder
    1. Technical Reviewers for the First Edition
  6. Acknowledgments
  7. Introduction
    1. About this Book
      1. Part I: Introduction to LEGO MINDSTORMS NXT 2.0
      2. Part II: Building
      3. Part III: Programming
      4. Part IV: Projects
    2. Companion Website
  8. I. Introduction to LEGO MINDSTORMS NXT 2.0
    1. 1. LEGO MINDSTORMS NXT 2.0: People, Pieces, and Potential
      1. Building a Robot
      2. Programming a Robot
      3. Activating a Robot
      4. What Can I Create with My NXT 2.0 Set?
      5. Conclusion
    2. 2. Getting Started with the NXT 2.0 Set
      1. Requirements
        1. Six AA Batteries
        2. A PC or Mac
        3. Bluetooth Technology (Optional)
      2. Getting a Quick Start
      3. Installing the NXT Software
      4. Using the NXT Software
        1. Getting Started with NXT-G
          1. Creating a New NXT-G Program
          2. Adding a Programming Block
          3. Establishing a Connection with the USB Cable and Downloading a Program
          4. Establishing a Connection with Bluetooth Technology and Downloading a Program
        2. The Robo Center
        3. My Portal
      5. Organizing the Pieces
      6. Conclusion
  9. II. Building
    1. 3. Understanding the Electronic Pieces
      1. The NXT
        1. Output (Motor) Ports and the USB Port
        2. The Input (Sensor) Ports
        3. Bluetooth Capability
        4. A Loudspeaker
        5. Buttons and the LCD
      2. The Servo Motors
      3. The Sensors
        1. Passive Sensors
          1. The Touch Sensor
        2. Digital Sensors
          1. The Color Sensor
          2. The Ultrasonic Sensor
      4. Connecting the Electronic Pieces with Electrical Cables
      5. Getting NXTreme
      6. Conclusion
    2. 4. Understanding the LEGO MINDSTORMS NXT 2.0 Pieces
      1. Introduction to the Pieces
        1. Classifying the Pieces
        2. Naming the Pieces
        3. Measuring the Pieces
      2. Examining the Pieces
        1. The Electronics
        2. The Beams
          1. The Straight Beam
          2. The Angled Beam
          3. The Right-Angled Beam
        3. The Connectors
          1. The Axles
          2. The Pegs
          3. The Connector Blocks
        4. The Gears
          1. Bevel Gears
          2. Double Bevel Gears
          3. Other Gears
        5. The Miscellaneous Elements
      3. Conclusion
    3. 5. Building Sturdy Structures
      1. Extending Beams
      2. Widening Beams
      3. Forming Corners
      4. Creating Angled Structures
      5. Creating Dynamic Structures
      6. Creating Flexible Structures
      7. Conclusion
    4. 6. Building with Gears
      1. The Gear Train
      2. Controlling a Gear Train’s Performance
        1. The Gear Ratio
        2. Gearing Down: More Torque and Less Speed
        3. Gearing Up: More Speed and Less Torque
        4. Compound Gearing: Achieving Greater Torque or Speed
        5. Achieving Optimal Performance
      3. Assembling LEGO Gear Trains
        1. Spacing Gears on Parallel Axles
        2. Spacing Gears on Perpendicular Axles
      4. Conclusion
  10. III. Programming
    1. 7. Introduction to NXT-G
      1. Starting an NXT-G Program
      2. The NXT-G Interface
        1. The Menu Bar
        2. The Toolbar
        3. The Work Area
        4. The Programming Palette
        5. The Configuration Panel
        6. The Controller
        7. The Little Help Window and the Work Area Map
      3. Fundamental NXT-G Concepts
        1. The Starting Point
        2. Sequence Beams
          1. Extending the Sequence Beam
          2. Parallel Sequence Beams
          3. Automatic Resizing of Sequence Beams
        3. Managing Programming Blocks in the Work Area
        4. Navigating the Work Area
        5. Increasing Program Readability with Comments
      4. The Common Palette
        1. The Move Block
          1. The Port Parameter
          2. The Direction Parameter
          3. The Steering Parameter
          4. The Power Parameter
          5. The Duration Parameter
          6. The Next Action Parameter
          7. Feedback Boxes
        2. The Record/Play Block
        3. The Sound Block
        4. The Display Block
        5. The Wait Block
        6. The Loop Block
        7. The Switch Block
      5. Conclusion
    2. 8. Advanced NXT-G Programming
      1. Data Wires
        1. Data Plug Characteristics
        2. The Wire Path
        3. Transmitting the Data Types
        4. Broken Data Wires
          1. Data Type Mismatch
          2. Missing Input
          3. Too Many Inputs
      2. The Complete Palette
        1. The Common Blocks
        2. The Action Blocks
          1. The Motor Block
          2. The Sound Block
          3. The Display Block
          4. The Send Message Block
        3. The Color Lamp Block
        4. The Sensor Blocks
        5. The Flow Blocks
        6. The Data Blocks
          1. The Logic Block
          2. The Math Block
          3. The Compare Block
          4. The Range Block
          5. The Random Block
          6. The Variable Block
        7. The Constant Block
        8. The Advanced Blocks
          1. The Number to Text Block
          2. The Text Block
          3. The Keep Alive Block
          4. The File Access Block
          5. The Calibration Block
          6. The Reset Motor Block
          7. The Bluetooth Connection Block
      3. The Custom Palette
        1. The My Blocks
        2. The Web Blocks
      4. Conclusion
    3. 9. NXT-G Tools
      1. Calibrate Sensors
      2. Update NXT Firmware
      3. Create Pack and Go
      4. Block Import and Export Wizard
      5. Image Editor
      6. Remote Control
      7. Sound Editor
      8. Conclusion
  11. IV. Projects
    1. 10. The MINDSTORMS Method
      1. Hitting the Target with the MINDSTORMS Method
        1. Step 1: Getting an Idea for a Robot
        2. Step 2: Building the Robot
        3. Step 3: Programming the Robot
        4. Step 4: Documenting the Robot
      2. Conclusion
    2. 11. Inventor-Bot: A Vehicle with Treads
      1. Building Inventor-Bot
      2. Connecting the Cables
      3. Programming Inventor-Bot
        1. Driving Straight and Turning
        2. Making the Robot Interactive
      4. Conclusion
    3. 12. Sentry-Bot: An Intruder Detector
      1. Adding the Ultrasonic Sensor
        1. Avoiding Objects
        2. Following an Object in a Straight Line
      2. The Shooter Extension
        1. Testing the Shooter
        2. Creating the Complete Sentry Program
      3. Conclusion
    4. 13. Table-Bot: An Edge-Avoiding Robot
      1. Creating the Antennae Attachments
      2. Programming Table-Bot
        1. Keeping Track of Events
        2. Getting Out of Corners
      3. Conclusion
    5. 14. The Jeep: A Front-Wheel Drive Vehicle
      1. Understanding the Jeep Design
        1. Steering with the Front Wheels
        2. Driving with the Front Wheels
      2. Moving Around with the Jeep’s Front-Wheel Drive
        1. Understanding the Wheel Speeds
        2. Calculating the Wheel Speeds
      3. Building the Jeep
      4. Programming the Jeep
        1. Jeep Program Essentials
          1. My Block #1: Center and Reset
          2. My Block #2: Wheel Control
          3. Testing the My Blocks
        2. Creating the Wall-Avoidance Program
      5. Following a Line
        1. Line-Following Basics
        2. Line Following with the Jeep
        3. Creating the Line-Following Program
      6. Further Explorations for the Jeep
        1. Idea #1: Headlights
        2. Idea #2: Remote Control
        3. Idea #3: Parking Sensor
      7. Conclusion
    6. 15. The Lizard: A Color-Sensitive Reptile
      1. Understanding How the Lizard Walks
        1. Using One Motor to Control Two Legs
        2. Controlling Four Legs to Produce Walking
        3. Making Turns
      2. Building the Lizard
        1. Building the Body
        2. Attaching the Cables
        3. Building and Attaching the Legs
      3. Programming the Lizard
        1. Synchronizing the Motors with Touch Sensors
        2. Creating the My Blocks
          1. My Block #1: Synchronize
          2. My Block #2: Walk
        3. Creating the Final Program
          1. Step 1: The Structure of the Program
          2. Step 2: Blue
          3. Step 3: Green
          4. Step 4: Red
          5. Step 5: Yellow
      4. Exploring the Lizard Further
        1. Idea #1: More Behavior
        2. Idea #2: Create Your Own Animal
      5. Conclusion
    7. 16. The Printer: A Drawing Machine
      1. Understanding How the Printer Works
        1. Components of the Printer
        2. Non-LEGO Requirements for the Printer
      2. Building the Printer
      3. Connecting the Cables
      4. Programming the Printer
        1. Creating the My Blocks
          1. My Block #1: Liftpen
          2. My Block #2: Lowerpen
          3. My Block #3: ResetHorizontal
          4. My Block #4: ResetVertical
          5. My Block #5: Eject
          6. My Block #6: Horizontal
          7. My Block #7: Vertical
        2. Testing and Troubleshooting the Printer
          1. The Test Program
        3. Troubleshooting the Printer
          1. Creased or Crumpled Paper in the Machine
          2. The Pen Doesn’t Write
          3. The Pen Presses Too Hard
          4. The ResetVertical My Block Doesn’t Work
          5. The Cable for Motor a Snags the Paper
        4. Creating the Final Program
      5. Exploring the Printer Further
        1. Idea #1: Progress Update
        2. Idea #2: Morse Code
        3. Idea #3: Data Logging
      6. Conclusion
  12. A. LEGO MINDSTORMS NXT 2.0 Piece Library
  13. B. NXT-G 2.0 Quick Reference
  14. C. Internet Resources
    1. General Resources
    2. Programming Resources
    3. Bluetooth Resources
    4. NXT Blogs
    5. LEGO Computeraided Design Resources
    6. Building Techniques
    7. Educational Resources
    8. Buying LEGO
    9. LEGO Storage
    10. Personal Websites
    11. LEGO Events
  15. Index
  16. About the Authors
  17. Copyright

Product information

  • Title: The Unofficial LEGO MINDSTORMS NXT 2.0 Inventor's Guide, 2nd Edition
  • Author(s): David J. Perdue, Laurens Valk
  • Release date: December 2010
  • Publisher(s): No Starch Press
  • ISBN: 9781593272159