LEGO Mindstorms NXT 2.0 Review (335)

The LEGO Mindstorms NXT is a robotics kit that allows you to envision, manufacture and program your own robot. However there's more..

It's not just about construction a robot and making it do things, but about making more and more compex machines that get more and more clever as you learn some advanced programming.

You're not going to end up take over the world with your robots, but you CAN go on contriving new models and new programs for the rest of your life.

It IS kind of expensive for a Christmas toy, but as a gift you can go on using again and again into your old age, the Lego Mindstorms NXT totally lives up to the price tag.

Who Is This For

Mindstorms NXT is suitable for anyone over 10 years of age. The instructions for constructing and programming your 1st few robots are really quite easy to follow.

Sure, the word ‘programming’ sounds complicated, but it's surprisingly simple when you actually buy it and give it a go.

Children can find lots of ways of enjoying their Mindstorms kit, whereas others can go on to invent robots that do much more than just drive, walk, shoot or sort balls.

What’s Inside The Package?

There are 619 parts in the LegoMindstorms box. This consists of a collection of beams, rods, sensors, connectors and wheels.

Standard Building Units

The Mindstorms design is in the form of beams as opposed to the usual brick as used in LEGO, making it feel a bit like Maccano. But unlike Meccano, you can simply snap the pieces together without having to use any instruments.

Due to a huge number of parts that look almost identical, you’ll perhaps be looking around at lot at first trying to find for the right unit. But after a little experience you’ll almost intuitively know what you’re looking for.

3 Motors

The motors are what make your robot move.

The Sensory Units

The sensory unit s are like the eyes & ears of the robot. The sensors listed below are available with the LEGO Mindstorms 8547…

1. A light sensor, which measures levels of light and can even distinguish between different colors, giving your robot the ability to react according to any colors that you might present to it or it may chance upon during its movements around the house.

2. A sensor for kinesthetic input, that enables your robot to 'feel.' No I'm not talking about emotions, but rather about touch. Your robot can be activated to do something when you or something else touches it..

3. A sensory unit for audio stimulation, enabling your robot to listen to and react to various sounds.

4. An ultrasonic sensor, which makes use of sound-beams to determine how far away your robot is from a solid object - so it doesn’t need to bump into a wall before it turns away.

The Intelligent Unit Of LEGO Mindstorms

This is your robot’s head, a slender computer that processes info from the four different sensors and depending on what programming you put in, causes the robot to carry out an action by controlling the three motors, whether it be by walking, driving, changing direction, assorting colored balls, attacking a tresspasser..... and so on and so forth.

User's Booklet

Despite Mindstorms seeming so complex when you haven't tried it, the User's Booklet is brilliantly simple, with simple-to-follow instructions on how to construct 4 distinguishable models of robot.

When you've gotten to grips with the ones in the instruction manuals, you can start producing your own robots - whether you want them to be more plain or more complicated than the ones in the guide. If you think you've exhausted your creativity, you can give your brain a rest and get guides written by experts on how to construct some phenomenal robots.

Be warned though, you may face some frustration from not having enough pieces to build absolutely anything you want. If you have this problem, you can always complement the Mindstorms NXT set with pieces from the Lego Technique range, which makes use of the same basic unit.

Can I Get The Mindstorms Set Any Cheaper Than The RRP?

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