For more information on the products, click on the following links:- Early Simple Machines Series Simple and Motorized Mechanism Set - STEM Series WeDo Robotic Construction Series LEGO Mindstorms Education NXT Series LEGO Mindstorms NXT is back and better than ever, with new robot models, even more customizable programming, and all-new technology including a color sensor! Mindstorms NXT 2.0 combines the unlimited versatility of the LEGO building system with an intelligent microcomputer brick and intuitive drag-and-drop programming software. The new 2.0 toolkit features everything you need to create your first robot in 30 minutes and then tens of thousands of other robotic inventions that do what you want! Key elements and features: The intelligent NXT LEGO brick features 32-bit microprocessor, a large matrix display, 4 input and 3 output ports, and Bluetooth and USB communication link Three interactive servo motors Four sensors: Ultrasonic Sensor, 2 Touch Sensors and the all-new Color Sensor
Color Sensor has triple functionality: distinguishes colors and light settings, and functions as a lamp Easy-to-use software (PC and Mac) with icon-based drag-and-drop programming and 16 fun building and programming challenges All the LEGO elements (612 pcs) you need for creating incredible robots Building instructions for 4 new amazing robots Personalize your robots with the Sound and Icon editors Share your project files with your friends with the Pack-N-Go project packager This essential core set serves as the base for endless NXT robotic creations. The set includes 431 elements, featuring: 3 interactive servo motors 1 each: light sensor, sound sensor, ultrasonic sensor 3 rotation sensors built into the motors 3 converter cables (for using legacy sensors and motors with the NXT Intelligent Brick) 7 connector cables (one .2M, two .5M, four .35M) Hundreds of Technic building elements Plastic storage bin with sorting trays
The Education Resource Set includes 671 Technic building elements. The set was specifically designed to complement the LEGO Mindstorms Education NXT Base Set as well as the Mechanisms Set. Use this to build bigger and more complex robots and complete more challenging engineering projects. The set comes complete with a plastic storage bin and sorting trays. This powerful, easy-to-use software for programming and data logging is icon based and incorporates Robot Educator, a step-by-step guide with 46 tutorials, from beginner to advanced levels. Data-logging functionalities, including a graph viewer, make it easy to collect and analyze data from sensors. The software incorporates a comprehensive digital user manual. The software is Mac OS X, Windows XP, Vista, and 7 compatible. Action FiguresVideo GamesBikes & Ride-onsElectronicsBuilding SetsLearningGames & PuzzlesOutdoor PlayVehicles, Hobby & R/CPretend PlayArts & CraftsPreschoolMusical InstrumentsStuffed AnimalsCooking for Kids
Hot WheelsMinecraftLEGOStar WarsTransformersTeenage Mutant Ninja Turtles we got what's hot! 2000707 LEGO® Education Replacement Rubber Bandsprint LEGO® Education Replacement Packs are the ideal way to replace key elements for your LEGO Education products. This pack features four rubber bands in white, red, blue, and yellow for LEGO MINDSTORMS Education EV3 Expansion Set (45560), LEGO MINDSTORMS Education Base Set (9797), LEGO MINDSTORMS Education Resource Set (9695), Simple & Powered Machines Set (9686), LEGO Education WeDo Construction Set (9580), and LEGO Education WeDo Resource Set (9585).LEGO® MINDSTORMS® NXT 2.0FIND MORE PRODUCTS LIKE THISMINDSTORMS®RoboticsThe “NXT” generation of buildable, programmable robots is here!Introduction to the Lego Mindstorms NXT 1.0 Robotics KitExisting Components and Vehicles (as of April 2013)How to Program the RobotHow to Teach Kids How to Use the RobotzResourcesFor more information on these components, please see the following web page: [Information on the Intelligent Brick and Sensors]2.
Existing Components and Vehicles (as of April 2013)The following lists detail the various components and vehicles contained within the lab:2x #9797-1: LEGO MINDSTORMS Education NXT Base Set Components List1x #9648-1: Education Resource Set Components ListFor a comparison of components of various sets, please see the following web page: [NXT 1.0, 2.0, and Education Inventory Comparison] Modified Basic Robot - this robot was built using the instruction booklet located in the LEGO MINDSTORMS Education NXT Base Set Boxes. Then it was modified to include the scorpion tail component taken from these instructions: [Spike Building Instructions]. The Ultrasonic Distance Sensor was also moved to a stalk on the left side of the robot, because it its original position, it would detect the arm on its right as a nearby obstacle, which messed up measurements.Custom 'Tank-bot' - this robot was built in an effort to teach gear ratios. The goal was to build a robot with the gears on the outside, rather than the inside of the robot, in order to allow students to easily change gear ratios.
This did not work as planned, as the large panel meant to hold gears proved too unstable to keep gears meshed together. In addition, because the sticks were forced to turn something very far away from the actual motors, there is excess torque on the sticks, resulting in further instabilities. With some modifications, this robot may be serviceable for this use.Older Line Following Robot - this robot uses the older Lego RCX system. It follows a line. A board with a curving path for Line Following Robots.3. How to Program the RobotThe easiest way to program the robot is using the Mindstorms NXT program, freely available for PC and Mac at the following link: [Mindstorms 2.0 Software] or if that link isn't working: [Lego Support - Download Software]. More powerful and robust ways of programming exist, such as Brick Command Center, which supports several programming languages, namely NXC (Not Exactly C). However, using these programming languages is not as useful as a teaching aid except to students who already have a firm grasp on programming.
There are advantages and disadvantages of NXT over text-based programming. The biggest advantage is that there is no such thing as a compiler error. In addition, you don't need to memorize function names, you just need to drag and drop actions from the library on the left. The tradeoff is that it is very difficult to deal with larger programs. However, for quick educational purposes, this is not a problem at all.For more information, see this tutorial on the NXT drag and drop programming environment: [Lego League Tutorial]4. How to Teach Kids How to Use the RobotSo here's probably the main section you want to know. This section itself will be divided into three sections, based on how much time you have with the kids.Just drag the basic move command on while explaining a bit on what an action is. This command will make the robot move forward for one rotation and stop.Then change the command to make it roll forward indefinitely at MAX power to show how the properties of actions can be edited.
Let the robot bump into a wall/almost fall off a table (depending on your setup)Tell them that we're going to make the robot smarter with logic. Add a Wait command after the move command, and set its properties to the sensor that'll make the robot not do the stupid behavior it showed in the previous step. As you do this and run the robot (which should stop before it does the stupid behavior), explain how the program runs Now, make the robot turn around 180 degrees after the wait command. Explain how if you don't set the values to BOTH wheels to turn, it won't work, because we need to overwrite the infinite rotation command written to the wheels before the wait.If you want, drag the previous stuff off the track and put only the turn command in to fine tune the turn to more quickly get 180 degrees. Explain how just testing one part at a time is a great way to speed up testing.Now that you have the turn, put a Loop around the whole track. This will make the robot move forward, turn around when it encounters an obstacle, move forward, turn around, etc.
You can add more things if you like. For example, I had the scorpion arm attachment attack a stack of cups when it sensed it was near with the proximity sensor. Basically, just add on more cool functionality if you have time. If you find that you have enough time to do a LOT of stuff, you may want to look at Part B....2. Gear Ratio ExplanationsYou can also teach kids a short physics lesson in this short space of time. The main point is that given any two meshed gears, you can tell how much faster one will spin compared to the other by simply making a ratio of their radii (or diameter). A gear meshed with a gear twice its length will spin twice as quickly as the larger gear.You can easily explain this by cutting a ribbon of paper with length equal to the circumference of the larger gear. Now show that the smaller gear must roll a full two times to roll the same amount of distance. Because the two gears must be covering the same amount of distance in their rotation, the rotational speed must be different.
Explain that the amount of force is the same, meaning that the smaller gear spins faster, but its force is divided by more rotations. Meanwhile, the larger gear spins slower, but its force is divided by much fewer rotations. Say that if we spun a massive gear with a tiny one, we could very slowly lift a massive weight.We attempted to build a robot that would make this cooler, but it didn't work. What we were hoping to do is havea robot with easily adjustable gears. It didn't really work. What you could try is building a robot that has transmission gears, and show how changing the transmission changes the speed of the robot.Part B: Projects for 30 minutes-2 hours1. Senseless Robots (~1hr): make a blind robot and a deaf robot work together to successfully traverse an obstacle course. This uses bluetooth connections.ResourcesLink to a whole bunch of Standard Lego NXT Building Instructions + Programs [Lego Mindstorms - Building Instructions]A whole bunch of Non-Standard Lego NXT Building Instructions [NxtPrograms - NXT 1.0]A video tutorial site of decent quality [NXT Tutorial]