Two new Technic solutions
Thursday, September 14th, 2006
We continue to add more Technic solutions to our \Projects\Technic section of NXTasy Repository. Two new contributions are the steering mechanism from Bryan Bonahoom’s CAS (Collision Avoidance System) and a simple (yet elegant) ball caster designed by Brian Davis.
Posted in hardware, projects, news | 1 Comment »
Next Bytes Code 1.0.1 b8 Available
Wednesday, September 13th, 2006
John Hansen has released an updated NBC beta.
This beta release adds call, release, abs, sub, and waitv opcodes. It also makes the preprocessor operate recursively on both parameterized and non-parameterized macros. It fixes a typo in the NXTDefs.h header file and adds some standard preprocessor macros for motor control. The compiler has a major new optimization feature which removes unused variables and threads/subroutines from the compiled executable. In b7 I accidentally broke the “wait” opcode support that was added in b6 but that support has been restored in b8.
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Building Instructions for Dicke Bertha Typ II
Monday, September 11th, 2006
The building instructions for Dicke Bertha Typ II were published by Matthias. From the web site:
The Ball Gun Dicke Bertha Typ II (German for: Big Bertha Mark II) is an enhanced version of Dicke Bertha, a NXT driven gun for the Blue Ball contained in the NXT kit.
It additionally features a second motor for the firing mechanism, a (detachable) magazine for four balls and a rotating Ultrasonic sensor for target detection.
To propel the five motors required, Dicke Bertha Typ II is controlled by two NXT bricks that communicate via Bluetooth.
You can find the instructions on the website and in our repository item for Dicke Bertha Typ II.
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Pocket-lint — “We love it.”
Monday, September 11th, 2006
With the LEGO Mindstorms NXT finally available in the UK, Pocket-lint got the chance to give it a good spin and has published a review. They love it, giving it a 9 out of 10 rating.
Lego has managed to create the perfect balance between a hardcore robotics kit and kids play without loosing [sic] focus along the way.
Posted in news, reviews | 41 Comments »
Need a Fourth Motor?
Sunday, September 10th, 2006
Need a fourth motor in your NXT ? Here’s a possible solution…. Well, partial solution at least. Sometimes it is enough to have one motor doing one of two possible functions. The small worm-gear motor “multiplexer” sub-assembly published here allows you to do this easily. When you rotate the horizontal axle CW the worm gear drives one of the 8-tooth gear. When you rotate it CCW, the worm gear slides and drives the other 8-tooth gear.
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PPS35-Nx Now Shipping
Friday, September 8th, 2006
The mindsensors.com PPS35-Nx pnematic pressure sensor for the LEGO Mindstorms NXT is now shipping. The pre-calibrated sensor is capable of measuring pressure levels up to 35 PSI at 10-bit resolution and .045 PSI sensitivity. Not only is it compatible with LEGO Pneumatics, but also any other pneumatics system as long as a tubing adapter is used.
The PPS35-Nx is an analog sensor, so it can be used in NXT-G as a light sensor with the standard block. Calibration curves are provided to translate sensor readings to pressure levels. The sensor is also compatible with RobotC and NBC.
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Big Robot on Campus
Thursday, September 7th, 2006LEGO has updated the Mindstorms site with a bit of Big Robot on Campus coverage. Check it out!
You’ll get an inside look at some of the most talented minds at WIRED magazine, GAP Kids, Microsoft, AOL, Reebok and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. And you’ll see NXT bots created by other leading groups!
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IGN on Mindstorms Evolution
Thursday, September 7th, 2006
IGN has posted a brief article on the evolution of LEGO Mindstorms. The article is pretty much all fluff — sorta like this post, I suppose.
Posted in reviews | 1 Comment »
DAZLR Instructions on NXTasy.org !
Wednesday, September 6th, 2006
The building instructions for DAZLR (Dual Action Zamor Launching Robot) created by Brian Davis have finally been formatted and prepared for publication!
The instructions can be found in our repository \Projects folder or accessed right here. Enjoy!
Posted in projects, news | 15 Comments »