Silberpfeil Building Instructions
Thursday, October 19th, 2006
Matthias published the building instructions for Siberpfeil, and by that completed documenting all the NXT creations which he published on his website. We are looking forward to see what wonderful new robots are in progress, Matthias!
I want to use this opportunity to remind everyone about NXTasy.org repository. Not only can you find a link to Siberpfeil here, but also much more useful NXT-related information sorted into different categories such as programming, projects, technic solutions, utilities etc. We would be happy to get feedback from you - Do you use this resource? Do you think we forgot something (let us know and we’ll add it!)? Do you have any other comment on the NXTasy repository? Let us know! You can either email repository@nxtasy.org or send PM to Golem (that’s me) in the forums.
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Using Legacy Sensors with the NXT
Thursday, October 19th, 2006I wanted to start by thanking Eric for inviting me to contribute to nxtasy.org. I am honoured to be part of his team. As a brief intro to myself, I am one of the LEGO NXT MDP / MCP members and hope that through my site (http://www.astolfo.com/) and my participation in the community, that I can bring useful tips, robots and information to the table for others. Some of you may know me for creating DominoBot and DominoBotNXT. Now, on to the topic of this post.
Most of those in this tight community are aware of Mindsensors and HiTechnic for their RCX and NXT sensors, but there is another company out there producing high quality sensors for NXT and RCX systems that deserves mention. TechnoStuff (Techno-Stuff) has been creating RCX sensors for some time now, and I have had the chance to test a number of them including their:
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What may not be so well known is that most of these sensors will work on the NXT kit. You simply need a NXT RCX wire converter and either NXT-G or a 3rd party programming language (eg. RobotC). The converter wires can be obtained from shop.lego.com, or you can make one yourself quite easily (as long as you dont mind cutting up a few cables).
Programming with these sensors in NXT-G can be done by using a legacy Temp Sensor block and raw output (for unpowered sensors) and a Light Sensor block for powered sensors. For my testing, I use RobotC and set the sensors up as a Light Sensor. This will allow you to read the raw reading values and code your robot to react appropriately. For more information on these sensors, visit the TechnoStuff website at www.techno-stuff.com.
Dave
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NXT Parts Added to BrickLink Catalog
Thursday, October 19th, 2006
BrickLink.com is an unofficial “venue for individuals and businesses from all around the world to buy and sell new, used and vintage LEGO through fixed price and auction services.” They have now added parts specific to the 8527 LEGO Mindstorms NXT retail kit.
[via Robot Challenge]
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Compass FAQ Hints at New Patch
Thursday, October 19th, 2006The official LEGO Mindstorms NXT FAQ has been updated with a few questions pertaining to the HiTechnic Compass Sensor. The last question asks, “How do you program the Compass Sensor?”
There will be a patch available by the end of October that will enable 3rd party programming blocks in the MINDSTORMS NXT environment. In the meantime, the current version of MINDSTRORMS [sic] NXT software will allow the Ultrasonic block to program the Compass Sensor.
The ‘patch’ has been rumoured for quite sometime now, but this gives us an indication as to when we can expect it. The end of October draws near and we will probably see a download available for the Compass Sensor block as the patch goes live.
Posted in development, news, software | 2 Comments »