ruby-nxt 0.8.1 Now Available
Saturday, November 4th, 2006
Tony Buser’s ruby-nxt gets an update to version 0.8.1. ruby-nxt is an interface written in the Ruby programming language that allows Bluetooth control of the LEGO Mindstorms NXT.
Not much new in this release. Mainly a few fixes to allow ruby-nxt to be packaged into a gem, finally! You also might find the examples/drb_server.rb interesting - a simple DRb server that keeps the bluetooth connection alive.
[via Juju]
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roboDNA Dashboard Designer 2007 Beta
Friday, November 3rd, 2006
A new commercial product supporting NXT drive-by-wire was brought to our attention by Lou Morris from roboDNA.com. The software package “roboDNA Dashboard Designer 2007 Beta” (final version will cost $89 for non-commercial use) allows users to easily and interactively build impressive dashboards (i.e. user interfaces) to control and monitor NXT robots (as well as other robotic platforms).
Posted in news, software | 38 Comments »
Meet the NXTMECH
Friday, November 3rd, 2006
Forum member, SickBrick, has posted information about his newest LEGO Mindstorms NXT robot called NXTMECH — a biped using two intelligent bricks and six (thanks Edwin) motors. Very cool. Pictures and video available!
I was never really a fan of chicken walkers, but hey, they’re a lot easier to build than humanoid bipeds.
the mechanics are pretty simple. The motor is pretty much directly connected to the joint at the hips. at the knees they’re connected to one gear and at the ankle its a worm gear with some gear reduction. and then somehow just get them nxt bricks on there - which i should modify so you can add the rechargeable batteries. but its ok.
programming on the other hand, is nothing short of a college level trial and error, mathematics and physics set of equations. getting it to walk will take me some time. on one of my videos, i got it to stand up and the other to lean left and right..without falling over. (which has happened many times already)
Posted in video, projects | 6 Comments »
Next Bytes Code 1.0.1 b11 Available
Friday, November 3rd, 2006
John Hansen has released an updated NBC beta.
This beta release has a number of additional macros in NXTDefs.h for simplifying several aspects of programming the NXT.
NBC allows users to program the LEGO Mindstorms NXT using textual code with assembly language syntax. A few new tutorials are now available, as well.
Posted in development, news | 1 Comment »
LEGO Mindstorms NXT Education Software
Friday, November 3rd, 2006
Anthony Dhanendran from Computeract!ve reviews the LEGO Mindstorms NXT education kit.
Good points
* Great way to learn about basic engineering and programming
* Plenty of fun
* Easy to programBad points
* Can be complicated for younger children
* An expensive toyOverall
If you can justify the cost, Lego Mindstorms NXT is an extremely fun and educationally minded toy.
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More Information on the ACCL-Nx
Thursday, November 2nd, 2006Per yesterday’s news, the mindsensors.com ACCL-Nx acceleration sensor is now available. More information and pricing has been provided regarding the ACCL-Nx’s three distinct flavors:
- ACCL-Nx-2g2x - 2G sensitivity, 2 Axis readings
- ACCL-Nx-5g2x - 5G sensitivity, 2 Axis readings
- ACCL-Nx-3g3x - 3G sensitivity, 3 Axis readings
Posted in hardware, news | 28 Comments »
Desert Ranger Building Instructions
Thursday, November 2nd, 2006
I’ve made building instructions for my Desert Ranger. You can find them in our repository /Projects page, or directly here.
Posted in personal, projects, news | 48 Comments »
NXT Robot Holds’em and Deals’em
Wednesday, November 1st, 2006
I love Texas Hold’em Poker, folks. In this video, the builder of this robot (and likely also an ardent poker buff) demonstrates how his robot deals poker hands to five players. And this video shows the robot dealing from a different angle. Maybe in future versions, the builder can add rotation to deal to players around a table.
Anybody up for building a card shuffler? Or even a robot that shuffles up AND deals!? Then we’d be set! Nobody ever enjoys being the dealer, so this would be a lifesaver. 
Posted in video, projects | 1 Comment »
More NXT Element Drawings
Wednesday, November 1st, 2006
A few days ago, Motocube’s Jim German brought us LEGO Mindstorms NXT technical drawings based on Carnegie Mellon Solid models. Well, due to popular demand, Jim has put together more drawings and will likely complete all kit elements by the end of this week. Enjoy!
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mindsensors.com Acceleration Sensor Now Available
Wednesday, November 1st, 2006mindsensors.com has updated their site and is now taking orders for their ACCL-Nx digital acceleration sensor for the LEGO Mindstorms NXT. Capable of capturing static and/or dynamic acceleration data in different axes, the ACCL-Nx can be used as a tilt sensor or to plot velocity profiles.
- Uses NXT compatible I2C protocol for communications.
- Detects acceleration as small as 10mg (depending on sensitivity and two axis or three axis versions)
- Various options available to select from like 2 axis or 3 axis and available in different sensitivity.
- Supplied with cable compatible with mindstorms NXT
- Supports Auto Detecting Parallel Architecture (ADPA) for sensors. This means that ACCL-Nx can co-exist with LEGO or third party digital sensor on the same NXT port. This enables user to employ several sensors on the same port without the need of external sensor multiplexer, reducing the overall size.
Posted in hardware, news | 1 Comment »