LEGO Robotic Projects

If you want  be able to design, build and program complex autonomous robots but have limited experience and don’t know where to start, LEGO Mindstorms is perfect for you! In the video below you can see one of Menno Gorter's LEGO Creations: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fa7IAvvYPOs LEGO has developed one of the most intuitive, easy to use programming software on the market today. Gone are the nuances and painstaking time to debug and check your code, replaced with a visual interface, similar to a LEGO modular brick structure.  

Versatile LEGO TECHNIC elements

LEGO has expanded its range of classic bricks to include gears and complex parts to let your imagination run wild. This can always be mixed with standard LEGO bricks.

State-of-the-art sensors and servo motors

Even the basic kit includes complex sensors which will allow your students to create complex autonomous robots.

Easy to use “drag and drop” programming software

Worried about complex programming? LEGO Mindstorms comes with an intuitive drag and drop user interface which allows your students to easily program the robot.

All of these connect to the NXT Intelligent brick

The NXT microcontroller is the brain of any MINDSTORMS® robot. It’s an intelligent, computer-controlled LEGO® brick that lets a MINDSTORMS robot come alive and perform different operations.

1. The NXT is an intelligent, computer-controlled LEGO brick and is the heart of any LEGO MINDSTORMS autonomous robot
2. The touch sensor enables the robot to feel and react to its environment
3. The sound sensor enables the robot to hear and react to sound
4. The light sensor allows the robot to detect light and colour
5. The ultrasonic sensor gives your robot the ability to see, measure distance and react to movement
6. The servo motors , which can be used for partial angle or continuous rotation, ensure your robot moves with precision.

The LEGO MINDSTORMS NXT software enables you to program your NXT robotic invention and upload your programs to the NXT via USB or Bluetooth connectivity. The intuitive Mac and PC compatible drag and drop software, powered by National Instruments LabVIEW, comes with building instructions and programming guides to easily begin constructing and programming with MINDSTORMS NXT. Try the DEMO ! LEGO MINDSTORMS is a modular design system that allows you to creat almost any kind of robot. LEGO provides detailed instructions as to how to build a variety of different robots. There are step by step graphical instructions to guide you through the building process.

What type of robots can you do?

Spike:

Spike reacts like a real-life Scorpion. It craws on six legs, has a set of pincer arms (pedipalps), can see and hear with ultrasonic and sound sensors, and can quickly “paralyze” its prey with a touch-sensor enabled stinger! This simple program allows the Scorpion to move forward to a target, play a sound when it hits the target with its stinger, retract the tail again and go back to its starting point.

RoboArm T-56:

RoboArm T-56 is a sophisticated robotic arm that can lift, pivot, and grab objects with its claws. It can detect colors with its Light Sensor and feel objects with its Touch Sensor . Three Motors power RoboArm T-56 – 1 motor powers the grabber claws and 2 motors enable the robotic arm to move up, down, and turn! This simple program gives RoboArm T-56 the intelligence to distinguish between a red or blue ball with its light sensor. It grabs and moves the red ball, but rejects and releases the blue one when grabbed.

TriBot:

TriBot is a flexible and fast 3-wheeled driving robot! It takes advantage of all four sensors to do the job you program it to do. TriBot can grab a ball when you give it a sound command (through its Sound Sensor ), can be programmed to follow a line with its Light Sensor , can feel objects with its Touch Sensor , and can see with its Ultrasonic Sensor. This simple program enables TriBot to power 1 motor when the light sensor detects dark, and a second motor when the light sensor detects light. Use this program to have TriBot follow a line, modify it, or create one of your own!

Alpha Rex:

Alpha Rex performs tasks that only the most sophisticated robots can do... Walk on two legs like a real person! With built in rotation sensors on the two Servo Motors powering his legs, and an Ultrasonic Sensor enabling Alpha Rex to see, you can program Alpha Rex to go where you want with precision! This simple program makes use of simultaneous tasks on two Sequence Beams. Alpha Rex’s heart beats on one task, while his legs are powered to move on the other. Find even more project ideas on the official LEGO Activities website (School mindstorms), and see detailed instructions how to build a Classic Cuckoo Clock or Sound Bot .