LEGO Wants You to Help Develop Mindstorms NXT

Posted on 05/01/2006 by wcox in Industry
Image The other exciting news from CES, relating to LEGO's big announcement, is that they also want you, the Mindstorms fans, to help develop the product further. They announced, ...

a call for entries to secure one of 100 seats on the newly expanded LEGO® MINDSTORMS™ Users Panel (MUP), an exclusive group of MINDSTORMS enthusiasts who have helped guide the NXT product development process.

The chief recruiter will be Mitch Resnick from the MIT Media Labs, who played a key part in the original and 2nd gen. development process. According to the press release, they're looking for help with testing, development software and hardware hacking, and the building of really cool robots. Basically, the 100 elite will have free reign.

"We are delighted to open up the development of MINDSTORMS NXT to the passionate fans and enthusiasts who can truly bring the product to the next level. ... Because we are in the business of making a robotics toolset, not robots per se, we feel that inviting pioneers from the community will broadly enhance the new product and experience for all MINDSTORMS users  ... " - Søren Lund
 
The 100 Chosen Ones will be able to purchase LEGO Mindstorms NXT at a discounted price of $150, and will receive a beta version of the software. They will have 5 months to work their magic before the rest of the public gets a swipe at it. You have to be over 18 to participate.

Sign up to be a developer for Mindstorms NXT here.

It sure looks like an exciting opportunity, I only wonder why LEGO just doesn't give the developers the kit. They'll get a tremendous benefit.

Tags: [ LEGO | LEGO Mindstorms | robots ]



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