The LEGO Mindstorms NXT 2.0 (8547) is a robotics kit that allows you to envision, build and program your own robot. But it doesn't stop there.
As you grow more experienced, you'll discover to go beyond the user's manual, and as is the nature of Lego, you can push aside all the conventions and go on to manufacture whatsoever you feel. With time your robots will grow more sophisticated both in the way they appear, and in the way they act - the things they can do. Some of the possibilties will easily shock and amaze you.
You likely will not go on to construct the next Robocop or iRobot, but the endless programming capabilities can keep you enchanted forever.
It IS a lot of dollars to have to pay for a Christmas gift, however for something that will last you a lifetime, the LEGO Mindstorms NXT 2.0 is most certainly worth buying this Christmas.
Who Is The LEGO Mindstorms NXT 2.0 (8547) Set Suitable For?
Mindstorms is suitable for anyone over ten years of age. The instruction manual is so easy to follow, you'll be up and ready with your first robot within one hour.
You'll be forgiven for thinking building a machine with NXT is perplexing, given the use of the term 'programming', but it's amazingly simple when you actually get it and give it a go.
A younger audience will surely be able to find their own way to enjoy playing with their robots, while on the other hand someone older or more experienced can utilise more intricate programming to manufacture more complex machines.
What’s Inside The Box?
The LEGO Mindstorms NXT 2.0 comes with a total of 619 parts. This is mostly comprised of connectors, wheels, rods, beams and sensors.
The Basic Construction Unit
The Mindstorms design is in the form of beams as opposed to the usual brick as used in LEGO, giving it a kind of Meccano quality. Not like Meccano however, you can easily put the pieces together without the need for any screw drivers or spanners - just use your hands. All you need is the contents of your box, and of course... a PC.
Thanks to having so many pieces that all look interchangeable, it may be a little difficult at first and perhaps somewhat frustrating trying to find the pieces that you need. But give it a bit of time and you'll start to know just what you're looking for.
Motors x3
These servo motors will give your robots motion.
4 Sensors
The sensors enable the robot to gather information about its environment so that it may then process it and act accordingly. The sensors listed below are available with the Mindstorms NXT 2.0…
1. A light sensor, with which your robot can 'see' different levels of light and even 'see' colors so that it can respond when you show it a blue ball for example, and not respond to a yellow one or respond differently.
2. A touch sensor, so you can command your robot to switch direction for example, when it touches something else.
3. A sound sensor, that allows for the robot to respond to different volumes of sound, although you can’t get it to obey exact vocal instructions.
4. An ultrasound sensory unit that makes use of echolocation, so your robot can determine how far away it is from an object such as a wall.
The NXT Intelligent Brick
Your Mindstorms set's core, a central processing unit that collects information from the sensors, comprehends the programming you give it, and depending on whatever program you wish to put in, causes the robot to carry out an action by controlling the three motors, whether it be by pacing forward, turning a wheel, shooting balls, flicking through pages in a book.. and so on and so forth.
User Booklet
The User's Booklet for the Mindstorms kit is very thorough and quite simple to follow, with step-by-step details on how to build a shooter bot, robogator, color sorting machine and alpha rex.
Past this you can go on to make, build and program anything you want. You'll be happy to know that when you've got a handle on the four robots in the user's manual, you can always get seperate user guides produced for the Mindstorms enthusiast, with details on how to construct some more astonishingly sophisticated machines.
The frustration in constructing your own individual designs is you’ll probably run out of pieces to use. If you have this problem, you can always extend the Mindstorms set with pieces from the Lego Technique range, which utilises the same basic unit.
Can I Get The Mindstorms Set Any Cheaper Than The RRP?
Author Resource:
Watch out - Mindstorms NXT is expensive enough as it is, and there's no point in paying more than you have to. Click here for the cheapest prices .
For additional Christmas gift ideas, you may be interested in the following....
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