Lego Mindstorms review - Mind the Storm, part 2
Author: Grga Curkovic
Date: 12 Mar 2007

Lego includes what they call NXT software, a programming environment used to make programs that then upload to the robot. It?s actually a well known software called LabView with a different skin and functions. The software is pretty simple to work with as it doesn?t use a programming language. You simple connect blocks that perform different functions to the working space and connect them. It is easy to use for beginners as it only takes a few minutes to make and test your first useful program, but it doesn?t limit you making very complicated programs. If for some reason you don?t like the provided software, or you just want to try other thing you can use Microsoft Robotics Studio. Since Lego made the NXT firmware an open source, you can try making your own firmware or use a firmware someone else made to get completely new software. The possibilities are limitless.

However you might find yourself short of time to accomplish what you imagined. I spent 4 day sitting on the floor, building and programming robots and I only scratched the surface. Unfortunately my obligations prevent me from playing all day long, but if I could I would prefer Mindstorms over some of my other addictions (like World of Warcraft, yes I?m saying Lego Mindstorms is more fun than World of Warcraft). You get instructions on building 4 robots with the set, and another 2 are available for download from Lego Mindstorms web site. I?m guessing Lego will keep on adding ?blueprints? in the future. Since pieces in this set are quite different from the Lego I played with as I kid I found great ideas on how to use the pieces I?ve never seen before in the provided ?blueprints?. If you are an experienced Lego Technic constructor you will probably find it easier to construct things. Mindstorms official web site is very informative and you can find an answer to almost any problem there. There are some additional downloads that don?t come with the set (like a remote controller written in Java for some mobile phones and PDAs) and links to other unofficial sites. For those that really dig into Mindstorms there is a competition called FIRST LEGO League. To get more info go to Mindstorms website.

Another great feature of this set is Bluetooth. When I first heard of this feature the first thing that came to my mind was that I can connect the NXT to my laptop via Bluetooth and upload programs wireless. Well, I was quite surprised when I realized the possibilities of this feature. It is possible to make multiple NXT bricks communicate and cooperate. This actually promotes Lego Mindstorms from cool to ?uber? cool on my scale since this feature brings scalability to Mindstorms and further increases its possibilities. It is also possible to make (or download an already made) a remote controller and tell you robot what to do. This opens a whole new sphere of possibilities and makes Mindstorms even more fun. I myself could not resist the temptation and got myself a second Mindstorms set just to be able to use this feature. This set is really extensive and with over 500 provided pieces you can really build a lot, but if you have your old Lego bricks you can combine them to make something you couldn?t even dream about when you last played with Lego. Lego says that the minimal age for Mindstorms is 10, but we are slightly skeptical and would add al least 5 years to that (except if you have a 10 year old genius).