Dexter Industries DI Thermal Series Sensor Roundup
I recently had the chance to test out a set of Dexter Industries Thermal Sensors produced for the NXT.
Debugging NXT-Programs
Sooner or later all users writing programs to be executed on the NXT brick find themselves in the following situation:
Out now: The LEGO MINDSTORMS NXT 2.0 Discovery Book
A book thats been in the making for a while now has finally been released! Laurens Valks latest book, The LEGO MINDSTORMS NXT 2.
New NXT Fantom Drivers Available
LEGO has uploaded new Fantom drivers (version 1.1) for Windows and OS X. They are available at mindstorms.lego.
GPS module for the NXT
The prototype of our new GPS module for the NXT using the NXT standard firmware.
http://www.convict.lu/htm/rob/GPS.htm
Firmware 1.29 is out
New and improved, twice as tasty and fewer calories! LEGO has published version 1.29 of the Mindstorms firmware. There is as of yet no information available regarding changes since 1.28.
New mux on the block
I posted earlier on my blog about the new motor MUX that is being made by a Ukrainian company, HOLIT Data Systems.
Firgelli Linear Actuator
Ive been lucky enough to have had the pleasure of trying out the new Firgelli Linear Actuator (LA) for a little while now and its awesome.
dSwitch Aquasaurs Temp Monitor
We recently picked up one of those Aquasaurs kits for the kids which lets you hatch and care for some neat little aquatic fish (or shrimp) that date back to pre-historic times.
DualGrip - NXTRover (DG)
Hey folks,
It's been a while since I last made a bot. My latest is DualGrip - NXTRover (or DG for short). I wont go into great detail as all info (with videos) can be found at my site http://www.
Using the LEGO color sensor with NXC
The NXT 2.0 retail set comes with a new color sensor. It is an analog sensor rather than I2C like the HiTechnic color sensors.
Fixes and features
It's hard to program when you're dosed down with cold medicine and you keep coughing over and over again until you're not only sick you're sick of coughing. That's me right now, unfortunately.
BricxCC and the Bluetooth Blues
Several people have posted questions on the nxtasy forums asking for help connecting to their NXT via Bluetooth using the Bricx Command Center (BricxCC).
NXC updates
I have uploaded a new test release of BricxCC and NBC/NXC tonight (11/30/09 at 9:00pm CST).
http://bricxcc.sourceforge.net/test_release.zip
The biggest change is support for enums.
New LabVIEW Education Edition
National Instruments has just released the
LabVIEW Education Edition,
http://digital.ni.com/worldwide/bwcontent.
Forum Frustrations
Hey everyone,
As you probably have noticed, the forums were down for the last few days. From what I can gather the ISP hosting nxtasy.org, aplus.net, has recently been sold to a new owner.
Say Good Bye to sensor port shortage
I am sure I am not the only one who has run out of sensor ports before on their NXT. Well now you need not worry about that problem anymore.
Remote control your brick with the HiTechnic IRReceiver
HiTechnic have come out with a new sensor today. This time its a sensor that will allow you to control your brick with one of the PF remotes.
LEGO MINDSTORMS NXT installation on Snow Leopard
There have been a number of reports that a fresh install of the LEGO MINDSTORMS NXT software on Snow Leopard (Mac OS 10.6) fails.
NeXT Tools for Mac OS X
If you use a Mac to program your NXT then do yourself a favor and check out the new build of my NeXT Tools application for Mac OS X.
pbLua Beta 18a released
Here's a message from Ralph Hempel, developer of pbLua:
I'm pleased to announce the release of pbLua Beta 18a.
HiTechnic wants YOU!
HiTechnic are currently looking for a Customer Support / Order Specialist! If a Mindstorms related job has been your life-long dream then look no further!
Spherical NXT
What can you do with an NXT and some other stuff? Heres a nice example from Nils Volker a spherical robot. Check out the videos at his website.
Ada now available on MINDSTORMS NXT
Ada, the language designed for long-lived applications where safety, security, and reliability are critical is now available on the MINDSTORMS NXT through GNAT GPL: http://libre.adacore.
MCP4 forum applications
Are You a Hardcore LEGO MINDSTORMS NXT User?
Do you want to have a seat in our closed web forum, the MINDSTORMS Community Partners, where we involve you in our development and tests of new ideas,
LEGO Beyond Toys
A facinating university master class dealt with building new sensors for NXT.
Weather forecasts on your NXT
or communication between an NXT, a computer and the internet.
Quite some time ago I wanted to give a brief tutorial about communication between an embedded program running on the NXT (for example
What to do next? Part 2
During my last blog I gave a very general overview of digital systems and digital communication.
PID Control: Staying Put
I racked my brain trying to come up with another example of PID control that didnt involve a whole lot of hocus pocus and math for my next article.
Frequency response (dB/dBA) of the sound sensor
When playing around with the NXT's sound sensor I wasn't probably the only one wondering about the different modes, dB and dBA.
