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.
Top 10 Robots of the Past 10 Years Robots of the Decade Awards
As we say goodbye to the 200x's and welcome the 201x's it's good to pause a bit and think about the world as it was ten years ago.
LEGO NXT Building Animals Ideas
Fay Rhodes has done some excellent work with both her books regarding building LEGO NXT Animals.
The first book, is the Zoo Book. You can buy it at Amazon.
Its Christmas Time
OK. It's Christmas time and that means time for making a list right?
I have two Christmas requests this year.
1) An Amazon Kindle DX.
2) Amazon Gift Certificates.
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).
Amazon sale LEGO Mindstorms NXT 2 Best Price
Amazon has a sale going right now. $227 US for the LEGO Mindstorms NXT 2 kit.
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.
2009 Robot Christmas Gift List
As 2009 comes to a close it's time once again for the Robot Christmas Gift List! We're featuring a few of the same, but mostly new, things since the 2008 Robot Christmas Gift Guide.
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.
Lego Mindstorms NXT
Lego Mindstorms NXT e-learning Intro from Micha Mielczynski on Vimeo.
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.
Mimicking Life Animals in Motion
You often see people trying to mimic animals. Especially in how they move. Ive seen robots that crawl, walk with 2 legs, walk with 4 legs, swim, slither and now... run.
LEGO Writing Style A primer
As most of you know, I wrote one of the chapters in the One Kit Wonders book. As such, there are certain terms that have to be used when writing about LEGO.
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.
Excellent Robotics Tutorials And a Trossen Winner
Trossen Robotics held a Tutorial Contest. The winners got some great robotics prizes. But they arent the only ones who win. We are.
Are LEGO bricks safe to use in an Aquarium?
Ask A LEGO Fan is a new blog by a LEGO fan. You can find the blog here: http://askalfan.wordpress.com
Anyone can ask a question, and they will try to answer them.
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.
LEGO Technic 2009 Building Instructions
LEGO Costumer Service has the building instructions for the 2009 LEGO TECNHIC sets available for download.
Here are the direct links (in PDF format) for the instructions and booklet.
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.
