Thursday, December 15, 2011
LEGO Mindstorms NXT 2.0 price
Product Description
Lego Mindstorms Nxt 20 8547 , Kidkraft Large Aval Desk , Lego Duplo Set 5653 St E Quarry , Haba Chilly Swing Seat , Our Generati Wooden Trunk , Bruder Toys Man Timber Truck With Loading Crane And 3 Trunks Sal, Guidecraft All In E Modern Kitchen Playset , Step2 Neighborhood Fun Center , Zoom H4n Portable Digital Recorder Package , Deals Li El G Gauge Polar Express, Mayberry Manor , Radio Flyer Voyager Canopy Wag , Sportcraft 90 Inch Ti 5000 Hockey Table , Atom 80x Mountainboard , Bachmann Trains Thomas With Annie And Clarabel Ready , Circuit 110th Stadium Truck Gray , Afx 4 Lane Super Internati Al Race Set Wmega G Cars , M Goose Raid Freestyle Bike 20 Inch Wheels , Fun Ride Super Z Zip Line , Outer Edge Polaris Snow Moto , Review Take LEGO to the next level with MINDSTORMS NXT 2.0. Combining the versatility of the LEGO building system with a microcomputer brick and intuitive programming software, this building kit enables you to construct robots that see, speak, feel, and move. Designed for ages 10 and up, the 2.0 robotics tool set features everything you need to create and program your first robot in approximately one hour. After that, you can create an endless lineup of robots that do what you want--if you can dream it, you can build it.
- Ages: 10 and up Pieces: 619 Requires: 6 "AA"/LR6 batteries (not included)
What We Think Fun factor: 
Durability: Ease of assembly: Educational factor: 
Novelty factor: The Good: Brings LEGO to life. The Challenging: Booklet only includes instructions for one basic robot. In a Nutshell: Everything you need to build and program robots -- jump starts inventive play. 
With MINDSTORMS NXT 2.0, you can construct robots that see, speak, feel, and move. View larger. 
Use the included software to program your robot and watch it come to life. View larger. Build, Program, Go Creating a MINDSTORMS robot is challenging -- but not too difficult -- with an illustrated step-by-step booklet and software showing the way. The booklet gives you instructions for building a basic "Quick Start" robot only, which is an easy introduction to the MINDSTORMS experience. This robot took our two adult testers about 30 minutes to build and 30 minutes to program. After that, they spent a lot of time just playing with their creation and testing its abilities.Once you master the basics of MINDSTORMS, you'll need to use the included software to get instructions for more advanced creations. You can also use the MINDSTORMS web site to find instructions for many other robots, or you can create robots on your own. No matter what you choose to create, the principles are the same: just build the robot using the LEGO elements in the kit, and program it on your computer using the software. Then watch your robot come alive.
NXT Technology Brings LEGO to Life MINDSTORMS NXT 2.0 features the latest in robotic technology: an advanced programmable microcontroller, Interactive Servo Motors, smart sensors, icon-based drag-and-drop programming software, interactive challenges, and wireless Blue tooth and USB connections -- all the smart technologies you need to create your custom robot.
First, the brain of the MINDSTORMS robot is NXT, an intelligent, computer-controlled LEGO brick that features a 32-bit microprocessor, a large matrix display, input and output ports, and a speaker.
Second, three Interactive Servo Motors give you precise control over the robot and ensure that the robot moves with precision -- the built-in rotation sensor can measure one-degree steps.
Third, there are four robotic sensors. The first is the Ultrasonic Sensor, one of two sensors that gives your robot vision. You can use it to make your robot avoid obstacles, sense and measure distance, and detect movement.
And fourth of all, two Touch Sensors give your robot a sense of touch. They detect when they are being pressed or released, and you can use them to make your robot pick up things or act on command. For example, by pressing a Touch Sensor you can make your robot walk, talk, close a door, or turn off your TV.
There's also a Color Sensor that functions three ways: it distinguishes colors -- black and white, as well as a range of bright and pastel colors -- it distinguishes light settings, and it can be used as a color lamp.
And finally, the MINDSTORMS Software lets you program your robot. Use the software to create a program, and then download the program to the NXT by using the USB cable or the wireless Blue tooth connection. Mac- and PC-compatible drag-and-drop software gives you 16 building and programming challenges, from beginner to expert.
Overall, this set scores an excellent rating for its clever design elements. Our testers enjoyed the way the set brought a new level of interaction to their LEGO experience, and appreciated how easy it was to create their first robot. They also loved the way this set encourages inventive play -- all the cool hardware that makes up the set can be used to build any robot you dream up. Finally, our testers liked how this set offers a great balance of learning and fun, and encourages interest in science, computers, and engineering.
- Microsoft Windows Requirements
- Windows XP Professional or Home Edition with Service Pack 2 or newer
- Intel Pentium processor or compatible, 800 MHz minimum (1.5 GHz or better recommended)
- Windows Vista Service Pack 1 or newer
- Intel Pentium processor or compatible, 1 GHz minimum (1.5 GHz or better recommended)
- CD-ROM drive
- Apple Macintosh Requirements
- Apple MacOS X v10.4 or v10.5
- PowerPC G3, G4, G5 processor, 600 MHz minimum
- Intel processor (1.3 GHz or better recommended)
- DVD drive
- General System Requirements
- 512MB of RAM minimum
- 700MB of available hard-disk space
- XGA display (1024x768)
- 1 available USB port
- Compatible Blue tooth adapter (optional)
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This review is from: LEGO Mindstorms NXT 2.0 (8547) (Toy)
I've been programming at work since the 1980s. It's a fun, useful skill. Mindstorms looked like a fun way to introduce my 13 year old to the craft.
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WHAT IT IS
1 Lots of little plastic beams and elbows etc., for building stuff. These are purpose made for Mindstorms; they are not regular Legos.
2. Motors and sensors (light, touch, etc.) that you connect to the plastic beams as part of your robot structure, then connect by wires to the brick computer.
3 A "brick", a little computer the size of a paperback. It runs computer programs you have written on your PC. Wires connect it to sensors and motors. It accepts input from the sensors and, as instructed by the program you wrote, sends turn/ stop turning instructions to the motors.
4 Software: A programming language that goes on your PC. You use this software to write your own software programs for the brick computer. The software you create will read info from various sensors and tell the brick motors when to turn and how far. This is a drag and drop visual language. Instead of writing a programming line like, " Turn (motor_A, 45-Degrees, right) " the kid clicks on a "motor block" and drags it onto the "programming grid" and it automatically turns the wheel. Blocks are connected to each other with action wires and data wires. The idea is to make it all visual, to avoid pages of arcane computer code. The programs get from your computer to the brick via a USB cable or Bluetooth.
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GOOD
It works, sort of.
It can do amazing stuff. Search "Mindstorms" at youTube
It's fun for Dad.
Robot-C programming language software is available (but is not included in the kit here at Amazon)
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BE AWARE
This is not a launch-and-forget toy. It's a complicated computer programming tool. Your kid is not able to do this on his own. You're going to do it with him, and you're either going to know how to program, or you're going to have to learn. There are a number of good books for this.
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BAD
1 POOR PLASTIC PIECES SELECTION. The "hundreds of pieces" turn out to be mostly tiny snap connectors and beams selected to do the sample projects. As soon as you start a project of your own you discover key stuff, like gears and wheels, are not in the kit. And YOU CAN'T BUY THEM FROM LEGO! The only source I've found is guys on eBay selling aftermarket stuff.
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2 DROP AND DRAG PROGRAMMING. The visual drop and drag programming sounds like a good idea, but has severe problems. The biggest one is, it's unstable. Once programs have even a handful of if-thens and loops, the compiler freezes up. It won't compile. It locks up and won't run. Your work is lost. This is not a problem just on our computer here at home. My kid's in a robots class at school. The same thing happens with the school computers. I have not found a fix for this. This limits you to very simple program logic -- which pretty much defeats the entire purpose of the kit.
You can't really drop a motor block onto the programming grid and have it automatically turn the wheel. You still have to set all the parameters, in cryptic little dialogue boxes. Visual programming isn't really easier, it's just different.
The programming interface is needlessly tedious. Basic stuff, like " Variable_A = Variable_B + 1 ", requires many blocks and many connecting wires.
Visual programming is worse. If-then boxes take up lots of screen space. Loop boxes take lots of screen space. Beyond very simple, linear programs with no logic branches, the programs quickly become physically too big for your computer screen and you can't tell where you are, let alone what's going on. Back in the 1970s and '80s there were commercial languages that worked this way, targeted at consumers. They went out of business. VP is a great idea, except that all the other ideas work better
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3 ROBOT-C -- AND ONLY ROBOT-C. You can buy a version of the C programming language specially designed for this brick, but it won't work unless you change your brick's firmware, and once you do that the VP programs won't work. You can supposedly swap back and forth between firmwares. I haven't tried that.
If your kid is in middle school First Lego League, Robot-C programs are not allowed.
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IF YOU'RE SERIOUS
IMHO you can make this a useful learn-programming tool by abandoning the VP language and buying the Robot-C compiler.
Me? I'm teaching the kid Excel VBA.
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