Lego Mindstorms
Lego Mindstorms ( LEGO Mindstorms own spelling ) is a product series of the Danish toy manufacturer Lego. The core of the product line is a programmable Lego brick ( RCX = Robotics Command System, or NXT ) and electric motors, sensors, Lego Engineering parts ( gears, axles, hole bar, pneumatic parts, etc.) to robots and other autonomous and interactive systems to construct and to program. An addition to Lego Mindstorms represent the Spybotics that have a programmable Lego brick with two motors and sensors. The forerunner of the Mindstorms series were the CyberMaster and Technic Control Center sets.
Marketing channel: integration into the school curriculum
Although the product is a technical toy, it can be used as a teaching tool as well (planned as a marketing channel as of Lego and the MIT originally). In class, it can be used as an example of an embedded system (embedded system ), which cooperates with a micro electro-mechanical parts and sensors, are used. Almost all types of mechanical systems with embedded systems, from elevator system to industrial robots, may be reproduced with Mindstorms. In addition, the area " robotics " in education plans, for example in the gifted classes at the Technical University of Hamburg - Harburg ( TUHH) is on school computer science, provided and is usually implemented with Lego Mindstorms. In this context, action-oriented informatics fundamentals like the IPO principle and control structures can be treated. For Lego this marketing channel is one of the focused by many toy manufacturers lifelong loyalty of customers to the products or the brand.
Systems
Mindstorms Robotics Invention System (RIS ) 1.0 to 2.0
The Mindstorms RIS versions 1.0, 1.5 and 2.0 in hardware differ only slightly: In version 1.0, the " RCX " unit has a socket for an external power supply that was saved in later versions; Version 2.0 was the Infrared emitter ( " Tower" ), which is connected to the computer, converted from serial interface to USB port. The software of the older versions can be updated by an update to the latest version.
Successor system Mindstorms NXT
In early 2006, Lego introduced at the Consumer Electronics Show a new Mindstorms NXT system called.
Successor system Mindstorms EV3
On January 7, 2013 Lego presented at the Consumer Electronics Show a new Mindstorms system called EV3, the first official announcement was made on January 4, 2013. EV3 is a further development (evolution ) of the LEGO Mindstorms NXT system.
The EV3 has been available since September 2013. The new robot is supposed to be compatible with the NXT components. The changes will be:
- New Brick: ARM 9 processor
- 16 MB flash memory
- Expandable with an SD card
- 64 MB RAM
- A Linux-based operating system
- Support a USB Host mode and connection of wireless dongles
- Bluetooth 2.1
- A larger matrix display
- More buttons
- Junction Boxes for 4 sensors and 4 motors ( NXT: 3 motors)
There are EV3 Home Edition of EV3 system offered two start-up packages, the Mindstorms EV3 Education Core and the Mindstorms. These packages do not contain media, but appropriate software can be downloaded via Legos website.
Building system
Mindstorms uses relatively simple plug-in systems based on Lego art which have been changed from RCX to NXT over again. It is possible, very close to recreating machines in terms of appearance and function to the original.
Competitions
The Lego Mindstorms system competitions are as aligned as the World Robot Olympiad. A regularly taking place competition for students, which will be held in different parts of the world, is the First Lego League.