Although LEGO MINDSTORMS NXT allows anyone to build complex inventions,
there are limits to what you can do with what comes inside the box. This
book shows you how to advance the NXT with more than 45 exciting
projects that include creating a cool magic wand that writes words in
thin air, building a remotely guided vehicle, and constructing
sophisticated robots that can sense color, light, temperature, and more.
All projects are explained with easy-to-follow, step-by-step
instructions, so you'll be able to create them successfully whether
you're a novice or an expert. This book also shows you how to expand the
programming software and use the alternative language NXC.
New input devices--such as keypads, sensors, and even the human
body--are covered, along with fun games such as surfing, PONG, and
SIMON. On the serious side, there are classic engineering challenges
such as controlling an inverted pendulum, making a robot that follows a
wall, and building several light-seeking vehicles. Some projects are
just entertaining, such as the Etch-A-NXT; others are useful, such as a
motorized camera mount that takes panoramic photographs.
This second edition accounts for the important changes found in the next
generation NXT, and it also covers the original concepts in greater
depth. Details are presented for practically unlimited expansion of the
NXT inputs and outputs by using the I2C communications bus, and several
power amplifier designs allow the NXT outputs to drive bigger motors.
Instructions are also included for adapting LEGO Power Functions motors
to work directly with the NXT.
