LEGO Mindstorms is the popular Robotic construction kit to teach children and adults the basics of Robotics using familiar Lego bricks. With LEGO Mindstorms it is possible to build Robots that move and react to inputs from the environment, e. g. touch and light. The robots’ programs are written on a host computer, downloaded to the Robot via an infrared connection, and then executed autonomously. The latter is probably the most fascinating about LEGO Mindstorms - no cables or any other connection to a stationary computer is required for the robots to move around.

From a technical point of view, the kit is featured with sensory, actuator, and control capabilities. The system consists of a main LEGO brick functioning as a control unit (RCX), Sensors (e.g. light sensors and switch sensors) and motors. Using these components it is possible to build LEGO constructions and associate behaviours which are programmed on the host computer and downloaded to the RCX. This control unit has three input channels - which can be connected to sensors - and three output channels for the motors. The connectors follow the traditional LEGO design easing the user to build robots with the desired shape and the appropriate programming. Robots’ behavior is defined using the graphical Programming environment ROBOLAB.

Differently from the I-Blocks LEGO Mindstorms maintains the divide between the physical and the digital. The physical constructions are built separately from the programming environment, and the user is required to master and continuously coordinate the different representations of the problem space: morphology, mechanics, balance, aesthetics of the physical construction with the programming aspects.

Skills: LEGO Mindstorms requires the acquisition of different skills from mechanics to programming. It can support complex tasks requiring a quite advanced knowledge and skills usually acquired with the support of expert users (collaborative learning) or following the tutorial to get instructed on how to use the system at different levels of complexity.

The main challenge of LEGO Mindstorms is to master the ability of building a physical construction of the robot and to define a consistent software program for it. This implies that the user has to walkthrough two different representations of the problem space for accomplishing the task. Personal skills are necessary to create a coherent conceptual model of the whole system and meaningfully integrate the physical and digital dimensions.

Tech Materials (Free)

Robot Behaviors Exploring the T-Maze: Evolving Learning-Like Robot Behaviors using CTRNNs
Humanoid Robotics A Biochemical Subsystem for a Humanoid Robot
Industrial Automation Systems Applying Agents for Engineering of Industrial Automation Systems
Robot Team Cooperation A Descriptive Model of Robot Team and the Dynamic Evolution of Robot Team Cooperation
Kuka Robots For ONU ONU Robotics Technology Center of Excellence, powered by KUKA Robotics Corporation
Augmented reality Annotation System for Robotic Application
Modular Robots Self-Reconfiguration Planning Of Identical Modules
Autonomous robots A New Approach To Robotics
Robotic Mounting Flat Panel Displays With Robotic Mounting
Calibration of Industrial Robots A Photogrammetric Robot Calibration System Based On Off-The-Shelf Low Cost Hardware Components

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Amazon Books

	Creative Projects with LEGO Mindstorms by Benjamin Erwin Buy new: $20.64 / Used from: $13.00 A good place to start, especially for kids, with Lego Mindstorms
	A Practical Guide to Behavior-Based Robotics by Joe Jones Buy new: $20.67 / Used from: $15.13 Very good for programming not so much behavior as control. Language and controller agnostic