Comments on: What's NXT: First Impressions http://www.robotshop.com/gorobotics/the-news/special-reports/whats-nxt-first-impressions How to Make a Robot | Robotics Projects & News Fri, 25 May 2012 16:12:35 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.2 By: dmr http://www.robotshop.com/gorobotics/the-news/special-reports/whats-nxt-first-impressions/comment-page-1#comment-88 dmr Tue, 10 Jun 2008 01:16:46 +0000 http://www.robotshop.com/gorobotics/wordpress/?p=141#comment-88 Hmmmm, what us Mortals who won't get our sets until "July 3" or so need NOW is promised firmware/hardware/software info to start working on our own sensors and other gear NOW - please post it if you've got it!(or a link to find it) When it comes to "more motors/sensors" it sounds like the first thing we're all gonna need is a big MUX, capable of radically increasing the number of inputs and outputs of Lego, third-party and home-brew sensors and motors (I *hope* Lego users will not seek profit but Copyleft any developments!) MANY kinds of motors, from free-running low-v DC to mini-steppers can be found in the trashbox (I mean a half-doz motors and senors alone from almost any old printer of any kind). If we know the coding and know the formulae for a given device we can build a simple MUX just by installing a command I/O Port 4 - "The Next Command is to/from subsensor 8" with the multiplexer then latching for one or more cycles to subunit 8 - and then allowing the block to read/write a value. Not much hardware once we have the data to work with -dmr Hmmmm, what us Mortals who won’t get our sets until “July 3″ or so need NOW is promised firmware/hardware/software info to start working on our own sensors and other gear NOW – please post it if you’ve got it!(or a link to find it)
When it comes to “more motors/sensors” it sounds like the first thing we’re all gonna need is a big MUX, capable of radically increasing the number of inputs and outputs of Lego, third-party and home-brew sensors and motors (I *hope* Lego users will not seek profit but Copyleft any developments!) MANY kinds of motors, from free-running low-v DC to mini-steppers can be found in the trashbox (I mean a half-doz motors and senors alone from almost any old printer of any kind). If we know the coding and know the formulae for a given device we can build a simple MUX just by installing a command I/O Port 4 – “The Next Command is to/from subsensor 8″ with the multiplexer then latching for one or more cycles to subunit 8 – and then allowing the block to read/write a value.
Not much hardware once we have the data to work with -dmr

]]> By: Schorschi http://www.robotshop.com/gorobotics/the-news/special-reports/whats-nxt-first-impressions/comment-page-1#comment-89 Schorschi Tue, 10 Jun 2008 01:16:46 +0000 http://www.robotshop.com/gorobotics/wordpress/?p=141#comment-89 I haven't read too terribly much about the new Lego Mindstorms kit, but from what I can tell I wonder what the big improvement over the initial RIS kit is. You have a few fancier sensors, Bluetooth capabilities and of course, Windows XP and Mac compatibility. The old development platform only worked with Windows 98 if I recall correctly. But other than that I don't quite see the leap here that the NXT system provides over the RCX block. Care to comment? Schorschi I haven’t read too terribly much about the new Lego Mindstorms kit, but from what I can tell I wonder what the big improvement over the initial RIS kit is.

You have a few fancier sensors, Bluetooth capabilities and of course, Windows XP and Mac compatibility. The old development platform only worked with Windows 98 if I recall correctly.

But other than that I don’t quite see the leap here that the NXT system provides over the RCX block.

Care to comment?

Schorschi

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