Bøker av David J. Perdue

The LEGO® MINDSTORMS® NXT 2.0 set offers hundreds of building elements, programming software, and powerful electronics that you can use to create amazing robots. But where do you begin?This eagerly awaited second edition of the bestselling Unofficial LEGO MINDSTORMS NXT Inventor's Guide is your key to designing, building, and programming robots with the NXT 2.0 set.You'll learn practical building techniques, like how to build sturdy structures and use gears, and gain a solid understanding of the set's NXT-G programming language. A series of projects new to this edition offers step-by-step instructions for building and programming six robots, each of which can be built with just one NXT 2.0 set, including:Inventor-Bot, a fast, simple, modular vehicle with treadsSentry-Bot, a robot guard that shoots balls at intrudersTable-Bot, a vehicle that uses its antennae to avoid falling off a tabletopThe Jeep, a four-wheeled vehicle that avoids obstacles and follows linesThe Lizard, a large walking robot that uses the color sensor to detect and respond to different colored ballsThe Printer, a stationary robot that uses a pen or marker to draw letters, words, and shapes on paperAdditional resources include the Piece Library, which contains basic information on the more than 80 types of LEGO pieces in the NXT 2.0 set, and the Quick Reference, which lists the 34 types of standard programming blocks. So go ahead. Grab your NXT 2.0 set, fire up your imagination, and see what you can invent with The Unofficial LEGO MINDSTORMS NXT 2.0 Inventor's Guide.

WHEN DAVID CONTACTED ME to ask about writing the foreword for his MINDSTORMS book, my first thought was, *~other book about LEGO robotics-is there still some- thing to write about it?"e; In fact, the shelves of the bookstores now offer a wide selection of books about building robots with the LEGO MINDSTORMS system. Many of them are actually very good books, which cover the matter quite deeply and exhaustively. However, a few lines below in his e-mail, David explained to me that the book was to deal exclusively with robotic sumo. That raised my interest and made me feel sud- denly excited, because I love sumo. I strongly believe that building a robot to attend a sumo contest is one of the best experiences for hobby robotics fans, because it's both extremely instructive and a lot of fun! Let me clarify my thought. Generally speaking, attending a contest is a very good way to learn about robotics. First of all, the contest helps the builder to keep focused on a specific goal. In fact, many beginners get lost in simply deciding what to build- either getting quickly bored by too simple projects or frustrated by too complex ones. In the second place, the rules of the tournament state very precisely what is allowed and what is not, providing a context to the designer's choices and narrowing the possibilities.