Mitchell Timin wrote: > rex wrote: > > NY Times > > July 13, 2006 > > Build a Robot of Your Own, Lickety-Split > > By J. D. BIERSDORFER > > > > You don’t need an engineering degree to build your own robot these > > days; the Lego Mindstorms NXT kit comes with all the hardware and > > software you need to whip up a working automaton in half an hour. > > > > Lego Mindstorms NXT includes LabView software from National > > Instruments, which lets robot makers program their machines by > > dragging and dropping icons on the screen instead of writing code. > > The software works with both Windows XP and recent versions of Mac OS > > X. Bluetooth wireless signals are supported, so finished robots can > > be controlled with compatible mobile phones. > > > > The Lego Mindstorms NXT kit, which sells for about $250 and is aimed > > at children age 10 and older, will arrive in stores early next month; > > it can also be ordered at www.mindstorms.com. The Mindstorms kit > > includes 519 Lego Technic building blocks; sound, light and touch > > sensors; a 32-bit microprocessor called the NXT Intelligent Brick, > > which serves as the robot’s brain; and several motors. Batteries, > > however, are not included: six AA cells are required. > > > > http://mindstorms.lego.com/?domainredir=www.mindstorms.com > > > I've heard about the Lego robots for the past decade or more. I don't > know what's new about the latest announcement. Perhaps there is more > for the money now. > > I have no idea how difficult it would be to put ANN software into the > microprocessor. It might be interesting to build a math model of the > geometry & dynamics and then evolve an ANN to make them walk, or > navigate, or something. > By another of those odd coincidences, I purchased a RIS (Robotic Invention System) 2.0 last November on a lark. I started messing around with NQC (not-quite-C) programming language and some Forth coding. Evolution might be possible, the processor really has a lot of idle time. The NXT model is supposed to be a significant step up in processing capacity.
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