Customer Reviews

Dave Baum's Definitive Guide to LEGO Mindstorms (Technology In Action)

5 star:		(19)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This book contains a wealth of information for beginning Mindstorms builders. Dave Baum demonstrates several principles for building Mindstorms 'bots in each project. The mechanical engineering part of the 'bots is carefully explained, as well as the programming part - using both the RCX code and Mr. Baum's own NQC language. The book provides several great "sub-assemblies" and tips and tricks that are useful in your own projects. As a programmer, the programming part was interesting to me, but not an eye-opener. Instead, I learned quite a bit on mechanical engineering. The book probably works the other way around for people familiar with mechanical engineering but not familiar with programming. However, the construction diagrams are not always clear. Because there is no list of parts to be added at each step (as is done in Lego's own construction diagrams), you run the risk of missing something. Because the diagrams are all black and white, it is often hard to determine the color of a particular piece - which sometimes makes it hard to find it. Perhaps the renders could be included in color on the accompanying CD-ROM in a future edition. The CD-ROM itself is excellent, since it contains everything to get you programming in NQC.

If you buy a LEGO Mindstorms buy this book. The construction information is excellent and very necessary for a useful robot. The book is good for an 11 year old (my son) as well as an adult. I have found using NQC, the programming language that comes with the book, to control the RCX was much more effective than either the software that comes with the Mindstorms or the ROBO LAB software from Dacta. Over a year ago my son started programs with the RCX with NQC, I wish I had the book then. This is a great way to introduce students to programming because it is fun. The true results of the programming along with the results of the construction techniques provide a great learning environment. The pictures make building much simpler that the books with the LEGO Mindstorms.

In My Opinion, this book is the Bible to people that use the lego mindstorms systems. I am a junior in high school, and this book gave me the ideas to go and put together an award winning robot for our school systems science fair. In fact, it gave me the key to a full scholarship at the local engineering school, since I am the first and only person to ever make a robot for the fair in their 20+ year history, AND the fact that I attracted people to my booth, judges and all with my playing the Matrix { THE BEST MOVIE } on my internal dvd. It so impressed the judges, I was even offered a job, but the guy didnt realize I am only 17 ( and got 2 already :-( ). Without the wonderful language Mr. Baum provided and the book to add to it, I would be a loser for real. All thanx are owed to him and to the invento of the lego system, whoever and wherever you are. Lego has been an addicting force in my life for years, I have my brothers sets from the 80's when he was a kid and Just add to the "Pile" (or so my moms calls it) of legos whenever something new and kewl comes out. Since my introduction to mindstorms, I have purchased 2 kits, and all the add-ons, All thanx to Mr. Baum

Thank you for reading on this far, although I bet ya just are scrolling past this juvenile hack of a coment as fast as you can.. I dont care

Al

There's no denying that LEGO Mindstorms robots are the hottest toys for kids, balding middle-aged engineers in shirt-sleeves, and everyone else with a penchant for the ultimate unification of autonomous hardware and software.

And Dave Baum's book makes the entire experience better.

Baum presents a series of original robots each demonstrating unique challenges in the physical engineering and programming of LEGO Mindstorms. He starts with basic concepts (frames, gearing, pulleys) and builds on those to develop a repertoire of construction and, later, programming techniques.

Baum introduces his own language for LEGO Mindstorms, NQC, included on the CD-ROM that accompanies the book. NQC provides a traditional text approach to programming LEGO robots that's superior to LEGO's own graphic RCX language. For those who actually like RCX, Baum includes RCX versions of many of the programs in addition to NQC. The CD-ROM also includes a Windows version of RCX Command Center, giving a virtual "remote control" to the Mindstorms RCX brick. This makes experimentation with different building ideas a breeze since it requires no programming.

Juvenile readers should have no problems approaching the material. Unfortunately, though, Baum writes in an unven style, often relying on passive voice. The conclusions to each chapter sound excruciatingly forced. An extra editing pass might've helped with consitency.

There are certainly no lack of figures depicting step-by-step instructions of each robot. But I hope a future edition prints the figures in color; it's sometimes difficult to see what certain models require since many of the parts meld together in a sea of dark gray.

Baum gives a nice section of obtaining additional interesting parts in an appendix, and leaves the reader with other new developments to explore in the LEGO Mindstorms universe.

Overall, it's a great book.

I really liked this book - even more than the O'Reilly book. The pictures are really clear and so it is easy to follow the directions. The other thing I liked was that the explanations help even if you only know programming but don't know much about engineering.

Yowza! If you're a pretty good Lego Mindstorms dabbler, this book could put you over the top. It is clearly written, thorough, and best of all - USEFUL! I haven't even cracked the CD open (it contains Baum's NQC - Not Quite C programming language) and have found this book invaluable. From gears and torque to engineering tips, this book is a trove of utility. When my killer robot gets backed into a corner, I know how to get him out. Now if only Lego would make a high energy anti-missile laser to mount on top ...

This is a first impression, and may be upgraded later. The textual content, including appendices, is good. Unfortunately, the illustrations have inadequate contrast, and are difficult to interpret even under very bright light. This is due to extensive and unnecessary use of gray scale, both in assembly drawings and flow charts(!). While it is quite possible that Apress printed the grayscale much darker than Mr. Baum intended, I believe the decision to use gray scale at all was flawed. On the other hand, the use of isometric ("3D") projections is entirely appropriate. If reprinted with isometric line drawings (no gray scale) I'd probably rate it 5 stars (especially if I could trade in my gray scale version).

This book was, and still is, a pure pleasure. It ranges from the very basic gear-up gear-down and bracing / support constructs to the more complex inter-RCX communications. Dave Baum has done a wonderful job of bridging the basics to give the reader the tools to build more complex creations. The book points out many tools and resources for mindstorm aficionados and is not self centered on the author's creation, NQC. Many diagrams help with the actual construction on the robots, and engineering trade-offs are covered for each design. All in all, this book is a wonderful supplement to the mindstorms experience.

When I opened Baum's "Definitive Guide", I expected a description of how to build and program a few simple projects. The book did that, and did it well, but what I did not expect was the depth of insight into mechanical engineering and computer science principles that it provides.

For example, Baum gives a careful and clear explanation of how a mechanism works (such as a worm gear or differential, to name but two), and then presents experiments that you can build with Lego. These experiments will give you an invaluable feel for the principles involved. And I mean "feel" literally; after you build and try them, you will understand how these machines work on a gut level that's unforgettable. It's a lot of fun to build and operate even the simplest of Dave Baum's models.

On the programming side, his NQC language is a nice stepping stone to the syntax of today's most widely-used programming languages (C and C++). But, as with the mechanical side, Baum -- without getting preachy or teachy about it -- introduces computer science concepts that will help make a youngster (of any age) a better and wiser programmer. Because you do them instead of just read about them, this is the kind of learning that tends to stick with you.

NQC, which comes free with the book (and is free on the Web), is a better way to work with the Lego RCX unit. My kids, from 9 years old and up, prefer it to the tedious and somewhat weak Lego-provided method. As a tutorial to the language alone, the book would be a five-star recommendation. But Baum's work is a lot more than that, and a lot more than the shallow building guide to a few toys I originally expected.

Buy it, build it, and program it: This book succeeds at being both toy and tutorial, a rare achievement.

My major complaint with Mindstorms was the fact that the documentation that came with it was so poor. I purchased the mindstorm product when it first came out and never was able to make anything nearly as nice as the projects in there book. (Which by the way don't come with detailed directions)This book makes a great addition to anyone who has the mindstorm set. My thanks to Mr. Baum for giving instructions and tips for some neat projects.