Customer Reviews

Core LEGO MINDSTORMS Programming: Unleash the Power of the Java Platform

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3 star:		(1)
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Brian succeeds brilliantly in the difficult tasks of introducing the reader to the Java language, to the Mindstorms system and to some programming techniques peculiar to robotics, and he does this in such a pleasant way that he doesn't even realize he's learning new concepts.

The book gives you enough elements of the Java language to make you immediately productive in using it with your Mindstorms kit, without including details about the language which would have made the book unnecessarily heavy. It won't make you a professional Java programmer, but it's not its goal.

From this foundation, Brian introduces you to some of the most powerful programming techniques aimed at robotics - like behavior control and navigation - using simple and clear examples.

The robots are nice and very well documented, and I have no doubt you will find them instructive and inspiring. And their code is well tested and ready to use.

Brian's style is very pleasant: he is able to always keep the your attention, never boring you explaining obvious concepts nor entering complex maters without the necessary gradualness. A touch of thin humour here and there makes the reading of this book a great experience.

To conclude:
- If you already know Java and want to learn how to use it for your Mindstorms robots, this book is for you.
- If you don't know Java, but want to push your Mindstorms beyond the limits of the LEGO software and are challenged by the opportunity to learn a new language, this book is for you as well.

This book definitely deserves its place in your bookcase among the best Mindstorms books.

This book is a great guide to using Lejos (the Java Virtual Machine for the RCX). It starts with a basic java tutorial and an introduction to Lego Mindstorms and Lejos. The tutorial is far from complete and is not "beginner proof". Therefore I recommend that you have some basic programming skills before reading this book. The book goes on to cover several cool topics including behavior control, navigation and communication. It has two electronic projects in which you make a proximity sensor and a compass sensor. Although it has very clear instructions(it has pictures and written descriptions), I think that these projects would not be easy for a person with little experience with electronics to do. Also to complete one section of this book you need to purchase two lego rotation sensors. These can be bought at the lego-pitsco dacta shop which is located at pldstore.com I particulary like the communication section which shows how to control a robot from a web page, how to make a robot that can plot its course on a map etc. I highly recommend this book.

Obviously Brian Bagnall is a programming mastermind! His book gives essential and clear instructions how to install and use the RCX Java-platform called leJOS. After an introduction to Lego Mindstorms with unexpected information even for Mindstorms-veterans (Brian solves the greatest mystery of the Mindstorms kit!), the book leads you through the concepts of Behaviour Control programming and robot-navigation, which are essential for advanced mobile robotics. Then you learn about RCX communications and advanced leJOS topics like Monitoring memory use and Hacking leJOS to save memory! Finally you find a list of part-providers, utilities and internet-resources. Every page of this book contains some new and useful infomation around the Mindstorms-project, which has seen so many books and internet-sites, that people might think, from now on you only produce repetitions. For the Core Lego Mindstorms Programming-book this is not the case, for sure.

The author illustrates his explanations through images, LEGO-robot building instructions and step-by-step first-class photos on how to realize a distance sensor and a compass sensor. He knows the art of clarifying complex things without becoming neither too scientific nor simply trivial. He respects the assertion that every mathematical equation will divide the audience by two. But all the reflections are profound enough for both scholars and non-scholars.

Some words about the compass, ... [url]. Brian honestly reveals the power and the limitations of an electronic compass. Doing so, he demonstrates well the force of the leJOS mathematical kernel, which he mostly wrote as contribution to the leJOS open source project. He shows how the normal mobile robot builder must deal by software means with reality, unprecision, error-sources, calibration.

This book is a worthy follow-up to the high-level book-series around extreme Mindstorming and beyond.

Brian, well done !

This book is superior to "Programming Lego Mindstorms with Java."

It is well suited to both beginning and advanced programers. It covers languages basics, but still provides much info to experienced Java developers about robotics Design Patterns.

It also includes detailed instructions and pictures describing on basic robotic construction...things like how to turn a rotary motion to a linear motion, how to change gear ratios, how to build differentials, etc.

There is also a detail chapter devoted to building your own homebrew sensors that even someone with little to no experience in electronics could easily build.

I am very happy with this purchase.

My first real encounter with Mindstorms was at this year's Sun Techdays. Simon Ritter, a Sun Microsystems Evangelist, did an excellent showcase of Java applied in Robotics. That alone sparked my interest in Mindstorms. To get myself started, I picked up this book by Brian Bagnall titled, Core LEGO Mindstorms Programming.

When I first opened my Robotics Invention System 2.0 (RIS 2.0) kit, I found an instruction manual that contained several project descriptions and a summary chart of part quantities available in the kit. However, it was inadequate in failing to satisfy my curiosity about each individual component, and what I can do with it. Brian's introductory sections to LEGO parts and in particular, suggestions on how they can be used, helped jumpstart my knowledge on building Lego robots. A generous number of illustrations in Chapter 1, help guide the uninitiated in naming parts that are included; not only in the RIS 2.0 kit, but that are also found in expansion kits such as Ultimate Builders' Kit and Ultimate Accessories Kit. The author goes on to described other alternative add-ons that you can have in your Mindstorms collection.

The book also provides several projects that you can get yourself started on, providing step-by-step instructions to help you build these robots.

This book has a fair coverage of both Mindstorms and Java. The author does not assume any prior knowledge of Java. Lejos is a limited Java virtual machine - a short insight into Java fundamentals is all that is required to get a beginner started on programming. You can start off with a primer in Java, before proceeding to sections that give a detailed view of packages included in Lejos. If you are an experienced Java programmer you might want to skip the opening chapters entirely, but it is a good idea to take his advice and skim through for any differences in implementations.

Brian introduces the reader to various concepts that help you build a better robot, including Behaviour Control, Navigation and RCX Communications. They are particularly helpful if, like me, you are a novice robot builder.

For those keen in electronics, two chapters provide instructions on building your own sensors, and how you can use them in your projects. A little too advanced for me, but hardcore enthusiasts will likely appreciate the information. And for those who are interested in the low-level concepts of Lejos, Brian gives an overview on these in the concluding chapters.

The author is helpful to include a large collection of utilities that are available to a hobbyist. He also lists several Internet sources for more information as well as locations where you can get those "hard-to-find" Lego add-on parts. This is also one rare publication that injects much humour into technical writing. The author's conversational approach makes the book an easy read..

The style of writing, wealth of illustrations and detailed building tips make this an excellent book. I would recommend it highly to anyone who wants to start in Java programming for Lego Mindstorms.

I guess I'm like many parents who bought Lego Mindstorms for their kids, only to find it to be the perfect excuse to play with the kids' toys while learning about Java and robotics. I'm not a programmer by trade, so my first task has been to learn Java. My progress has been very slow.
I wish I'd had Brian Bagnall's book right at the outset. It would have made things so much easier. His writing style is very readable - almost conversational. Yet as another reviewer has mentioned, there's no repetition and the book is packed with detail. Even though I'm not sure that his concise chapter for Java newbies would have been sufficient for me if I hadn't already ploughed through a couple of 'Beginning ..' Java books, he's pitched the book at just the right level. This book is certainly going to make my family's Lego Mindstorms get a lot more use! Well done, Brian. Great job!

I just bought a mind storm kit and have had great fun during these thanks giving holidays. I explored the lejos api and have read this book. I am keenly interested in running the robot over the network, with the IR tower. And this book has just all the code and examples to help me work on that. I am using this book and the basic rover bot to test out some java code on it. I have tried a few lejos examples. This is a great book. Its just amazing thatjava can be run on 32K of memory!

--Naveed

This is a great book, for several reasons:

1. The tour of all of the parts that comes with a Mindstorms kit is worth the price of the book alone
2. The step-by-step Java setup had me running my first Java robot in no time
3. The more advanced topics (Behavior Control, Navigation, Communications) are compelling. Though I haven't tried these projects yet, the author's presentation is a great read.

This can easily be your first Mindstorms book (though it is my third). Enjoy!

I have been dabbling with Java since the beginning and I have been interested in Robotics for a while as well. Last year I built a Palm-based robot ... and intended to use Java to program that platform but I had a lot of problems with getting all to work to get to the part where I was doing the programming tasks I had intended...

Core Lego Mindstorms Programming by Brian Bagnall is a fantastic introduction to robotics on a number of different levels. At a basic level it provides a sound introduction to Lego Mindstorms, the toy for ages 12 and up! Don't forget that Lego Mindstorms is used as a teaching tool at graduate level engineering schools like MIT! At a basic level, Lego Mindstorms is a toy, sophisticated, but a toy. A closer look reveals that the Robotics Invention System (RIS) is an inexpensive, yet elegant visual and tactical language for communicating sophisticated robotic engineering concepts. Brian and the LeJOS team ported a subset of the Sun Java language to the RIS completing a tool that is very inexpensive but can teach up to graduate level concepts in robotics, programming, and mechanical engineering.

Core Lego Mindstorms Programming is one of those rare books that can speak to beginners and experts at the same time. It introduces Legos, Mindstorms, Java, and even electronics. Though not a complete reference it covers the topics within the RIS framework allowing very sophisticated projects and concepts to be built and explored. Robot construction is shown graphically and programming examples are numerous and displayed with flow charts and source code.

The book covers the basics of the Lego Mindstorms Robotics Invention System and a through coverage of leJOS, a port of the Sun Java programming language to the Mindstorms CPU. Brian then goes on to discuss some of the fundamental concepts in modern robotics - sensors, motion, and navigation. As part of that discussion, he provides very detailed instructions on how to build additional sensors for the kit including a range finder and digital compass. He also introduces the very elegant concept of Behavioral Control Programming and contrasts it with traditional programming flows. Basic electronics are also well explained with schematics, theory, excellent breadboarding and prototyping projects. A complete set of appendices finishes the book and provides a good background to the projects and a stepping-stone to the vast Lego Mindstorms resources on the Internet.

If you or someone you know (ages 12 and up) is interest in robotics and programming, this book and a Lego Mindstorms RIS is all you need to explore the basics of robots up to some very sophisticated concepts in AI and robotics along with some basic electronics. The coverage of the Java language is bare bones but easily supplemented with a book like "Thinking in Java" by Bruce Eckel. The coverage of how powerful a platform exists in the RIS and leJOS is thorough - I'm 40 now, I wish I had had toys like this when I was 10 - this book is a gem!

If you have the Lego RIS and are interested in Java then this is the book to get. Bagnall leads you through the installation of LEJOS and JCreator (both freeware) including setting up the environment variables on your PC. He also gives a brief introduction to Java, enough to get you started. The chapters on behavior, proximity detection and navigation are especially good. As an added bonus, applying the techniques discussed in this book is a fun way of learning the basic concepts of Java and object oriented programming. It won't make you an expert, but it will get you started.