Customer Reviews

Creating Cool MINDSTORMS NXT Robots (Technology in Action)

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

If you're searching for some exciting NXT projects and ideas--or would simply like to build JohnNXT, a replica of the famous Johnny 5 robot--you will enjoy Daniele Benedettelli's book Creating Cool MINDSTORMS NXT Robots. The book presents helpful ideas that you can use in your own inventions and carefully integrates them in a variety of robots with detailed building instructions. In fact, these very features are why I've given the book five stars: challenging robot projects, excellent discussions of useful concepts and ideas, and exceptional building instructions.

Most of the robots seem intended for more advanced users looking for a challenge; in other words, these are generally more complex robots. For example, there are several walking robots--including three bipeds (two-legged robots), one of the most difficult types of robots to create. And with the exception of the massive, multi-NXT robot "JohnNXT" (chapter 8) and a remote control (chapter 9), you can build all the robots from the parts in a single retail LEGO MINDSTORMS NXT set. All the programming in the book is done in NXC (Not eXactly C), an unofficial text-based language with a C-like syntax.

Along the way you'll find in-depth explanations of robotics concepts and helpful descriptions of the robots. Besides an entire "theory chapter" on building biped robots (chapter 1) and another such chapter on finite state machines (chapter 3), the robot chapters themselves include explanations of concepts such as hysteresis, writing a multitask program, and quadruped (four-legged) walking as well as information on the robots' functionality and history. The author also does a good job of presenting and explaining the programming. Although prior NXC experience is helpful, such experience is not required.

The BIs (building instructions) are outstanding, which is important since they are a major part of the book. The author used advanced BI techniques, including complete electrical cables and callouts, and Ldglite to render the images, creating BIs that are remarkably "LEGO-like." I found that the BIs were generally very easy to follow even though many of the steps were complex. Such clarity is invaluable for a book that is filled with building instructions.

I admit that I didn't build the famed JohnNXT robot. Why? For starters, I don't have all the necessary pieces! All the same, I'm glad to see that the author included the robot because a number of readers will want tackle this enormous project.

In conclusion, this book is ideal for you if you're a more experienced NXT user looking to broaden your robotic horizons--while having lots of fun. Nevertheless, even if you're new to the NXT set, you would still enjoy the book. Either way, after working through the projects and grasping the concepts, you should be well-equipped to create your very own cool NXT robots.

I've used this book in teaching a tech club of 4th-8th graders. Several students have also taken the book home and built robots from it. The plans are good, and the descriptions excellent. It is also helpful in using NXC to program the mindstorms.

I would hate to be without it now!

I've been waiting for more than 2 months to get this book. Finally I got it from amazon a few days after the book released.

I have 8 NXT book, nothing is as details as Daniele's Book. The best NXT book so far.

There are 6 robots describes in this book. From the concept and then step-by-step assembly it and even the guide line to program it. So you not only able to build the robot, but also teach you how it works.

The cream-of-the-soup of this book of course is the JohnNXT ...... About 1/3 of the book focus on this great Robot. If you plan to build JohnNXT, this is the only book you need.

I'm really impressed with Daniele, I cant wait to the next book "Lego Rubik Utopy (LRU)".

Hi,

One of the better books at this moment for the Lego Mindstorms NXT robotic set. This book is clearly written and despite the black and white images, the building instructions are also very clearly written.

This book is obviously written by people who know what they are doing and motivated to reach the highest standards.

After a short program in the Nxt-G programming language, they started to use the NXC programming language for the rest of the book. What makes this book so outstanding, everything is very well documented and everything is explained in great detail.

This is also an easy and pleasant to read book. And many times you find here what is missing in other books. For me, esspecially the introduction of NXC was very usefull. I wanted to use C for a long time, but I did not found the answers I was searching. This book takes its time to show you the mechanics behind th programming language. It teaches you clearly how to construct event tables and how you can visualise the design process, structuring your thaughts.

Also the walking models are very interesting. It gives you a clearly understanding about the problems of let a robot succesfully walk.

What I do missing is coverage of the acceleration, gyroscopic and compass sensors. It should be nice if those sensors also where covered in this book. But it is almost impossible to cover everything and an author has to draw a line.

The projects are well choosen and all very interesting. Personally Quasimodo I find the less interesting robot. While NXT AT-ST is in my opinion a very nice project to understand a walking robot. But I have to be honest, at this moment I am building the AT-ST robot. I did not have the time to build the other robots. Nevertheless, I took a quick look and i found the other projects also very impressive.

This book is a must have for every serious Lego Mindstorms NXT builder. You definatelly will refer back when building your own creations. I gave it five stars because it is well deserved.

Congratulations for the author and everybody worked behind the scenes of this book. A job very well done!

I wish you all very much reading and building pleasure. This book will surely touch your creativity and imagination.

Friendly greetings,

Bad_Wolf

My son loves this book. He has had it for almost 2 years and still loves it. He has sucessfully created several of the robots without trouble. He was 8 yrs old when I bought it and is now 10. He sneaks and reads it under his covers at night.

I am a beginner with Mindstorms NXT so I usually stay away from "advanced" books. But when I've seen this book in a local bookstore I decided I had to get it - the way theory aspects are presented and explained, the building instructions, the code, everything seemed really accessible.

And now that my amazon order arrived and I have it in my hands I am really happy I decided to go with it. Even if it states that it is intended for more experienced users I still think anyone can benefit from reading it. I am already through the first few chapters, built one robot and I love the way it is written. Also other pros are the code can be downloaded from the web and the fact that it tells from the start which robots can be built with the regular NXT set (I don't have 3 sets so I won't be able to build JohnNXT but at least I know this from the start).

One thing I am really grateful for is the steps for connecting the NXT brick to the PC via Bluetooth. I tried to do this before following the steps in the Mindstorms docs (initiating the connection from the brick) and even if the NXT connected fine with the PC, the Mindstorms software could not see it. I gave up thinking the BT driver on my computer is somehow unable to connect properly. After following the steps in the Appendix in this book (and initiated the connection from the BT device manager on the PC) I was able to connect not only the Bricxx IDE but also the Mindstorms software. This is a huge breakthrough - no more wires that need to be connected to load the program and disconnected later to run it. Just this simple aspect makes purchasing this book great, at least for me!

I have been waiting for this book even before it was wrtitten because I have wanted to build JohnNXT5 ever since I saw it posted on the Internet. This book is probably the best book so far for the Mindstorms NXT robotic system. I have purchased most of the books available for the NXT. I like Jim Kelly's books too, but this one has moved from wheels to robots that use tracks to get around and walk. It is well written and well illustrated even though the building instructions aren't in color. The author has a sense of humor as well as being well versed in the NXT system. I like the fact that he continues to refine and redevelop his creations and try to make them the best they can be. I hope to see more books from him, especially one covering the Rubic Cube solver. I congratulate the author for a job well done and highly recommend the book to all robotic nthusiasts.

I bought this book for my grandson's 11th birthday. He is thrilled with the book and is trying to learn the code. We thought the program for each robot was available to just download from the internet, but we couldn't find such an easy method. He will have to type in the code from the book himself which will help in the learning process. At this point in time, though, this programming may be a bit too complex for him.