Extreme NXT: Extending the LEGO MINDSTORMS NXT to the Next Level (Technology in Action) [Paperback]

Michael L. Gasperi (Author), Philippe E. Hurbain (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 1430224533 | ISBN-13: 978-1430224532 | Publication Date: November 4, 2009 | Edition: 2

Extreme NXT: Extending the LEGO MINDSTORMS NXT to the Next Level (Second Edition) is updated for established users of NXT who would like to advance their capabilities by learning the electronics that can open up new possibilities to their NXT projects.

Bring all kinds of amazing sensors to your NXT creations! This book introduces you to projects with contact sensors, resistive sensors, potentiometer sensors, voltage sensors, NXT Motor Interfaces and beyond, to I2C Bus Communication and the cool combinations available in your own projects! You'll also learn breadboard construction technique along the way.

With more than 15 cool sensor projects that are all explained and well-illustrated with step-by-step instructions, this book also offers a great reference for the NXT hardware interfaces, and examples come complete with multiple, alternative NXT languages.

The authors are leading experts in Lego MINDSTORMS hardware who are ready to take your NXT projects to the next level. But you will not need any prior experience with electronics to enjoy this book and create NXT projects with amazing sensors!

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Michael Gasperi has been an expert in LEGO MINDSTORMS sensors since it was first introduced in 1998. His popular website and chapters in the "Extreme Mindstorms" book have guided people through the process of building their own extensions to the kit.

Philippe Hurbain got his first MINDSTORMS kit in 2000, and soon his electronics background pushed him to build new and original sensors for the RCX. His website shows how to build these sensors, as well as a lot of technical information on the original MINDSTORMS kit.

Product Details

• Paperback: 360 pages
• Publisher: Apress; 2 edition (November 4, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1430224533
• ISBN-13: 978-1430224532
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 7.5 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #853,267 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

When I was growing up in the 1960s and '70s it made sense to build things, such as a computer, from component parts. In fact, you could build all kinds of electronic products, including television sets, this way. Not only does this not make any economic sense now, it is also physically impossible to deal with the tiny electronic components. Back then, magazines such as Popular Electronics provided all kinds of projects for the electronic hobbyist to experiment with. One of the regular columns was written by Forrest Mims, and I eagerly anticipated reading his latest monthly installment. I always thought, "What a cool job this guy has; someday I'm going to do something like that."

I went to Purdue University, earned an engineering degree, and ended up doing industrial research at Rockwell Automation in Milwaukee, WI. However, a part of me still yearned for the dream job of cooking up interesting projects and telling people how to do them. Back in 1998 LEGO introduced the MINDSTORMS Robotic Invention System. I naively bought a kit for my 10 year old daughter Audrey, but quickly got swept up in the network of adult hackers trying to unlock the product's real potential. Through a simple personal web page I started publishing how the LEGO sensors worked and how to build new ones. This led to being invited to appear at MIT's MindFest and eventually to authoring and coauthoring several books on the subject.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Introduction To Robotics & Electronics Construction Using Lego Mindstorms NXT, February 16, 2010

By 

Ira Laefsky "Ira Laefsky" (Philadelphia, PA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Extreme NXT: Extending the LEGO MINDSTORMS NXT to the Next Level (Technology in Action) (Paperback)

This well organized book on customizing the Lego NXT Robotic System serves several hobbyist and educational goals in an outstanding fashion. It is a full introduction to sensors, actuators, and microcontroller-based robotics in the context of the Lego NXT System. In the process of describing the sensors, customization of NXT parts and support chips and electronics it provides an excellent introduction to hobbyist electronic construction. Finally, together with David Cook's excellent "Robot Building for Beginners", also in the excellent Apress Series, it provides a though introduction to the parts and techniques for constructing and debugging all types of hobbyist robotics and electro-mechanical systems. The differences from the previous excellent edition of "Extreme NXT" are subtle yet important: improved illustrations of construction technique are provided throughout the book; exciting additional projects on GSR (skin resistance measurement) and interfacing the NXT brick with a keyboard interface liven this edition, additonal explanatory material is included in the chapter on I2C interfaces and in Appendix A on electronic construction techniques.

I would recommend this excellently presented and illustrated book as a well organized tutorial in many aspects of robotics and electronic construction.

--Ira Laefsky
MSE/MBA

1 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Caveat Emptor! This book is not really a LEGO NXT book!, March 30, 2011

By 

R. Gilliam "kitschweb" (richmond, va, usa) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Extreme NXT: Extending the LEGO MINDSTORMS NXT to the Next Level (Technology in Action) (Paperback)

My 10-year-old son is very into LEGOs and participates in LEGO League at school. We're always interested on looking at books covering LEGO building techniques and the LEGO NXT/Mindstorms sets and this one sounded fun. HOWEVER, the description is misleading and doesn't really clue the buyer into the content and intent of the book, which is NOT to explore the world of LEGO NXT, but to build DIY electronics projects using LEGO NXT parts. If you are looking for electronics projects and have a Mindstorms set lying around waiting to be hacked (as well as assorted electronics odds and ends and soldering equipment), then this is the book for you! We're talking DIY circuit boards and using blowtorches to melt holes in light bulbs kinds of project here. NOTE that you need to be OK with taking things apart and rendering them ineligible for competition! If, like us, you're looking to expand your knowledge of the possibilities within the constraints of the NXT sets and software, you're out of luck.