Customer Reviews

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

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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

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.