Customer Reviews

Intelligence Unleashed: Creating LEGO NXT Robots with Java

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"Intelligence unleashed" by Brian Bagnall is one of the few books that deal with the programming of LEGO Mindstorms robots in the object-oriented programming language Java (leJOS). Although the author illustrates very well some concepts of object oriented programming by using an example taken from the seafaring at the beginning the book is not for readers who want to learn programming with Java. It is aimed at those who have already purchased profound knowledge of the basics of object-oriented modeling. Consequently, the chapters focus on the ideas and concepts, and less on a line by line explanation of the printed programme listings. The author succeeds in motivating the readers to use the presented programmes as a basis for their own extensions and improvements.

The book consists of 29 chapters, with a good part dealing with the topic of navigation, which - as mentioned earlier - is introduced by an example that should lead to the object-oriented perspective. In some paragraphs, the advantage of this approach in contrast to a procedural programming language (such as, for example, NXC) is obvious, namely when a program is to be ported to another kind of robot. In most cases, the exchange of only one row is required.

On the first pages, it is discussed in detail how to install leJOS NXT and the Eclipse development environment. This is followed by a description of the NXT brick, the motors and the sensors.

In addition to the standard robots like for example obstacle detection and collision avoidance with the ultrasonic sensor, there is a number of really interesting and innovative projects, for example localization, map making, pathfinding, kinematics, remote communications with Bluetooth respectively the Android platform as well as the use of gyro- and RFID-sensors and image tracking with the vision subsystem. The author doesn't only refer to one sensor each, but presents alternatives and thus puts the reader in a position to chose the suitable product for his own purposes. A detailed, richly illustrated step by step building instruction completes each project, so that the mechanical construction of the robot can easily be understood.

Since the leJOS developers change and (hopefully!) improve the API in a continous process, it could be possible that a project doesn't work at the first go because the required funcitonality might only be available in the next version. A regular visit to the website of Publisher and leJOS developers is therefore recommended. Apart from technical details, it has to be mentioned that Brian Bagnall has a very pleasant writing style and knows well how to entertain the reader, for instance by using scattered remarks, curiosities, and background information.

All in all, a highly recommended book!