LEGO MINDSTORMS NXT One-Kit Wonders: Ten Inventions to Spark Your Imagination (Paperback)

~ (Author), Matthias Paul Scholz (Author), Christopher R. Smith (Author), Martijn Boogaarts (Author), Jonathan Daudelin (Author), Eric D. Burdo (Author), (Author), BlueTooth Kiwi (Author), Fay Rhodes (Editor)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

The creative minds behind The NXT STEP blog are back with a brand-new collection of innovative robots. Whether you're just getting started with LEGO robotics or have been building and programming robots for years, "LEGO MINDSTORMS NXT One-Kit Wonders" is packed with new and exciting techniques, advice, and robots that guarantee awesome results. And best of all, you'll only need one NXT Retail kit to build all ten of them!

"LEGO MINDSTORMS NXT One-Kit Wonders" will make it simple for you to construct even the most complex of these ten robots, all while you learn the ins and outs of the NXT kit. You'll learn to build and program: PunchBot, a robot that you program using old-fashioned punchcards M, a robot that sorts your M&M candies by color NXT Dragster, a super-fast racecar that will take you all the way to the drag strip BobBot, a versatile skid-steer loader, equipped with a ball grabber or demolition claw RoboLock, a security system for your robots The Hand, a robotic replacement hand to protect you from those dangerous cleanup jobs, like picking up your brother's gym socks SPC, a robotic vehicle that can park itself between two objects using front-wheel drive The Bike, a two-wheeled robot that can balance and steer

Armed with the knowledge you gain from this book, you'll be inventing your own amazing creations in no time.

About the Author

James Floyd Kelly is a freelance writer living in Atlanta, Georgia, with degrees in English and Industrial Engineering. A long-time Lego Mindstorms developer, he is editor-in-chief of the world's most popular Lego blog, thenxtstep.com, which continues to draw an estimated 30,000+ readers monthly, and is a regular contributor to the Lego Mindstorm development team. James Kelly has written on topics including robotics, building custom computers and free software. His most recent book, Don't Spend a Dime: The Path to Low-Cost Computing, is the first book on free software to be published in four years. When not writing, he and his wife enjoy watching their little boy discover all kinds of new and exciting things about the world.
James Floyd Kelly is a member of the Mindstorms Developers Program and has access to the beta software and hardware. He maintains a blog dedicated to NXT.
He was accepted as a member of the beta team for testing of the new Mindstorms NXT. He created the #1 Mindstorms NXT blog in January 2006, and it continues to draw an estimated 30,000+ readers monthly for news, updates, and information on NXT. Readers and fans of NXT know his name and that he is actively involved in promoting NXT as well as teaching kids and adults how to design, build, and program robots using the new kit.-->

Matthias Scholz is a member of the LEGO Mindstorms Community Partners Program. His NXT-related Web site is extremely popular. He is also a frequent contributor to the well-known NXT blog, The NXT STEP. He majored in Mathematics at the University of Bayreuth and has held various positions in German IT enterprises.

Product Details

• Paperback: 388 pages
• Publisher: No Starch Press; illustrated edition edition (November 29, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1593271883
• ISBN-13: 978-1593271886
• Product Dimensions: 9.9 x 8 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #10,106 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars If you have to choose one book to go with your NXT, get this book, December 5, 2008

By	Stan Walker (USA) - See all my reviews

I pre-ordered this as this book had a bike in it.

The book arrived on Thursday - way later than I expected. But it was worth the wait. And yes - it was the autonomous bike that my 11 year old boy built first - and suprisingly (given its complexity) without any adult help. It is such a cool bike that my son does not want to take it apart to build the Bobcat, self parking car and the dragster (which is the model you see on the front cover).

Any way - back to the book:
- Quality of models: very good seletion from easy to moderately hard

- Build Instructions: Extremely good - though it is black and white

- Programming instructions: OK - Might need some help with younger kids - but OK. It would be nice if the publisher had the programs downloadable - it is a bit of a drag following the steps for a 11 year old.

Overall, I love the models even from an adult point of view - a good combinations of machines and vehicles. The right balance of fun and learning through discovery. Only downside is it does not have any animals.

I never given a 5 star for a book before - but this one has earned it! Highly reccomended.

Stan

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Robots that spark your imagination - In action video, December 20, 2008

By	Laurens Valk "MINDSTORMS NXT Author" (The Netherlands) - See all my reviews

Length:: 2:37 Mins

If you're interested in LEGO Mindstorms NXT, you should take a look at the robots in this video review. LEGO MINDSTORMS NXT One-Kit Wonders has the building and programming instructions for these robots, and many more.
There are no parts needed other than those in the NXT kit, making this book the ideal expansion to your Mindstorms NXT set.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great book for a snowy day!, January 23, 2009

By	Patti R. Schiendelman - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

When Seattle schools were closed for snow (snow!), my son decided to make a project from No Starch Press's new book, LEGO MINDSTORMS NXT One-Kit Wonders. We really like this book - it consists of ten projects designed by the contributors to the NXT Step blog. The book is not for absolute beginners, but it's not too advanced if you have some experience with building and programming NXT MINDSTORMS. The projects include an M&M sorter, a NXT version of a Bobcat, and a drag racer.

He chose the robot hand project - it's a hand that fits over your own hand; he liked the silly redundancy of the idea - it takes two hands to operate it! Like all the projects, this one has a parts list, an explanation of the project, pictures of the steps, and the programming code. The only criticism he had was that the pictures were in black-and-white, and a little dark, so it was sometimes difficult to see exactly what parts were needed. You can see the robot hand in action in the video - it rotates in both directions, and it's surprisingly dexterous.

We really liked the fact that each project uses only the parts that come with the basic NXT MINDSTORMS kit; we've started projects from other books that turned out to require lots of other parts only available in really expensive and hard to find educational kits. Since there are nine authors, the projects represent a variety of approaches - it's like learning from a team of teachers. The projects are complete in themselves, but each project has suggestions for modifying the designs, and the authors encourage kids to think creatively and explore further. The book is full of fun projects, and gives kids tools to help create their own designs. We look forward to building more projects!