LabVIEW for LEGO MINDSTORMS NXT [Paperback]

Michael Gasperi (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 8, 2008

With the new LabVIEW toolkit release, more sophisticated MINDSTORMS NXT users, including hobbyists, students, and educators, can program the NXT using the LabVIEW graphical programming environment. LabVIEW for LEGO MINDSTORMS NXT by Michael Gasperi, the first official treatment of the subject, illustrates through many detailed examples how to write programs in LabVIEW that execute entirely on the NXT and that directly control the NXT using programs that run on a computer. LabVIEW for MINDSTORMS was written by an expert in LEGO MINDSTORMS with the cooperation of National Instruments to create the definitive guide to programming the NXT using LabVIEW. Using the robotic construction projects included with the retail LEGO Mindstorms NXT product the author shows how advanced tools from the LabVIEW Toolkit can be used to build more versatile and sophisticated projects. These include both typical robotics applications and several of a more laboratory or industrial nature to show computer control with the NXT as a data acquisition and control device. Advanced NXT topics like Data Files, Bluetooth, and I2C communications are also treated as well as how to connect the NXT to the internet with a web server. The book is further set apart by its packaging. A CD is enclosed with each new book containing the LabVIEW evaluation, the LabVIEW Toolkit for LEGO MINSTORMS NXT, and all the programming examples from the book. Everything you need to enhance and extend your robotic design.

Editorial Reviews

Review

I was amazed at the amount of information covered in this book. I would recommend it for anyone trying to learn to use the NXT in LabVIEW. --Dave Vernier, Founder & CEO, Vernier Software & Technology

Mike does a great job in showing the reader how to use the MINDSTORMS hardware to open the door to learning the full power of LabVIEW. For those wanting to learn how to use one of the most common programming languages for data acquisition and control, I can think of no better way. --Dr. Chris Rogers, Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Tufts University

I was amazed at the amount of information covered in this book. I would recommend it for anyone trying to learn to use the NXT in LabVIEW. --Dave Vernier, Founder & CEO, Vernier Software & Technology

About the Author

Michael Gasperi is an authority and a well known author of several LEGO MINDSTORMS books. His popular website, LEGO Mindstorms NXT/RCX Sensor Input Page, homebrew sensor chapters in the Extreme MINDSTORMS, and his Extreme NXT book have guided hundreds people through the process of building hardware extensions and programming in alternative languages.

Product Details

• Paperback
• Publisher: NTS Press; 1st edition (November 8, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1934891037
• ISBN-13: 978-1934891032
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.9 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #300,813 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

2 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Labview for NXT, April 28, 2009

By 

Travis De Jong - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: LabVIEW for LEGO MINDSTORMS NXT (Paperback)

A good book that introduces the reader to the LabVIEW side of programming for the NXT.