Customer Reviews

Maximum Lego NXT: Building Robots with Java Brains

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

This book was published before it was ready. There are numerous inaccuracies, misleading statements, missing steps, incorrect file names, vague references, poorly written instructions and aggrivating projects that just plain don't work or suddenly leave you in the dark

This book has many good ideas and interesting topics BUT...

NOT FOR THE NEW JAVA PROGRAMMER

Even intermediate would be pushing it.

Right from the beginning nothing works as the book describes:
- LEJOS installation instructions are wildly incorrect
- Developer environment installation and setup instructions are missing critical steps
- Critical explanations and critical steps are missing throughout
- Explanations will suddenly jump from explaining the basics to saying things like "Now download your favorite free chess program and hack it to control your chess playing robotic arm." -- Uh....okay..
- Bluetooth set-up and operation does not work as described and steps are again - missing.
- If you can't get bluetooth working, you can't do some of the projects and here again the technical level jumps from very basic to expert.
- Programs can only be run ONCE then must be downloaded again to run them again.

I'm sorely disappointed.
The LEJOS project has a LOT of great potential and I will return to it at a future date but as it currently stands this book has left a very sour taste in my mouth.
Publishing this book should have waited at least until book and product match up.
It needed a lot more proof reading.
Releasing the book in its current state only damages any LEJOS following that it could have inspired and damages the readers trust in the reputation of an author that is intelligent and very knowledgeable.

Despite the nasty reviews surrounding this book, I strongly dis-agree. I thought this book was extremely helpful. I am a java programmer but my work is in the data integration area. This book really helped me to step out of the box and start programming movement between motors,sensors,etc. I enjoy all of Brian's writings, blogs, books, etc. You won't find a better book about programming NXT bricks with Java. And who expects a 12 year old to pick up this book and understand? It's a book most suitable for experienced java programmers.

Received a few days ago, still getting through it. This book seems to be for people with at least some familiarity with Java.

Pros: Reasonable instructions for building a bunch of different robots, a long with some 'patterns' that can be used for your own creations; Full software listings of Java programs to control robots; seems well written with an easy to read style.

Cons: Construction plans not colour, making it difficult to follow at times; discussion of Java programs not necessarily as thorough as could be; Java discussion in general seems a bit thin; Java set up instructions seem a little glossed over.

Conclusion: It seems that this book is pitched at someone who knows at least a little bit of Java, or at the very least wants to learn about Java, and also wants to get into mindstorms. Since that pretty much sums me up, I think it is worth it's weight in gold. For those who are not familiar with Java, I think this book will still be a useful addition to the mindstorms library, however there may be better alternatives. As a Lego Mindstorms Java book for Java developers, it gets *6* stars, but as a pure Mindstorms book for those with little Java skills, I can see it could easily get knocked down to 3 or 4 stars.

Finally, not to put too fine a point on it, this book is about a hojillion times better than "LEGO MINDSTORMS NXT Hacker's Guide", as this book actually gives some practical building instructions along with code to do some fairly cool stuff.

Although the book sounds otherwise, it is in fact a good start for advanced programmers. A lot of the code does not work right out of the box, but provides a good starting point for advanced programmers to build on. If you are a beginning java programmer, this book probably is not for you because it deals with concepts that are incomplete as described in the book, but an intermediate-to-advanced programmer can take these concepts and modify them as need be and quickly make easy projects more advanced. Overall, I think this is an excellent book but should be used by individuals with experience in programming in contemporary languages.

If you are one of those Java guys, hands on, and a mechanical control lover, this is a book you don't want to miss.

From programming point of view, some very useful topics are Bluetooth setup (both Window and Linux), Serial Communication setup, Vision detection, and Voice Control. You will be amazed of how you can realize those technologies into controlling an NXT.

There are still many other interesting subjects from machanical/control point of view. This includes using GPS receiver(where you can learn NMEA Data format). It also shows you a NXT versioned Rocker-Bogie for rough terrain (I was really amaized how it works once I built a prototype). There is one special section to show you how to build a differencial gear using standard NXT parts. This really comes handy for a new Lego user who do not have an old differencial gear.

This book also includes quite some attractive design like R2me2 (resemble R2D2), Moon Buggy, Beckhambot, Mapping Robot, and number 0.5 (resembles number 5). I do like their 'abstract' concept of the design.

However, there are also negative part about this book.
1. Some photo pictures is not very clear to follow. Either too small or too dark to see the details.
2. Some mechanical design does not make it turn well (like Mapping Robot). But I guess this is due to lack of proper parts (such as differencial gear which was not included in the NXT package).

Has several very good programming ideas and robot concepts suitable for teaching programming to high school / college robot teams. This early edition is still full of errors in regards to Java code. If one knows Java well then you can spot the errors and not be bothered by them. However, if one is a novice with Java then you won't realize the errors in the supplied code and be frustrated when nothing is working. Needs a timely revision to earn a five star rating.

Like others I spent a couple of long days finding the errors that are contained in the early chapters of this book. Maybe it's a reflection of a project delivered by a niche publisher without the oversight of a good editor, but it really does detract from the rest of the contents. In any case be warned that even the errata published on the web site, as well as other internet sources do not completely address the fundamental issues of installing and running LeJOS. It's too bad that what otherwise appears as an interesting work is so flawed.

The author blames problems in the book on a version of lejos software release which is not yet released. Unfortunately the issues with the book have as much to do with poor writing/editing as it does with software unavailability. Some examples:
1. Page 29 states "2. ...Plug in your USB cble and type lejosfirmdl
In and of itself this instruction sounds very straightforward. However, none of the previous steps identify or open an application where typing is allowed. After spending considerable amount of time on a lejos.org forum the reader discovers the command needs to be typed in at an MS DOS command line. Maybe readers are supposed to be telepathic but a simple description of where the comand is supposed to be typed would be a nice touch.
2 Pages 31-33 describe the dowloading and setup of an Integrated DEvelopment Enterprise. The instructions are reasonably detailed but step 8 referes to three leJOS NXJ tools but the previous steps only create two. Somehow you are supposed to know about the third.

It would be nice if the author delayed release of the book until:
1. The software version was released or at least a sure thing to be released or, as several individuals have asked on the lejos forum, developed clear instructions dealing with the current released version of leJOS.
2. Spent sufficient time editing the book to identify basic problems similar to the ones mentioned above.

In this case the rush to market has significantly detracted from the quality of the book.

Got this book for our 12-year-old. Too difficult. Good for those who have studied computer programming.

I'm a Computer Engineer with interests in many fields of Computer Science. I really enjoyed this book: It gives you a really quick start in building your NXT Robots with algorithms in Java language. Really clear instructions for new Robot building, excellent ideas for expanding your possible Mindstorms uses.