Extreme Mindstorms: an Advanced Guide to Lego Mindstorms (Paperback)

by Dave Baum (Author), Michael Gasperi (Author), Ralph Hempel (Author), Luis Villa (Author), David Baum (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
<p>Three MINDSTORMS experts have joined with the maintainer of the legOS HOWTO to produce the book that all advanced users of LEGO MINDSTORMS have been waiting for. Each author has written material based on his specialty. Dave Baum shows you how to take NQC to its limits. Ralph Hempel explains the ins and outs of pbForth. Michael Gasperi teaches you how to build numerous custom sensors with simple, systematic instructions. Luis Villa show you how (and when) to upgrade MINDSTORMS' built-in operating system to take advantage of the extra power of legOS, a complete C environment for the RCX.</p> <p><i>Extreme MINDSTORMS: An Advanced Guide to LEGO MINDSTORMS</i> starts with an overview of the RCX firmware and includes a whole chapter on the new RCX 2.0 firmware. Next, the book concentrates on the steps needed to build Seeker, a Light-Seeking Robot, and to program it in NQC. Later chapters extend Seeker's functionality using pbForth and legOS. The book concludes with two chapters on building both custom passive and custom powered sensors. These sensors can take LEGO MINDSTORMS to levels impossible to achieve with just the parts supplied in the box or available through normal channels.</p>

About the Author
Dave Baum is a principal staff engineer at Motorola. With the advent of LEGO MINDSTORMS, Baum was able to combine two of his favorite pastimes: programming and building with LEGO. He then developed Not Quite C (NQC), a powerful language for programming MINDSTORMS robots that has been widely accepted by advanced users.Michael Gasperi works as a principal engineer with the Advanced Technology division of Rockwell Automation. He became involved with homebuilding custom sensors for LEGO MINDSTORMS shortly after it was introduced in 1997.

Ralph Hempel is a professional engineer who specializes in embedded systems design. Ralph holds a degree in electrical engineering from the University of Waterloo. LEGO had been a part of Ralph’s life since the late 1960s, but when he bought a set for his son Owen in 1997, the flame was rekindled. Besides building original Technic and Town models with his family, Ralph enjoys snowboarding, mountain biking, and playing blues harmonica.

Luis Villa is an undergraduate at Duke University studying computer science. He rediscovered LEGO and became an expert in LEGOS while preparing to become a teacher’s assistant for a Duke course that used LEGO MINDSTORMS.Besides maintaining the legOS HOWTO, Luis spends his spare time studying political theory and attending lots of Blue Devil basketball games.

Product Details

• Paperback: 347 pages
• Publisher: Apress; 1st edition (October 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1893115844
• ISBN-13: 978-1893115842
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 7.4 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.7 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #755,144 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

47 of 49 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Book!, November 10, 2000

By	Daniel Mills (Boston, MA United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I recommend this book to anyone who wants to do some serious programming with the Lego Mindstorms kit. The four authors are experts in different areas like LegOS, NQC, pbForth, and even on making your own sensors for the robot.

The illustrations are very well done and make building the robots a simple task. The programming examples are very clear, and easy to follow, yet still fun to do. I particularly like the variety of the book. There are many projects, and they illustrate different features of the robots and the different programming envorinments. On the desktop side, it has examples on getting the system working on several platforms, like Linux, or Microsoft Windows.

This is most certainly the best advanced Lego Mindstorms book you'll find, and at a great price, too.

31 of 35 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good and not too extreme, November 28, 2000

By	Monica Stewart (Seattle, WA USA) - See all my reviews

I don't know if I like the "Extreme" in the title. In many ways this book just covers the basics. In some ways I like this book better than Baum's "Defintive Guide to LEGO Mindstorms", because it's not so NQC centric. In other ways I prefer the DGLM because it had more info on structural issues. There is a knack to making good LEGO structures, and a few tips really come in handy. I would have to say that I find the DGLM more extreme as far as the variety and originality of the projects.

11 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Extreme Mindstorms ... Extremely Excellent, February 24, 2001

By	Lonewolf Astronomer "a fellow reader and life... (Trevor, Wisconsin USA) - See all my reviews

Want to take your Mindstorms creations to new hieghts? Go beyond RIS? The ya have to get this book, a follow up to Dave Baum's Definitive Guide to Lego Mindstorms. You will not only see more NQC programming, but pbForth as well, and an excellent section on constructing your own sensors. If your the kid who doesn't grow up, an engineer at heart, and the owner of more than one RIS set because you are obssessed with Lego Mindstorms, then you cannot do without adding this book to your collection.