FOR YOUNG USERS This product will immediately engage young users in building and programming the layouts that come with the kit. This alone makes it worth twice the cost. The programming environment is easy, yet the possibilities it offers will draw your kids into thinking and problem-solving. Learning and having fun at the same time: What a great idea!

FOR ADULTS Lego robots are used in graduate courses at MIT and Indiana University, among other schools. The programming environment is robust enough that it can support exercises in artificial intelligence. Check the NET: there are people out there posting advanced code for the Lego OS, writing new operating systems for the Mindstorms platform, and posting instructions for their own robotic creations. It is fun and educational for adults, too!

PURCHASING RECOMMENDATION The Robotics Invention System is the best entry point to Mindstorms, in my opinion. The programming options are much greater because of the ability to program on a PC with this kit. The lower-priced Mindstorms kits, such as the Robotics Discovery set do not allow programming from the PC. The programs are limited to what is included in the on-board processing module. That means the Robotics Discovery robots cannot do nearly as much as you can program the Robotics Invention System robots to do.

I was quite surprised, and delighted that after the first evening, he was not only able to assemble the training robot (Pathfinder 1), but design, write and download a rudimentary program by himself. He was able to do so because this "toy" has been *designed* by people who went to great effort to ensure that children would be able to readily grasp the programming concepts required.

The Robotics Invention System consists of an RCX programming brick, in which you place 6 AA batteries, various lego pieces, including gears, wheels, axles, treads, as well as the more or less conventional pieces. The first step is to assemble a robot out of these pieces. The RCX brick has three outputs and three inputs, and comes with two motors, a light sensor and a pressure sensor.

After the robot is assembled, the next step is to write the program. In this System, the program is written on a PC, in a very intuitive language that consists of logic blocks that attached to each other, forming the program - an example of a block is one that turns on any or all of the three outputs. Another example is a logic block that waits for an input to occur before continuing execution of the rest of the program. There are perhaps 40 various basic logic blocks, that when combined, are able to produce astonishingly complex behavour in the robot.

After the program is written, it is downloaded to the brick via an infrared link, after which it can be executed - you can store approx. 5 programs in the brick at any time.

Although the age suggestion is 12+, I would recommend this toy to anyone who is able to build the ages 7+ kits. Adult assistance will be required for anyone under 8 or 9, until the basic concepts are understood. I would also suggest that the adult providing the assistance go thru the training exercises before attempting to assist his/her child.

In conclusion, this is probably the best designed educational toy that I have every come across. It is intuitive to program and use, and unlike other lego kits, is not simply a matter of following someone else's design - building the robot is only part of the solution - programming the robot is the other. There are also suggestions provided for increasingly more complex problems to solve.

Believe me! The Robotics Sets are a real breaktrough in the products that we use to call toys. INVEST on it! You will NEVER regreat! The Product comes with a CD-ROM and several beautifully illustrated books. One Advice: A Multimedia PC is needed for the Mindstorms Robotic Invention System 1.5, and some experience with the PC will help a lot to enjoy Mindstorms faster and better. Also, Lego has an excellent website to support these products. But if you or your kids do not want to deal with a PC, then try the Robotics Discovery Set. With this you can also have very sofisticated projects and their use is simpler. I bough both and I am planning to buy another Robotics Invention System 1.5. My sons (boy, 13, and girl 15) were playing with them just 2-3 hours after they opened, and without any help! These Robotics Sets will make one of the most important and unforgetable gifts you ever made to your kids and even yourself. You need to see it to believe it. I STRONGLY recommend these Robotics Sets to all parents that really care how their kids invest their time, and toys that will help them to growth healtier, better, and one (or several) step(s) ahead of other's intelligence and creativity development. Enjoy it!