LEGO Mindstorms NXT
by LEGO
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Toys and Games Reviews of LEGO Mindstorms NXT
Customer Review: A 2-star, "Out-of-box" review, but good news if you stick with it
Summary: 2 Stars
***** December 16, 2009 UPDATE ****
After a very rocky, initial start, my son has grown to REALLY like this product. The problems we had with this "1.0" set are, I think, somewhat resolved by the "2.0" version LEGO Mindstorms NXT 2.0 (8547). In the 2.0 set, they swapped out the "sound" (vibration, really) sensor and gave it a color sensor instead of a light sensor. I'm not that adept at NXT-speak, but my son, having had the 1.0 version for a whole year (and using it every week of the year), would probably love it if I sprang for a 2.0 version set this Christmas, even though there is little that's innovative from the 1.0 set.
So, stick with it, and perhaps you child will like this set, too!
A lot of good reviews have been written on this product, and on the strength of those reviews, I bought this kit for my 12yo son this past Christmas. Today, I want to share with you our out-of-box experience, so you know what you might encounter.
My son was certainly eager to begin building his first robot on Christmas Day. The first suggested robot is the Tribot, I think it's called. It's a three-wheeled robot with claws. We installed the software on the kids' laptop and tried to set-up Bluetooth to communicate between the laptop and the robot. That connection, however, didn't work. Nor did it work on my own laptop, either. After doing some web searches, it looks like our Dell-branded laptops have a Bluetooth implementation that doesn't work (or doesn't work well) with the Lego Mindstorm NXT robots. I don't know if that's a Dell issue, a Lego issue, both or neither. But it was our first disappointment nevertheless.
The next disappointment came after we used the USB cable to install a program in the Tribot. The program was fairly simple -- move forward, sense a ball using a touch sensor and grasp it with the claws, backup an unlimited amount of time until the sound sensor detects noise, then turn around 180 degrees and open the claws. Problem was, the sound sensor apparently kept detecting noise even though we weren't making any, and so the program kept ending prematurely after 1, 5, maybe 8 or 9 or 10 seconds after it began backing up. This quirky behavior greatly deflated my son -- how can you have fun instructing a robot that doesn't follow directions?
I contacted Amazon's Customer Service -- the best! -- and they overnighted a replacement unit. My son built the same robot from kit #2, but this robot had much worse problems than the first: the motors ran in the opposite direction from what the program instructed (and, no, we triple-checked the cabling -- this wasn't an assembly problem), one wheel failed to brake properly, and the reduced-power instruction to the wheels failed to execute properly. Oh, it also exhibited the same problem with the sound sensor, too. And yes, I was running the *exact* same program between the 1st robot and the 2nd robot -- downloaded from the same laptop on which the program was originally written. Yes, I know that we shouldn't have experienced variation in the way the program ran between the two robots. I'm just here to tell you that WE DID. And that was maddening. (I posted the my results on YouTube -- search "bocawade" for the NXT videos).
Now I searched the Internet for answers, and found an enthusiast site where I learned quite a bit [...] First off, the "sound" sensor isn't really detecting sound as much as vibrations. The nuance between "sound" and "vibrations" meant that our robot, running on bumpy living room tile, apparently sensed a vibration where none was intended. That solved our initial problem with the first robot.
Along the way, I discovered a programming language bug that's used to program these robots. Using a Loop block with a Count = 3, the last program instruction before the end of the loop -- a Touch sensor block -- needed to be touched for as many times as the program had looped. In other words, during the first loop, the touch sensor needed to be touched only once to send the loop to the beginning. On the second loop, the touch sensor had to be touched twice, and on the third loop, it had to be touched three times, and so on. This programming language bug was later confirmed by one of the members of the [...] site. To me and my son, though, this was utter nonsense and just continued our frustrations.
Did I mention Lego's technical support? I tried contacting them for answers, but they were really no help whatsoever. Again, the enthusiast site -- [...] -- said that Lego's "technical support" was good for nothing much more than replacing missing pieces from a kit.
It's now a week after Christmas. We're going to ship the 2nd robot kit back to Amazon and keep the first, now that we know what the issues were with the sound sensor. But it was hardly a good week between Dec 25 and Jan 1.
Most people don't have this kind of out-of-box experience, I think. But I'm writing this lengthy review just to forewarn you of some issues you might encounter along the way. Don't look to Lego for technical help. Don't be surprised at a robot that doesn't perform correctly (and your program isn't to blame for that). Don't think a "Sound" sensor is detecting sound like you'd think it would.
I'm still expecting my son will have a lot of fun -- and frustration -- in making robots. Software development can be very frustrating, I know (I'm a software developer by trade). But Lego could provide customers with a better out-of-box experience from the get-go (like, include a few already-written programs along with the software to write programs with, and include videos showing how those programs should affect a specific robot model).
So, the two-star rating is strictly for the out-of-box experience alone.
Customer Review: NXT vs. the original MindStorms for enthusiasts
Summary: 5 Stars
The sensor and motor pieces have a more polished feel about them. They now use a 6-wire pseudo RJ-45 jack instead of a wired up brick. In the original, the sensor/motor pieces looked like regular Lego pieces with a special features sticking out one end, and now they feel like special feature devices that attach to your Legos. They feel more robust, but only time will tell. There are now 7 control pieces where as the original only had 5.
The new motors can be controlled down to the 1 degree level, but the precision seems to depend on how fast you run the motor. The coolest part is you can now read the motor's rotation, so they can act as rotation sensors too. The new motors contain gears within that gear down the rotational speed. Also they now terminate in a rotating hole, where as the original terminated in a rotating shaft. These two slight changes make a huge difference in the construction complexity near your motors. There are mow three motors, which is also a big improvement, but their dual use means you may not be able to use all 3 as motors.
The ultra sonic sensor is the coolest. It can read distance down to the 1cm level, and seems very accurate. It also looks very cool, like a pair of eyes. The sound sensor registers decibels, maxing out at to 100. I don't think it is an accurate measure of decibels, but relative volume is generally the important thing anyway. The touch sensor is tons better than the original, with a larger touch area that sticks out further. I've not worked with the light sensor as much yet, but it seems to work well, and is comparable to the sensor in the original set.
The new software is a great improvement. With the old package I felt like I had outgrown it in 15 minutes. This new package allows you to build a modular flow program as the old one did, but it also lets you get down to the logic and signal level. Your complex programs feel more like schematics than flow charts. It doesn't play annoying sounds on startup The help system is well done and actually helpful. There is more to do out-of-the-box before resorting to overwriting the firmware with a community-built OS. Also, the software says it requires XP SP 2 or higher, but it seems to run OK on my Windows 2000 box, having crashed once.
The new RCX unit is comparable in size and weight to the original. It feels more like a specialized device with a few connectors for attaching to Legos, where the original felt like a big Lego piece with some buttons. The buttons equate to left, right, select, and escape, and the hierarchical built-in interface is easy to navigate. It has a graphical mono LCD screen. You can download images and WAV files to the unit to use in your programs.
USB is so much easier to set up and use than the infrared COM port. I've not used the BlueTooth interface, but it also appears to be more robust and an easier setup.
The original version relied on the long black beams as the staple construction piece, which included both traditional Lego connectors on the top and bottom, and holes on the side for the MindStorms connectors. The new NXT system has almost entirely done away with the traditional Lego connectors, and now uses rounded end beams with MindStorm-style holes only. This may seem at first like a terrible decision, but it works very well in practice. You can still connect to your basic Lego set when building a base structure, and you can build a more complex structure with the tighter MindStorms pieces. This is a great maturing of the product line.
There are other examples of this maturing - There are few wheels, no more rubber bands, and fewer gears. There are many more connector pieces of various new designs, and new ball joint pieces. Overall there are fewer eye candy pieces, but more useful pieces.
No, the old and new MindStorms RCX and motor/sensor pieces are not compatible, but I don't think I'd want them to be. The new version is so much of a leap forward, the old technology would be holding
The packaging is inferior. I wouldn't mention this for most products, but I store my old MindStorms set in the original box. It had compartments to easily sort the pieces, but the new one is just a flimsy box with two cardbord boxes glued to the bottom to hold the NXT pieces. Expect to find a different solution for storing your NXT pieces. I'm switching to old Tupperware containers, and mixing my sets together.
Customer Review: A great toy! But, an even better learning tool.
Summary: 5 Stars
I built my first robot out of a cardboard box (I was inside) and, at the time that was pretty much the same way they did it on TV and in the movies. We've come a long way since then!
My entry point to the NXT robotic platform was in search of a faster, easier way of implementing remote sensing and data accumulation. I had been working with Crossbow motes, but found their "programming" tedious and non-intuitive. I checked out LabView first ($1,000 for the base level) and figured that for a quarter of that price I would get a taste of the software plus ready-to-use sensors and servomotors. I was pleased beyond my most optimistic expectations!
I won't repeat the other reviews other than to say that the first "rover" was done in less than 30 minutes (once I figured out that its parts were in the smaller box labeled "open me first") and I am a long way from being a Lego wizard.
What I want to do is clear up some of the confusion that might result from reading other reviewers' remarks about the software: for its intended purpose, the LabView "lite" is perfect. And what is that purpose, you might wonder: to enable kids ages 8+ to actually write robotics code, take measurements and control motion.
In contrast to "left-brained" logic with typed instructions (e.g. C/C++, BASIC, etc.) this is "right-brained" symbolic, intuitive programming. You don't have to write code for a "do loop", just drag a "loop block" and it will "do" what is needed. Variables? Just drag a "wire" from block to block and the data will be where you need it. Interrupts? You can have multiple threads and each can be waiting for specific data and react when it appears. Debug? Okay, it's trial and error, but the trials are short and the errors easy to fix.
As for execution speed of the compiler, I tried it on both a Mac and a PC (both about 1GHz and latest software, etc.) and found the PC to be significantly slower and quirkier but still very easy to use. (note: the install on my PC was a real pain, but trivial on the Mac)
Now for the good (read "geek") part: the Lego folks are making the SDK's for the processor and the Bluetooth interface available soon and there are alternative ways to create programs for the brick even now using C/C++ like instructions. The processor is ARM-based (it's everywhere, it's everywhere!) so writing assembler is not out of the question as there are plenty of tools available.
BUT! Don't fault Lego for not making kids learn assembler or C++ or for not making the memory 1GB rather than 256K. It's a toy!
Yeah right, a way cool toy. . ..
Customer Review: Impressive evolution for MindStorms
Summary: 5 Stars
My NXT set just arrived by FedEx this afternoon. I'm a parent of two (6 and 3-year old) so this is mainly for me for now. I was an early adopter of the first generation of Mindstorms, so naturally I pre-ordered the NXT. I've played with it for two hours, so these are my initial impressions:
- the new motors are Wonderful -- they work as motors or servos (you tell them which angle to go to). They look futuristic and robot-y
- it comes with an ultrasound distance sensor -- whoa that's neat!
- All of the sensors are "slick-looking", and seem to work very well.
- the brick display is quite nice, but the interface is a bit niggly. Lots of nested menus. My 3 year-old managed to delete the built in demo program by button twiddling. It was easy to restore, though.
- the box itself (the "out of box experience") is disappointing. You have to punch out some quarter-circles to allow it to hinge, but they're poorly serrated, so the tears come out ugly. The inner boxes are hard to open so you end up messing those up. In short, the previous mindstorms box was a great long-term storage solution. This one is going in the trash. As a first impression, it's pretty poor.
- back to the good: there's a "quick-start guide" that gets you building a simple robot that is run by a built in demo program. It's perfect: not difficult, but not trivial -- it makes noises and moves around. The kids were enchanted.
- the "powered by LabView" programming environment seems halfway between the nerd-y LabView system that you could buy from Dacta and the totally bozo thing bundled with the old Mindstorms. It doesn't have that "rocket scientist" feel of the old LabView environment, which is both good (it's more self-guided) and bad (I don't see how to zoom out so that I can see complex programs all at once, for example.
All in all, this thing is very impressive, has lots of staying power, and since it supports MacOS X, I'll actually use it, and will most likely pull out my old MindStorms and combine parts. Thanks, Lego -- keep up the great work!
Customer Review: Mindstorm NXT
Summary: 5 Stars
I loved the NXT from the start. It is the newest edition in the mindstorm series, and it has many componnents. It has an ultrasonic sensor, used to measure distance; it has a sound sensor; a light sensor (it can even sense different hues); a touch sensor; and three servo motors. There are two mndstorms sets, the educational one, and the normal one. The educational one does not contain as many parts as the normal one. The mindstorms NXT set comes with a cd that you use to program the robot that you build. The ce provides 4 challenges, each rated based on its difficulty level. To program, simply choose the appropriate block to paste on the main board ,and tweak it. For example, You can choose the gears box to tell the robot to go, then tweak it so the robot goes backwards. It is really easy to read the instructions with the manual that comes with the nxt and on the software itself. The users manual gives information on the nxt brain (the big white box), the various components, and the software. You can build your own robot, but I strongly recommend that any beginner should start on the box marked START HERE to get a hang on the NXT. There are only enough cables to support all the components at once, and no extras. The first robot uses every component, and there are different challenges for every component. The robot on the front of the NXT box is the "humanoid" robot which is one of teh four challenges. You can also build a bot that sorts different colored objects. To connect the nxt to the computer, you can use the usb cable supplied, or a bluetooth connector. You can use a bluetooth enabled cellphone to control the nxt. There are over a 100 parts in the whole set.
There are also various books and tools that you can buy to explore the nxt even more. One of these books is called Mindstorms NXT: The Mayan Adventure, by James Floyd Kelly.
Overall, this kit is really worth the rating of five-star to all those mindstorm and robot enthusiasts.
Happy building and programming!