The Lego Mindstorms NXT Zoo!
by Rhodes, FayFormat: Trade Paper
Pub. Date: 2008-02-01
Publisher(s): No Starch Press
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Summary
LEGO MINDSTORMS NXT Zoo! offers step-by-step instructions for building nine animal robots with the NXT Robotics System. Using the book's detailed building and programming instructions, kids (and their parents) are introduced to the MINDSTORMS NXT kit as they build animal- like models of a rabbit, spider, peacock, stegosaurus, and more! But these models don't just sit there-they walk, crawl, hop, and roll. The book will also show you how to make the models sound like the real animals that inspired them. Troubleshooting tips help builders avoid common pitfalls and parts lists make sure they have everything they need before building. An appendix includes ideas for teachers using these models in the classroom.
Author Biography
Fay Rhodes is co-author of The LEGO MINDSTORMS NXT Idea Book (No Starch), a 2007 member of LEGO's MINDSTORMS Community Partners (MCP), and the only female contributor to the NXT Step Blog.
Table of Contents
| Preface | p. xi |
| The right stuff: do you have what it takes to build "living" robots? | p. 1 |
| The starting point | p. 1 |
| Some parts are recommended, not required | p. 2 |
| The education resource set-recommended for everyone | p. 2 |
| Hassenpins-an NXT favorite | p. 2 |
| 3 x 5 L shape with quarter ellipse beams | p. 3 |
| Where to find parts | p. 3 |
| Peeron | p. 3 |
| Pick-a-brick | p. 5 |
| TECHNIC accessories | p. 5 |
| Companion website | p. 7 |
| The zookeeper's guide: what you need to know to create the animals in the NXT zoo | p. 9 |
| Coast vs. brake | p. 9 |
| Direction | p. 9 |
| Downloading a program from your computer to the NXT brick | p. 10 |
| Changing inches to centimeters | p. 10 |
| My blocks | p. 11 |
| Pins | p. 14 |
| Port selection | p. 14 |
| Power settings | p. 14 |
| Hip-hoppers: an NXT frog and rabbit | p. 15 |
| Ribbit: an NXT frog | p. 15 |
| Building ribbit | p. 17 |
| Wiring connections | p. 28 |
| Bunny: an NXT rabbit | p. 30 |
| Building bunny | p. 31 |
| Wiring connections | p. 45 |
| Programming ribbit and bunny | p. 45 |
| Hopping program #1: Random hopping | p. 46 |
| Hopping program #2: Create your own pattern | p. 51 |
| Sandy: an NXT camel | p. 57 |
| Building sandy | p. 58 |
| Legs (build four) | p. 59 |
| Full assembly | p. 63 |
| Wiring connections | p. 78 |
| Programming sandy | p. 79 |
| My block: camelwalk | p. 79 |
| The main program | p. 82 |
| Spiderbot: an NXT spider | p. 85 |
| Building spiderbot | p. 86 |
| Pause now to test your robot's legs | p. 100 |
| Wiring connections | p. 103 |
| Programming spiderbot | p. 103 |
| Snout: an NXT 'gator | p. 111 |
| Building snout | p. 112 |
| Base | p. 113 |
| Back feet (build two) | p. 120 |
| Head | p. 122 |
| Left leg | p. 126 |
| Right leg | p. 131 |
| Tail | p. 135 |
| Full assembly | p. 140 |
| Wiring connections | p. 142 |
| Programming snout | p. 144 |
| Gator_walk | p. 144 |
| Gator_mouth | p. 147 |
| The main program | p. 152 |
| LEGOsaurus: an NXT dinosaur | p. 155 |
| Building LEGOsaurus | p. 156 |
| Base | p. 156 |
| Legs (build four) | p. 163 |
| Armor | p. 166 |
| Full assembly | p. 169 |
| Wiring connections | p. 180 |
| Need some help troubleshooting this robot? | p. 180 |
| Programming LEGOsaurus | p. 180 |
| Pygmy: an NXT elephant | p. 187 |
| Building pygmy | p. 188 |
| Base | p. 189 |
| Head | p. 202 |
| Legs (build four) | p. 215 |
| Trunk | p. 219 |
| Full assembly | p. 220 |
| Wiring connections | p. 223 |
| Programming pygmy | p. 223 |
| My block: elephant | p. 223 |
| The main program | p. 226 |
| Polecat: an NXT skunk | p. 229 |
| Building polecat | p. 230 |
| Body | p. 231 |
| Head | p. 237 |
| Tail | p. 241 |
| Full assembly | p. 257 |
| Connecting the cannon trigger | p. 258 |
| Wiring connections | p. 258 |
| Programming polecat | p. 259 |
| My block: Tail | p. 260 |
| The main program | p. 261 |
| Final program with multiple runs | p. 264 |
| Strutter: an NXT peacock | p. 265 |
| Building strutter | p. 266 |
| Front wheel (build two) | p. 268 |
| Left wing | p. 269 |
| Right wing | p. 271 |
| Full assembly | p. 274 |
| A pulley system for the wings #1 | p. 292 |
| A pulley system for the wings #2 | p. 299 |
| Wiring connections | p. 299 |
| Troubleshooting tip | p. 299 |
| Programming strutter | p. 300 |
| Shake | p. 300 |
| ShakePlus | p. 303 |
| The whole program | p. 305 |
| Enrichment ideas for teachers | p. 307 |
| Ultrasound | p. 307 |
| Mathematical calculations in NXT-G programming | p. 307 |
| Simple machines | p. 308 |
| Ideas for investigation | p. 308 |
| What is the best leg length for your robot? | p. 309 |
| How does leg design affect the center of gravity? | p. 309 |
| How does the method of programming a robotic turn affect the result? | p. 309 |
| How can you make a specific robot go exactly where you want it to go? | p. 309 |
| How does weight distribution affect function? | p. 310 |
| How can we accurately program a turn in a specific walking robot? | p. 310 |
| Which string is best for use on pulleys in robots such as pygmy and strutter? | p. 310 |
| Using your findings | p. 311 |
| The arts | p. 311 |
| Troubleshooting | p. 313 |
| Are your gears grinding and pulling the robot apart? | p. 313 |
| What if your robot walks in place, instead of moving forward? | p. 315 |
| Does your robot seem to be ignoring your programming directions? | p. 316 |
| Whatever you do... | p. 316 |
| Web resources for the NXT | p. 317 |
| Index | p. 319 |
| Table of Contents provided by Ingram. All Rights Reserved. |
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