Pulito – Featuring DFlex
Over the summer we installed hardwood flooring - which needs constant sweeping and cleaning . What to What to Well, most of us would just sweep it, right? Some of us might even go buy a Roomba. But, then again, some of us build something to do it for them. Why? Because we Pulito (Italian for 'clean') is simply put, a sweeper robot. Much like a Swiffer and Roomba combined. The intent was…
Old School Touch Sensor Multiplexing on the NXT
I find that I am often using this approach for getting more touch sensors on my NXT without using multiple ports. So, for the sake of prosperity, I wanted to keep a record of the setup. If you are have a set of Cybermaster Touch Sensors hanging around, you can multiplex them for use on the NXT. Years ago, these sensors were quite rare, but now they can be readily found on Bricklink for…
Review – Dexter Industries – DI Thermal Series Sensor Roundup (Updated)
I recently had the chance to test out a set of Dexter Industries Thermal Sensors produced for the NXT. For those that are not aware, Dexter Industries has entered the market of producing LEGO Mindstorms NXT-compatible sensors and has come up with some pretty cool ideas such as the dSwitch (allows you to switch in-home devices on/off using the NXT) and some cool new ideas such as solar charging for the NXT as well as…
dSwitch Aquasaurs Temp Monitor
We recently picked up one of those Aquasaurs kits for the kids - which lets you hatch and care for some neat little aquatic fish (or shrimp) that date back to pre-historic times. After reading the instructions we got everything set-up and all was good, until we read the part about the temp of the water needing to remain between 72 - 80F. Problem is, we tend to keep our house around 70ish, and…
DualGrip-NXT Rover
Sometimes I build robots that attempt to solve real world challenges. Other times, robots are built based on random ideas. This robot is a case of solving a LEGO challenge - specifically, with their Technic tracks/treads #575518. At no fault of theirs, these plastic tracks are slippery on many surfaces. Great for carpets, flat areas, dirt (if you dare) - and great for turning as well. However, when you try to climb with them, they…
BrickSorter
What better way to test a colour sensor then to create a brick sorting robot! After getting my hands on a HiTechnic colour sensor, I first took a stab at creating a robot that could navigate a room and detect colour. There was only one problem, it could not really do what I was hoping for. I was nieve in thinking that I could build this robot and it could detect colours from a distance.…
UNV
April 2007: Your first question is probably "what does UNV stand for?". Well, its nothing special - I simply could not come up with a name for it, so what better way to tag it then simply unnamed vehicle. After receiving a bunch of the new tread links, I wanted to create something grand with them. Scouting the web, I came across these multi-purpose robots (see below) that can be outfitted for police / bomb…
WiFiCamBot
Jan 2008: WifiCamBot was one of my adventures in building a robot that could be remotely driven around while transmitting video via a live feed through an IP-based network camera wirelessly. The idea came from my wanting to do something simple. Survey underneath my deck to see what sort of critters etc were making a home there. The deck was high enough for a rover-like vehicle to fit and drive around. I did not want…
DynaTrax
December 2006: Sometimes my robot building ideas are spurred by nothing more than wanting to make use of one or more cool items that I get from time-to-time. In this case it's two - tread tracks that can be had if you own the Technic Snowmobile (8272) and a TechnoStuff Tilt/Accel Sensor. I was fortunate to have received a huge bag (a few hundred segments along with wheels) of the new tread tracks a while…
CT1
Feb 2007: CT1 was a quick build to test the HiTechnic Colour sensor that I recently received. Being the type that does not read the fine print that often, I had it in my mind that I would build a robot that could navigate around and rhyme off colours of objects that it "saw". It was not until I tested it that objects have to be within 10mm distance to get any sort of decent…