- Paperback: 385 pages
- Publisher: APress; Bk&CD-Rom edition (1 Jan 2000)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 1893115097
- ISBN-13: 978-1893115095
- Product Dimensions: 23 x 18.6 x 2.4 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 1,765,893 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- See Complete Table of Contents
Dave Baum's Definitive Guide To LEGO MINDSTORMS, Second E...
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Product Description
Amazon.co.uk Review
Dismissed by many as a toy, Lego's Mindstorms sets are in fact incredibly powerful robotics construction kits capable of producing machines as complex or as simple as the user wishes. While it's possible to build with the manufacturer's (rather good) instructions straight from the box, to get the very best from these excellent toys it's essential to get hold of a good book on the subject--like Dave Baum's Definitive Guide to LEGO Mindstorms, for example.
In 300 pages, Baum covers an enormous amount of territory, starting with Lego's own relatively simple programming system before moving on to the more complex, but infinitely more useful, NQC--a programming system written by the author specifically for Mindstorms. The text is concise yet manages to cover a lot of ground. The description of NQC and command reference alone makes this book worth its weight in gold. There's a great chapter on construction techniques and many step-by-step 3D drawings of how to build several core robot types. Handy appendices include short reviews of all the Mindstorms kits and suggestions for Lego extras which will help create the most flexible system possible.
Used in conjunction with the kits themselves, this is both an invaluable learning aid for the young and a great companion for those of us who need to invent imaginary children to justify playing with Lego to a partner. --Chris Russell
Synopsis
The Lego Mindstorms Robotics Invention System was introduced in 1998, and quickly became Lego's best-selling kit. From its surveys, Lego found that the median purchasing age for the Mindstorms kit is 23. The Mindstorms Programmable Brick, called the RCX, contains a microcomputer that enables those who build the robots to then program their movement. Sensors and motors can be attached to the RCX and an ordinary Lego model can move, sense and respond to its environment. The Mindstorms kit does include basic instructions and sample robots, but these are not comprehensive. This book includes a variety of new robots, explanations for readers, and theory behind the practice of building robots.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Good book to get you going beyond the LEGO challenges,
By Nick Leteney (Congleton, Cheshire United Kingdom) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Dave Baum's Definitive Guide to Lego (R) Mindstorms (TM) (Technology in Action) (Paperback)
The book covers both the mechanical building of some robots and the programming. There are a good number of robots to work through with some good ideas to to help you improve your building designs. The book covers the LEGO brick programming, but the included CD also contains NQC, which although a little technical, is far more powerfull. The book does not cover other programming tools, which is OK as its better to have one covered in depth than skim over a larger number. Definitely worth buying. The only complaint (which is why I don't think it is worth the 5 stars) is that almost half the robots need additional pieces, such as a rotation sensor, extra motor or steering rack.
4 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A very good book... if you can follow it.,
By A Customer
This review is from: Dave Baum's Definitive Guide to Lego (R) Mindstorms (TM) (Technology in Action) (Paperback)
Dave Baum is obviously very experienced in the fields of mechanical engineering and computer programming, and, as is my experience with most such people, does not make a very good teacher. Nevertheless, he gives it a go - but he assumes too much knowledge of computing languages and mechanics from his readers (do you know what bitwiseAND and bitwiseOR mean? Or what a "platform" is in computing?)Aside from this, the book is fascinating, and definitely worth buying if you are interested in programming your RCX in a language other than RCX code - some tuition is better than none at all. Tha author advises reading through this book as a starting point for Mindstorms building, however, I would say familiarise yourself with the set first, then go on to the book.
1 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Great Book,
By A Customer
This review is from: Dave Baum's Definitive Guide to Lego (R) Mindstorms (TM) (Technology in Action) (Paperback)
This is a great book, which covers many aspects of the popular LEGO MINDSTORMS. It has many interesting chapters on building robots and programming in NQC which is complex unless you are a programmer. One problem I have which is also why I gave 4 stars is that the pictures are not clear and most of the robots require addtional(and of course the most expensive) parts
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