Build and Program Your Own LEGO Mindstorms EV3 Robots

Build and Program Your Own LEGO®  MINDSTORMS® EV3  Robots Absolutely no experience needed! Build and program amazing robots with the new LEGO MINDSTORMS EV3! With LEGO MINDSTORMS EV3, you can do modern robotics without complex wiring or soldering! This step-by-step, full-color tutorial teaches all you need to know, including basic programming skills most introductory guides skip. Even better—it’s packed with hands-on projects! Start by “unboxing” your new EV3 kit and getting to know every component: motors, sensors, connections, remotes, and the EV3’s more powerful, easier-to-program “brick.” Then walk through building your first “bots”…creating more sophisticated robots with wheels and motors…engineering for strength and balance…“driving” your robot…building robots that recognize colors and do card tricks…and more! LEGO MINDSTORMS EV3 robotics is the perfect pathway into science and technology… and this book is the easiest way to get started, even if you have absolutely no robotics or programming experience!   Explore your new EV3 kit: both the retail “Home”  and LEGO “Education” versions Get foolproof help with building the Track3r and other standard robots Build cars and tanks, and hack them to do even more Write programs that enable your robots to make their own decisions Improve your programs with feedback Handle more sophisticated engineering and programming tasks Troubleshoot problems that keep your robot from moving Get involved with the worldwide MINDSTORMS® robotics community Marziah Karch is Senior Instructional Designer at NWEA, a Google Expert at About.com, and Senior Web Editor at GeekMom. She has more than a decade of experience in instructional technology and was senior educational technologist for Johnson County Community College, where she also taught interactive media development. She holds a master’s degree in Instructional Design and Technology, and is pursuing a doctorate in Library and Information Science. Her hands-on technology experience ranges from 3D animation to multimedia learning, content management to music video creation. She has extensively explored the educational potential of LEGO robotics. She is the author of Android Tablets Made Simple. This book is not authorized or endorsed by the LEGO® Group.

Table of Contents:
&> Chapter 1 What’s In the Box? 1 Unboxing MINDSTORMS EV3 2 The LEGO Family Tree 6     LEGO DUPLO 6     LEGO System Bricks 6     LEGO Technic 6 Core LEGO Units 7     Beams 8     Angled Beams 10     Beam Frames 12     Pegs 12     Axles 15     Bushings 16     Axle Connectors 17     Ball Joints 19     Gears 20 Parts with Flair 26     Wings 26     Spikes 27     Other Decorative Parts 28 The Brains and Brawn 30     EV3 Intelligent Brick 30     Servos 34     Sensors 35     Cables 37 Summary 40    Chapter 2 What’s In the LEGO Education Box? 41 Storage Box 41 Color Scheme 44 Ball Caster 45 Tank Tracks 46 Rechargeable Battery Pack 47 Sensors 48     Touch Sensors 48     Gyro Sensor 49     Sonic Sensor 50 Gears 50 The Expansion Set 53     Extra Wheels 53     Extra Beam Frame Elements 54     Gears and Joints 59     Tank Cleats 65     Wings and Other Decorative Pieces 66 Summary 70   Chapter 3 Comparing the EV3 and NXT 71 The NXT Versus the NXT 2.0 Versus the EV3 71 The Brick 73     Sensor and Motor Connections 74     The Sides 76     Programming 77 Advanced and Alternative Programming Environments 78 Part Compatibility 80     Sensors 80     Motors 80     Batteries 80 Summary 81   Chapter 4 Building Your First Bots 83 Downloading Instructions 83 The EV3 Starter Robots 84     Track3r 85     R3ptar 91     Spik3r 93     Ev3rstorm 97     Gripp3r 102     Bonus Bots 106 Summary 107   Chapter 5 Building the LEGO Education Bots 109 Educator Vehicle 109 Gyro Boy 111 Color Sorter 114 Puppy 115 Arm 116 Expansion Models 116     The Elephant 117     Tank Bot 118     Znap 119     Remote Control 119     The Stair Climber 120     Color Spinner Factory 121  Summary 123   Chapter 6 Hacking What You Have 125 Project 1: The Car 125     Testing 131     Troubleshooting the Flaws 132 Project 2: Hack Your Tank 133 Project 3: Modify the Educator Bot 137     Modify the Design 139     Substitute for the Caster Ball 141 Summary 147   Chapter 7 Make Your First EV3 Program 149 About the LEGO Education Software 149 Getting Started 150     Navigating from the Lobby 150     Creating a New Project 152 Getting to Know the Programming Canvas 153     Program List 155     Select or Pan Button 155     Comment 156     Save, Undo, or Redo 156     Zoom 156     The Content Editor 156     The Programming Canvas, Blocks, and the Palette 158     The Connection Area 159 Writing Your First Program 159     Flowcharting 160     Dragging Blocks Onto the Programming Canvas 161     Changing Modes 162     Checking Your Ports 164     Making the Bot Move 165         Moving the Wheels 166         Controlling Bot Direction 167         Adjusting Motor Power and Speed 168         Adjusting Rotation Count 168     Connecting Your EV3 to Your Computer 169     Making Decisions and Using Loops 172     Saving Your Changes 178 Alternative Programs 179 Summary 179   Chapter 8 More MINDSTORMS Programming: The Line-Following Robot 181 What Is a Program? 181 Project: The Line-Following Robot 183 Getting Started 184     Making Your Own Test Track 185     Thinking About the Instructions 187     Finding Direction 188     Calibrating the Sensor 189 Creating the Program 194     Creating New Variables 194     Calculating with Variables 200     Improving the Program with Feedback 202     Troubleshooting Your Program 206     Adding a Countdown 209     Using a Loop to Make the Robot Follow the Line 211     Adding Switches for Steering 213 Creating Custom Blocks 216 Documenting Your Work 219 Summary 219   Chapter 9 Engineering the Floor-Cleaning Robot 221 Programming a Collision-Avoiding Robot 221     Activating the Touch Sensor 223     Adding Collision Avoidance 224     Testing Your Bot 227     Navigating Corners 228     Adding a Bit of Randomness 229     Using the Education Edition’s Ultrasonic Sensor 232 Controlling Your Bot with the Infrared Remote 235     Programming the Remote 236     Creating Multi-threaded Programs 241 Adding the Floor-Cleaning Functions 245     Building the Mophead Assembly 246     Adjusting the Sensor Assembly 250     Building the Floor Cleaning Program 253 Summary 256   Chapter 10 The Color Magic Card Trick 257 Brainstorming and Building the Bot 258     Building the Platform 261     Raising the Platform 265     Building the Wheel Assembly 267     Checking the Assembly 269     Placing the Intelligent Brick 270     Controlling the Cards 272 Calibrating the Color Sensor 280 Creating the Program 282     Detecting the Color 284     Playing the Sound 287     Adding the Motor Block 288 Summary 289   Chapter 11 Daisy-Chaining Projects 291 The Daisy-Chain Test 291     Numbering Your Bricks 292     Programming the Test 295 Building a Daisy-Chained Robot Car 297     Assembling the Wheels 297     Programming the Bot 307     Adding a Remote Control 309     Adding Collision Avoidance 317 Messaging Between Robots 320 Adding “Magic” to the Card Trick 321     Configuring the Sending Program 321     Configuring the Receiving Program 323     Running the “Magic” 325 Summary 325   Chapter 12 Extending Play 327 Installing leJOS 327     Preparing Your Desktop 328     Loading the SD Card 330     Working in LeJOS 333 Community-Created Models 334     DINOR3X 335     EL3CTRIC GUITAR 336     EV3D4 337     EV3MEG 338     MR B3AM 339     KRAZ3 340     RAC3R 341     EV3GAME 342     WACK3M 344     BANNER PRINT3R 344     Finding More Communities 345 Scoring Extra LEGO Parts 346     Tetrix 346     K’nex 346     Erector Sets 346     3D Printers 346 Robotics Competitions 347     First Robotics LEGO League 347     World Robot Olympiad 347     4-H 347 Decorating Your EV3 348 Summary 348   Appendix: Glossary 349   Index 363