Book Image

Building Smart LEGO MINDSTORMS EV3 Robots

By : Kyle Markland
Book Image

Building Smart LEGO MINDSTORMS EV3 Robots

By: Kyle Markland

Overview of this book

Smart robots are an ever-increasing part of our daily lives. With LEGO MINDSTORMS EV3, you can now prototype your very own small-scale smart robot that uses specialized programming and hardware to complete a mission. EV3 is a robotics platform for enthusiasts of all ages and experience levels that makes prototyping robots accessible to all. This book will walk you through six different projects that range from intermediate to advanced level. The projects will show you building and programming techniques that are used by engineers in the real world, which will help you build your own smart robot. You'll see how to make the most of the EV3 robotics platform and build some awesome smart robots. The book starts by introducing some real-world examples of smart robots. Then, we'll walk you through six different projects and explain the features that allow these robots to make intelligent decisions. The book will guide you as you build your own object-tracking tank, a box-climbing robot, an interactive robotic shark, a quirky bipedal robot, a speedy remote control race car, and a GPS-navigating robot. By the end of this book, you'll have the skills necessary to build and program your own smart robots with EV3.
Table of Contents (9 chapters)

Programming

Now, we will write some code that will bring our smart robot to life. We will make two programs; the first is an RC program, and the second is an autonomous exploration program.

RC

This program allows the user to control the Omnilander using the EV3 infrared remote. The infrared sensor receives the commands sent by the remote. The robot is programmed to respond to each of the remote commands. Using the remote, the user can drive the Omnilander around and deploy the climbing mechanism to scale a vertical obstacle:

Although the user controls the robot, some of the robot's processes are still automated, so this can still be considered a smart program.

This is a simple tank-control RC program, which can be adapted...