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)

Mechanical design

There are a lot of interesting techniques used in Grunt's design. We will take a glance at each one.

Walking mechanism

What makes Grunt stand out from all of the other projects in this book is that he does not use wheels or tank tracks to move around. Instead, he has a simple walking mechanism that allows him to move around on two legs.

Two EV3 large motors power the legs, one for each leg (ports B and C). Each motor directly drives a large 36-tooth bevel gear, which serves two purposes—it acts as a cam onto which one point of the leg is attached, and it transfers the motor's power through a 12-tooth gear to a second 36-tooth bevel gear, which acts as the second point on which the leg is...