Book Image

Smart Robotics with LEGO MINDSTORMS Robot Inventor

By : Aaron Maurer
Book Image

Smart Robotics with LEGO MINDSTORMS Robot Inventor

By: Aaron Maurer

Overview of this book

LEGO MINDSTORMS Robot Inventor is the latest addition to the LEGO MINDSTORMS theme. It features unique designs that you can use to build robots, and also enable you to perform activities using the robot inventor application. You'll begin by exploring the history of LEGO MINDSTORMS, and then delve into various elements of the Inventor kit. Moving on, you'll start working on different projects which will prepare you to build a variety of smart robots. The first robotic project involves designing a claw to grab objects, and helps you to explore how a smart robot is used in everyday life and in industry. The second project revolves around building a working guitar that can be played and modified to meet the needs of the user. As you advance, you'll explore the concept of biomimicry as you discover how to build a scorpion robot. In addition to this, you'll also work on a classic robotic challenge by building a sumobot. Throughout the book, you'll come across a variety of projects that will provide you with hands-on experience in building creative robots, such as building a Dragster, Egg Decorator, and Plankton from Spongebob Squarepants. By the end of this LEGO book, you'll have got to grips with the concepts behind building a robot, and also found creative ways to integrate them using the application based on your creative insights and ideas.
Table of Contents (12 chapters)

Making it your own

This is the part I love, and I hope you do too. This robot is just the beginning of the fun. It is now time for you to take this framework of the robot build and sample code, to make it unique to your talents and imagination.

Here are a couple of ideas to consider applying to this robot:

  • Add sensors to trigger autonomous robot decisions. For example, could you add a color sensor so that as the claw moves, it is waiting to detect red to stop and pick up the ball and move to another location?
  • Add lights of the light-emitting diode (LED) matrix on the Intelligent Hub to provide insights or cool new looks as the robot operates.
  • Add sound effects to make it sound like an industrial robot.