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)

Summary

We covered many new topics as we made our smartest robot yet.

We introduced two navigation sensors used by self-driving cars in the real world: the GPS receiver and the magnetic compass. We discussed how they work and learned about the basic principles behind using these sensors.

Before we started programming, we learned how to import third-party software into the EV3 software to allow us to use these sensors with the EV3. We wrote a simple program to test the GPS and get a feel for using the sensor. Then, we wrote a more sophisticated navigation program in which the EV3 used its GPS and compass to navigate to a pair of coordinates defined by the user. While programming, we expanded our knowledge of MyBlocks by introducing parameters, which allow you to program input and output for the MyBlock.

Congratulations! You have completed the final smart robot project. You are...