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)

Building the robot

The strategy in the design of Plankton is to consider the elements of the kit that will allow you to bring a cartoon character to life. In the end, you want to be able to interact with your build much like any animatronic toy. In order for this to happen, the robot build must have the following characteristics:

  • Be able to turn its head from side to side
  • Be able to move its arms
  • Have animation of the eye to express emotion
  • Be able to respond to the environment by using color and distance sensors
  • Be able to speak popular phrases from the show

Keeping these features in mind, you will understand the building process. More importantly, you will be able to tweak this build to your liking by adding animations, phrases, and other responses to the environment as you see fit.