LEGO Mindstorms NXT

Pre Order the Lego Mindstorms NXT You can pre-register your interest with Amazon so you'll get it in the post the day its released to the general public .

The LEGO Mindstorms NXT looks absolutely awesome and you can tell that Lego are pinning their hopes on this fascinating creation what with all this gadgetry and bluetoot, usb connection, sofware upgrades etc. We're positively salivating!

This robot is packed full with sensors to allow it to react to the environment around it and when it's programmed it "then takes on a life of its own, fully autonomous from the computer."


MindStorms FAQ:
The NXT is the brain of a MINDSTORMS® robot. It’s an intelligent, computer-controlled LEGO® brick that lets a MINDSTORMS robot come alive and perform different operations.

Release Date:
11 September, 2006.

Age Group:
Manufacturer's minimum age: 10 years

Motor Ports
The NXT has three output ports for attaching motors.

Sensor Ports
The NXT has four input ports for attaching sensors.

USB Port
Connect a USB cable to the USB port and download programs from your computer to the NXT (or upload data from the robot to your computer). You can also use the wireless Bluetooth connection for uploading and downloading.

Loudspeaker
Make a program with real sounds and listen to them when you run the program.

NXT Buttons
Orange button: On/Enter /Run
Light grey arrows: Used for moving left and right in the NXT menu
Dark grey button: Clear/Go back

NXT Display
Your NXT comes with many display features - see the MINDSTORMS NXT Users Guide that will come with your NXT kit for specific information on display icons and options.

Technical specifications

• 32-bit ARM7 microcontroller
• 256 Kbytes FLASH, 64 Kbytes RAM
• 8-bit AVR microcontroller
• 4 Kbytes FLASH, 512 Byte RAM
• Bluetooth wireless communication (Bluetooth Class II V2.0 compliant)
• USB full speed port (12 Mbit/s)
• 4 input ports, 6-wire cable digital platform (One port includes a IEC 61158 Type 4/EN 50 170 compliant expansion port for future use)
• 3 output ports, 6-wire cable digital platform
• 100 x 64 pixel LCD graphical display
• Loudspeaker - 8 kHz sound quality. Sound channel with 8-bit resolution and 2-16 KHz sample rate.
• Power source: 6 AA batteries

The LEGO MINDSTORMS NXT includes a wireless Bluetooth node that enables the NXT brick to communicate with other Bluetooth devices.

Buy:
Amazon UK - £179.99
Play.com - £179.99

Official Site: Lego Mindstorms
Unofficial Site: Mindstorms NXT

Resources: Engadget / Gizmondo / BotMag / GoRobotics / Tech Digest / cnet

Related: Flying Robotic Bird /Robosapien v2 / Roboraptor / Robonova