 |
|
Title: The Unofficial LEGO MINDSTORMS NXT Inventor's Guide
ISBN: 1593271549
Author:
David J. Perdue
Publicate Date: 2007-10-29
Publish: 2007-10-29
List Price: $29.95
Average Customer Rating: 5.0
Format: Paperback
 |
|
|
|
|
Amazon Lowest New Price: $17.58
Amazon Lowest Used Price: $17.00
Amazon Merchant Price: $19.77
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Customer Review: |
|
1: Excellent first book for Lego Mindstorms
If you are new to Lego Mindstorms then you are also probably new to Lego Technics. This book not only covers how to program robots but also how to build them with Lego Technics parts and makes use of many well laid out and easy to follow diagrams. This book should be included with every lego Mindstorms set.
|
2: Fantastic manual to the Mindstorms NXT
I'm a coach of a FIRST LEGO League team and I bought this book to help my son "get to the next level." I am making this book mandatory for every team member next season! It is informative, yet easy to read. It covers all the bases from good robot design to programming explanations. I can't recommend it enough!
|
3: Fun projects
This "Unofficial" book is very good. David does a great job of showing exactly how to build each project with informative snapshots from the program Lego Digital Designer. The programming was missing a little of information on what to fill in the for each module, but his comments provided enough information to fill in the modules. I did have a question for David and he responded with the answer I was looking for.
|
4: Great for kids and adults!
This is a great beginner/intermediate level book for both kids and adults. The building section is excellent at explaining HOW to use the technic pieces. The programming section is a very good primer for those new to the NXT-G programming environment and language. It sets you up well for the building & programming projects found later in the book. As a middle school teacher running a robotics club, I set some of my more advanced 6th graders to work on whatever project they wanted to from the book. They jumped into taking on the guard-bot and the golf-bot which are the more advanced projects. With little guidance from me, they were very successful and had a blast. That shows how well written and designed the book is!
|
5: Great Introductory Book
I love the Lego Mindstorm kits, and I've always enjoyed No Starch Press's books. So I was excited to hear about their Unofficial Lego Mindstorms NXT Inventor's Guide (ULMNIG). These are two great tastes that taste great together.
Unfortunately, I was led a bit astray by the title. "Inventor's Guide", to me, summons mental images of crazy legos hacks, but that's not the goal of this book.
In the introduction, the ULMNIG describes its true intentions--taking you beyond the user guide and instructions that came with the Mindstorm kit. It does not assume any previous experience with Lego or Mindstorms, but helps you explore a broader range or projects and possibilities.
As an entry level book, I think the ULMNIG overwhelmingly succeeds.
The book starts with a description of the lego pieces, then provides basic guidelines for building sturdy structures and functional gear trains. For me, this was the weakest part of the book. Don't get me wrong. It has solid information, and should be useful for beginning builders. But it felt too short and too superficial for my tastes.
The ULMNIG then spends two chapters exploring the NXT-G programming language in detail. If you are going to use NXT-G, then you need to read these chapters. They provide a lot of information that will help you get the most out of your Mindstorm brick. They are also much clearer and more informative than the user manual. Reading these chapters will save you from hours of frustrating trial and error.
Finally the last half of the book covers six new robot designs. Four of these designs are radically different from each other. One is a differential drive with a ball castor. One is a four-wheeled steering vehicle. One is a six-legged walking motion sensor, and one is a stationary bot. There are also two variations on the differential-drive bot.
This gives you a nice combination of projects. The designs increase in complexity, allowing you to improve your skills as you progress through them. Building them will teach you a wide range of design techniques, while the variations show you how you can modify existing designs for other purposes.
The projects are definitely the highlight of the book. Working through the projects will teach you more about building robots than the rest of the book combined. And, once your finished, you should be ready to jump into your own projects.
Unfortunately, advanced builders/programmers might find themselves somewhat disappointed with this book. The ULMNIG hints at several advanced topics: building dynamic structures and third party programming languages. Unfortunately, these only get the briefest introduction. A few paragraphs each, tops. And the ULMNIG doesn't even mention other advanced topics, like third-party sensors and hardware, or attaching your own circuits to the NXT brick.
So, I would not recommend this book for everyone. But, if you've finished all the projects in the Mindstorm Users Guide, but your still struggling to build your own robots, then this is definitely the book for you.
|
|
|
|
|
