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Make amazing robots and gadgets with two of today's hottest DIY technologies. With this easy-to-follow guide, you'll learn how to build devices with Lego Mindstorms NXT 2.0, the Arduino prototyping platform, and some add-on components to bridge the two. Mindstorms alone lets you create incredible gadgets. Bring in Arduino for some jaw-dropping functionality - and open a whole new world of possibilities.
Build a drink dispenser, music synthesizer, wireless lamp, and more
Each fun and fascinating project includes step-by-step instructions and clear illustrations to guide you through the process. Learn how to set up an Arduino programming environment, download the sketches and libraries you need, and work with Arduino's language for non-programmers. It's a perfect book for students, teachers, hobbyists, makers, hackers, and kids of all ages. Build a Drawbot that roams around and traces its path with a marker pen Construct an analog Mindstorms clock with hands that display the correct time Create a machine that mixes a glass of chocolate milk at the touch of a button Make a Gripperbot rolling robotic arm that you control wirelessly with Arduinos mounted on your arms Explore electronic music by building a guitar-shaped Lego synthesizer Build a Lego lamp with on/off and dimmer switches that you control with a smartphone application Jump feet first into the world of electronics, from learning Ohm's Law to working with basic components
You'll need the Bricktronics shield created for this book by Open Source Hardware kit maker Wayne and Layne, or you can build a breadboarded equivalent (see Chapter 10) for about $25 in parts.
List of contents
Foreword
Preface
Chapter 1: Project: Drawbot
Chapter 2: Anatomy of Lego Robotics
Chapter 3: Arduino Interlude
Chapter 4: Project: Clock
Chapter 5: Project: Chocolate Milk Maker
Chapter 6: Basic Electronic Theory
Chapter 7: Gripperbot
Chapter 8: Project: Keytar
Chapter 9: Project: Lamp
Chapter 10: Advanced Techniques
Colophon
About the author
John Baichtal writes about LEGO for MAKE Magazine and Wired's wildly popular GeekDad blog.
Summary
Make amazing robots and gadgets by combining two of the hottest DIY technologies: the venerable LEGO and the upstart Arduino. With this book, you'll focus on six projects, each more challenging and informative than the next. In each project, you'll explore different ways that Arduino adds functionality to LEGO Mindstorms.
