Advanced NXT: The Da Vinci Inventions Book

by Matthias Paul Scholz

Overview

This amply illustrated book is about building some of Leonardo da Vinci's most famous inventions with LEGO's breathtaking robot technology, the LEGO MINDSTORMS NXT. In this book, you will revive such fascinating devices as the flying machine, the aerial screw, the revolving bridge, the double leaf spring catapult, and the armored car—five centuries after their creation by the great Renaissance engineer. Using some of the most advanced programming environments for the NXT, you will make robots that work, move, and respond the way Leonardo intended his original inventions to do 500 years ago.

By engineering the LEGO models contained in this, book you will not only become acquainted with the MINDSTORMS NXT technology, but also with strategies to build advanced robots with NXT and to program them using different state-of-the-art NXT programming languages such as NXT-G, NXC, RobotC, pbLua, and leJOS NXJ.

For all five robots, historical background information is provided. Detailed high-quality step-by-step building instructions, as well as an elaborate guide for each single program enable both the inexperienced LEGO user as well as the NXT aficionado to become acquainted with the art of producing marvelous NXT creations and make use of many sophisticated features of the NXT.

This book will unleash the creative powers that slumber in everyone and combine them with the pure joy of playing. But beware: you might be surprised by the stupendous results this combination is apt to spawn.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781590598436
Publisher:	Apress
Publication date:	06/27/2007
Series:	Technology in Action Press Book Series
Edition description:	1st ed.
Pages:	369
Product dimensions:	7.01(w) x 9.25(h) x 0.36(d)

About the Author

Matthias Scholz is a member of the LEGO Mindstorms Community Partners Program. His NXT-related Web site is extremely popular. He is also a frequent contributor to the well-known NXT blog, The NXT STEP. He majored in mathematics at the University of Bayreuth in Germany, and has held various positions in German IT enterprises.

Table of Contents

A 3,000-Foot Look at NXT Programming Environments.- The Armored Car.- The Catapult.- The Revolving Bridge.- The Aerial Screw.- The Flying Machine.- Outlook: What NXT?.

Editorial Reviews

From the reviews:

"This book describes how to mechanize in Lego five designs by Leonardo da Vinci. The book starts with a short and engaging introduction to Leonardo da Vinci and his work, including pictures of the original drawings of some of his designs. … Overall, the book is clear and well written. … The step-by-step instructions for building the different designs are relatively easy to follow for people who are not novices with Lego parts." (M. Gini, ACM Computing Reviews, Vol. 49 (12), December, 2008)

From the Publisher