BrickEngineer: LEGO Design

LEGO Engineering for LEGO NXT and Robot Enthusiasts

LEGO Tribute to the End of the Space Shuttle Era


Raul Oaida from Romania launched a LEGO Space Shuttle (LEGO Model 3367) aboard a 1600g meteo balloon filled with Helium and carrying a GoPro Hero HD camera and SPOT Satellite GPS Messenger. The Balloon and LEGO shuttle reached an altitude of 35000m (almost 115,000 feet or 21.7 miles)!

Enjoy the video:

Brilliant!!!
Congratulations!
Read more here:
http://microblade.blogspot.com/2012/03/2001-brick-odyssey.html

Here are links to the items Raul used:

NEW LEGO Storage Opportunities

I have recently found some new and interesting LEGO storage units.

This is the IRIS LEGO 6-Case Workstation and Storage Unit

There is a smaller version with three drawers.
IRIS LEGO 3-Case Workstation and Storage Tabletop with 1 Base Plate

This is another design called the BOX4BLOX Lego Organizer.

If you don’t have a large enough collection to warrant drawer-type organizers. Here are some options using bins:
LEGO 4-piece Square Stacking Basket Set with Wheels TSB-SQ

or the
Lego 4PC Project Case Set each case of which has dimensions (3.125″H x 13″W x 12.25″D).

This is an interesting possibility: The Container Store LEGO Storage Brick (2×4), which comes in several colors

which also comes in a smaller size
The Container Store LEGO Storage Brick (2×2)

and smaller still…
The Container Store LEGO Storage Brick

and smaller still!
The Container Store LEGO Storage Brick

or you can always revert to the plain white IRIS 6 Drawer Cart

Be sure to check out our older posts on LEGO storage:
Colorful LEGO Storage Ideas
Storing Your LEGO Collection

KnuthLab LEGO Exploration Rover

Image of KnuthLab Exploration Rover

KnuthLab Exploration Rover with Researchers A. Fischer and N. Malakar

The Knuth Cyberphysics Laboratory in the University at Albany Physics Department has developed the KnuthLab LEGO Exploration Rover, which acts as a testbed for robotic intelligence and navigation software. Development of this rover was funded by a NASA SBIR Award (Advanced Bayesian Methods for Lunar Surface Navigation) through Autonomous Exploration Inc. as well as a University at Albany Faculty Research Award (Developing Robotic Explorers, PI: K.H. Knuth).

The LEGO Exploration Rover is powered by six NXT Standard Motors in a Rocker-Bogie suspension system used in all of the NASA Mars rover designs. The rover is approximately 1.5 ft high with a 1 ft x 1.5 ft base. It is larger than the NASA Sojourner Rover, which was part of the Pathfinder Mission to Mars in 1997, and smaller than the Mars Exploration Rovers Spirit and Opportunity. It can safely carry a payload of 8 pounds.

Image of KnuthLab LEGO Exploration Rover

KnuthLab LEGO Exploration Rover


The LEGO Exploration Rover has two laptop bays built into the box-like frame in which it can carry two Asus Eee Laptops for onboard processing. The wheels are controlled by two LEGO NXT bricks, which can communicate with the laptops via Bluetooth. The rocker-bogie suspension and low speed allows it to handle relatively rugged terrain and steep grades.

The white frame mounted on top of the rover is the Bayesian Vision-Based Navigation System being developed by Autonomous Exploration Inc. for NASA.

Check back, as we will be posting videos of its operation and discussing some of the important design features.

DIY Arduino Circuit

Jameco.com has an interesting article on how to build your own Arduino microcontroller circuit.

Image of a circuit board

The circuit relies on an ATMega328 microcontroller, and since it requires only component parts it is cheaper and has a potentially smaller footprint than the popular Arduino Boards.

We have started using Arduino microcontrollers to directly control the LEGO Motors (9842), and expect to post on this sometime in the near future. In the meantime check out posts on LEGO NXT motor control:

LEGO NXT Motor Wiring

Hacking the LEGO Mindstorms NXT Standard Motor

Naughty Nestor is Bent on Destruction

Some time ago, I invented this character Naughty Nestor.

Naught Nestor

Ready to Blow up some LEGO creations!

Nestor does not play well with others.
He doesn’t play well at all.
His favorite pastime is blowing up LEGO creations.

Here is an example of what Nestor is capable of.
This creation is called Stalker and it was created by Misterhaan.
But Stalker is being stalked!
Look out Stalker!
Look out for Nestor!

Look out Stalker! You are being stalked!

This animation was made using LDraw, POVRay and a Matlab script that generated a set of POVRay files each with the parts individually spinning and moving away from the blast center. Add a flash of light in a few images, and voila! Explosion!

You can find this video on Youtube as well at:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Pmz8soKdko.
Share it with your friends!

Philo’s Extreme NXT Pages

Phillipe “Philo” Hurbain, co-author of Extreme NXT: Extending the LEGO MINDSTORMS NXT to the Next Level (Technology in Action) has a wonderful website dedicated to the technical aspects of LEGO NXT and its component sensors and motors.

Philo’s website has several tabs corresponding to different topic areas:
LEGO® MINDSTORMS™ & LEGO Technic: a variety of interesting projects
NXT: details about LEGO NXT components and NXT-specific projects
Sensors: detailed information about sensor workings and electronics
LEGO Tech Info: LEGO technical information
LDraw: tools for LDraw part authors
LEGO & Photo: accessories for photographers

My favorite pages are:
LEGO® 9V Technic Motors compared characteristics studies the various characteristics of a wide variety of LEGO motors.
http://www.philohome.com/traction/traction.htm studies the capabilities of a wide variety of LEGO wheels.

Enjoy!
and check out his new book:

Content Protected Using Blog Protector By: PcDrome.