An article at NXTasy.org highlights a three-wheeled robot that moves in one dimension and detects signals from an external beacon that emits ultrasonic bursts. The robot relies on a microcontroller that runs a Kalman filter to perform and maintain spatial localization. The NXT software is implemented using the LabVIEW NXT toolkit
NXT Reciever with Kalman Filter
Details on the project can be found at http://www.convict.lu/htm/rob/ir_us.htm#Kalman
I call this creation The Blossoming Lotus. It was originally posted on Online Cortex, but I have decided to repost it here because its just plain fun. Basically it is a large 2D version of a Hoberman sphere. Why did I not make a large Hoberman sphere? First, the parts to make the circle cost almost $80 US. Second, I have other more pressing projects I am working on.
The Blossoming Lotus Kinetic Art
It is about 4 feet in diameter when completely extended and is pretty impressive. Its relatively easy to make. My design consists of constructing each petal with two interlocking pieces: a single-claw arm and a double-claw arm. The parts needed to make the two arms are illustrated below.
Parts for a Single Lotus Petal
To make the entire circle of petals, one needs 20 copies of each petal. The job then is to put them all together. I will post detailed instructions on a website in the near future. For now, here is a closeup of the blossom when completed.
Close Up of the Lotus Blossom
And of course, the project wouldn’t be complete without that animation above made with MLCAD, L3PAO, and POV Ray. The animation was straightforward—once you get the geometry right (which is not straightforward). I will post a lesson on the geometry and the animation of this creation in the future as well. For now, enjoy.
I recently received a comment on my post on controlling NXT robots with Matlab that pointed me to the RWTH – Mindstorms NXT Toolbox for MATLAB®, which is a public domain Matlab package that enables one to interface with and control LEGO mindstorms.
The RWTH – Mindstorms NXT Toolbox for MATLAB® was developed as a student project in the Institute of Imaging and Computer Vision at RWTH Aachen University in Aachen Germany. It provides a Matlab interface with the NXT brick that includes Bluetooth communication, sensor interface and motor interface. It requires a working Matlab license, of course.
The package is very easy to set up. It took me less than ten minutes to successfully test the example programs over Bluetooth.
There are some very nice motor features, such as motor synchronization and speed ramp-up and ramp-down.
I have yet to explore how easy it is to modify or extend the code, but it ought to be a straightforward matter.
The package can be downloaded from
http://www.mindstorms.rwth-aachen.de
Kevin Knuth
Albany NY
It can be very difficult to figure out exactly how to store one’s LEGO parts. This depends greatly on the extent of your collection, and how mobile it needs to be. Below I offer a wide array of suggestions ranging from the size of one NXT set through tens of NXT sets with thousands of dollars of extra parts. Here I will review the solutions that I have found useful, and at the end I will provide a detailed description of my particular storage strategy.
, which provides an excellent means of both storage and transport.The new Custom Divider Systems (CDS) give you a great many ways to divide each box into bins with the greatest versatility. The other divider systems work well, but this is a nice option.
| Small Box Plano No. 2-3500-20 9-1/8″ Wide. x 1-1/4″ High x 5″ Deep Up to 9 adjustable compartments Order from Amazon.com These fit into the Plano 1354 Tackle Box  below |
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| Medium Box Plano No. 2-3650-20 11″ Wide x 1-3/4″ High x 7-1/4″ Deep Up to 18 adjustable compartments These fit into the Plano 1364 Tackle Box below |
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| Large Box Plano No. 2-3750-20 14″ Wide x 2″ High x 9-1/4″ Deep Up to 20 adjustable compartments These fit into the Plano 1374 Tackle Box below |
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| Plano 1354 Tackle Box (3500 size) I have found that the 1354 Tackle Box is a bit on the small side for even the smallest collections. You will be surprised at how many distinct kinds of Lego parts there are, when you find that they will never fit into the 9×4 compartments. However, this tackle box can hold 4 utility boxes, and you often can put an additional box in the top compartment. Order at Amazon.com |
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| Plano 1364 Tackle Box (3650 size) This is a really nice size for a tackle box. I can easily store at least two NXT sets in this tackle box as well as many extra parts. Four Plano ProLatch 3650 stowaway boxes  fit in the tray resulting in 4×18 = 72 compartments. I also manage to keep an additional 3650 box in the top of the tackle box. I can often work with just this subset of my collection. In addition, it makes travel easy. Plano 1364 Tackle Box at Amazon.com |
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| Plano 1374 Tackle Box (3750 size) This tackle box can hold a large number of parts. The top bulk storage compartment is sufficiently large and deep to actually hold smaller robots! The 3750 size utility boxes are very spacious, and this tackle box comes with one of the newer Custom Divider System (CDS) utility boxes, and one flip-sider, which is good for fishing tackle, but not so useful for LEGO parts. For this reason, you may need to buy an extra 3750 box to replace the flip-sider. And you may want an extra 3750 to fit in the top compartment. Plano 1374 Tackle Box at Amazon.com |
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Akro-Mills 10724 24 Drawer Storage This organizer can hold a healthy supply of small LEGO parts. The organizer comes with partitions that can be inserted into the drawers allowing one to keep more parts.Overall Size: W=20″ H=15.81″ D=6.38″ (inches) Drawer Size: 4.25″ W x 5.25″ D x 2.0″ HI have three of these. One holds all of my pins and connectors. The second holds all of my axles and axle connectors, and the third holds all of my gears. |
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| Akro-Mills 10124-2 44 Drawer Storage This organizer can hold a healthy supply of small LEGO parts. The organizer comes with partitions that can be inserted into the drawers allowing one to keep more parts.Overall Size: W=20″ H=15.81″ D=6.38″ (inches) Large Drawers: 4.38″ W x 5.25″ D x 2.0″ H Small Drawers: 2.13″ W x 5.25″ D x 1.50″ H |
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Akro-Mils 10764 64-Drawer Storage This organizer can hold many small LEGO parts. The organizer comes with partitions that can be inserted into the drawers allowing one to keep even more parts.Overall Size: W=20″ H=15.81″ D=6.38″ (inches) Small Drawers: 2.13″ W x 5.25″ D x 1.50″ H |
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| Three Drawer Organizer I have found the Sterilite ClearView™ Wide Three Drawer Organizer 2093 to work very well. Its dimensions are suffciently large to hold a large number of brick. Or one could make partitions (they do not come with the drawer) to store a wide array of parts in a single drawer. At this point, I use 20 of these to store my bricks, plates, liftarms, wheels, and specialized NXT parts. The clear drawers make it easy to see what is inside, and one can easily afix large easy-to-read labels.The dimensions of the three drawer organizer is: 14 5/8″ L x 14 1/2″ W x 10 5/8″ H. |
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| This tool chest when packed full holds: 4 large Plano 3750 compartment boxes 3 medium Plano 3650 compartment boxes 6 small Plano 3500 compartment boxesThis is in addition to the large top tray that can hold Mindstorm NXT bricks, a great deal of cabling, and other tools that you might need.The tool chest has a handle and wheels, which makes for easy transportation. Order from Amazon.com here. |
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See the more recent posts: COLORFUL LEGO STORAGE IDEAS and New LEGO STORAGE OPPORTUNITIES for more ideas.