LEGO MINDSTORMS NXT Thinking Robots: Build a Rubik's Cube Solver and a Tic-Tac-Toe Playing Robot! |  | Author: Daniele Benedettelli
Publisher: No Starch Press
Category: Book
List Price: $29.95
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as of 7/29/2010 07:48 CDT details
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Rating:  11 reviews
Media: Paperback
Edition: 1
Pages: 300
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.2
Dimensions (in): 9.9 x 8 x 0.8
ISBN: 1593272162
Dewey Decimal Number: 629.892
EAN: 9781593272166
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Product Description
It may look like one, but the LEGO® MINDSTORMS® NXT set is not a toy. Whether you've been building with the original LEGO MINDSTORMS NXT set for years or you just picked up a 2.0 set, you'll love this book. LEGO MINDSTORMS NXT Thinking Robots will show you how to build and program two robots that think. You'll be awestruck when the TTT Tickler ties you at tic-tac-toe and amazed when the One-Armed Wonder solves a Rubik's Cube® in just a few minutes. These robots aren't child's play. The models are challenging, and you'll have to do a bit of thinking yourself to get them to work. But once you get the hang of it, your efforts will be amply rewarded. In addition to providing detailed instructions for building each model with either the original or the NXT 2.0 set, author Daniele Benedettelli takes you inside the robots to show you how they're designed, what makes them think, and how to use them. You'll learn how to: - Control and calibrate your robots for best performance
- Dig into tic-tac-toe strategy to see how the TTT Tickler always plays to win
- Use the CubeSolver program to solve a Rubik's Cube with the One-Armed Wonder
- Better understand artificial intelligence as it relates to robotics, problem solving, and gaming
And for you serious MINDSTORMS builders, all of the source code for programming the robots is available online. Not only will you get to see how the robots are programmed, but you can hack the code to make them act differently, too. You can find all of the source code at https://robotics.benedettelli.com/TRbook.htm. So go ahead, put on your thinking cap and get building! Requirements: A computer running Microsoft Windows 2000 or higher, one complete LEGO MINDSTORMS NXT or NXT 2.0 set, a webcam, some marbles, a couple of rubber bands, and an Internet connection (to download the programs).
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| Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 1-5 of 11
 Compelling MINDSTORMS 1.0 and 2.0 book -- NO PROGRAMMING REQUIRED! December 22, 2009
William Pollock (San Francisco, CA)
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
Full disclosure: I was this book's editor and I'm the Founder of No Starch Press. Am I biased? Probably, but this is an honest review.
I'll begin by saying that this is a fascinating book about building with LEGO MINDSTORMS. I know many of the premiere MINDSTORMS builders and Daniele Benedettelli is one of the most creative, which is why we were so excited to publish this book in the first place.
My son and I spent many hours building and testing the robots in this book as did a couple of our staff. The robots are fascinating and the programs that Daniele provides are really intriguing.
The book provides instructions for building two MINDSTORMS models with BOTH THE ORIGINAL AND THE MINDSTORMS 2.0 SET. One model is able to solve a Rubik's Cube on its own (really amazing); the other will play Tic-Tac-Toe with you.
I am not one to spend hours building with LEGO (although my son is). Still, the models were fun to build although they're not half-hour constructions.
And perhaps the best part? There is absolutely NO PROGRAMMING REQUIRED! Daniele provides all of the necessary programs free at his website.
I'd say this is a great book for a precocious 10 year old on up. The robots themselves will be great fun at parties, too.
It is great it in every way! December 23, 2009
SRS
I am using a mac and my robot is completely compatible. The book also include many details to help. There is know programing experience required. Anybody that has a mindstorm nxt or nxt 2.0 should get this book!
Good book for building robots that will amaze you February 8, 2010
Laurens Valk (The Netherlands)
Last Saturday (6 February 2010) I went to the First LEGO League Benelux finals (MINDSTORMS competitions for kids) where I demoed NXT robots all day. For such events, I usually bring robots that kids can easily interact with. Because I had recently picked up Benedettelli's new book "Thinking Robots", I considered this a good opportunity to build one of the two robots found in it.
The book has instructions for both NXT versions, but I built the NXT 2.0 version of the Tic Tac Toe player. I first selected the parts I needed based on a clear "bill of materials" diagram and I then built it without much trouble. Programming was also easy, because it simply involved transferring some ready made files to the NXT. I can understand where other readers would have liked to see more theory about the robots, but because I was just preparing to leave for the event, this type of programming was perfect to me.
So the next day I took other robots and this one to the event. The attending kids (and their parents!) absolutely loved it. Many kids kept coming and told their friends there was a fun game to play. This alone is a reason for me to give the book five stars. The program for this robot can be run in 3 difficulty levels. I challenged the kids who said they could win to play in Expert mode. They didn't win, of course!
I do realize that this isn't the type of book what you'll use to actually learn new programming techniques, but that is not the book's intention. I would like to point out that Benedettelli has already written a good guide on programming robots in NXC. It's available for free download for users who want to learn the NXC language. Just search for it online. I don't see much reason for reprinting that guide in this book.
But his book explores what MINDSTORMS NXT is (in my opinion) mostly about: having fun building robots - and it definitely succeeds at that.
If you're a beginning MINDSTORMS user, however, I do recommend to first get a good understanding of what MINDSTORMS NXT is all about. Play with the robots in the set and experiment with the NXT-G software included, or get some of the other literature aimed at beginning MINDSTORMers. In this case, Thinking Robots is a good second book if you're looking for two more complex robots to build.
Laurens Valk (The Netherlands)
MISTER ROBOTO February 14, 2010
John R. Vacca (Pomeroy, Ohio)
Are you a novice or advanced user who wants to tackle the amazing world of robotics? If you are, then this book is for you! Author Benedettelli Daniele has done an outstanding job of writing a book that will help you strike a balance between technical details and simplicity.
Daniele, begins by showing you how to use BricxCC to write, compile, and test NXC programs. Next, the author shows you how to use the perfect strategy for Tic-Tac-Toe Tickler, a LEGO MINDSTORMS NXT robot that will challenge you at every turn. He continues by showing you how to build the TTT Tickler with parts from the 8527 NXT set. Next, the author shows you how to build the TTT Tickler with the parts from the 8547 NXT 2.0 set. Then, he introduces you to the One-Armed Wonder's curriculum vitae; as well as, its ancestors and offspring. The author continues by showing you how to build the One-Armed-Wonder using the original NXT retail set 8527. Finally, he shows you how to build the One-Armed-Wonder using the 8547 NXT 2.0 set.
This most excellent book shows you how to build two robots that think! More importantly, if you read this book from cover to cover, you'll find detailed instructions on how to build both the TTT Tickler and the One-Armed-Wonder with either LEGO MINDSTORMS set, with no need for extra LEGO parts or expense.
For Mindstormers who loved Rubic's Cube March 8, 2010
Puput Adrianto (Jakarta, Indonesia)
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
This is the second book from Daniele, its quite detail guide and easy to follow.
If you are a Mindstormer and you need to learn how to build "Solver" robot, then this is the only book you need.
It works on both retail version of Lego Mindstorm and you don't need to purchase additional Lego parts.
In addition to your Lego you will need to install BricxCC/NXC and the NeXT tools in your laptop before you can upload the program to NXT brick.
The most interesting part this book also give you on how the program works to solve puzzle. Even though not too details but enough to answer some of my curiosity.
Highly recommended for beginner to intermediate robot's builder.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 11
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