10 May 2002
Wanderings
by Ralph J. Coppola
coppolar@mar.dfo-mpo.gc.ca
A few weeks ago, I was reading a back issue of the paper version of The Amateur Scientists' Bulletin ( Vol 4, Number 2 ). In this issue, Roger Baker* ("Easy Prototyping") describes how he uses window glass and silicon rubber (RTV) as an easy prototyping medium. This got me thinking about what other common materials could the amateur use to prototype an idea. Then it came to me … Lego®. This child’s toy building block … IS … an ideal material or rather system for prototyping as it can be used to quickly assemble and/or modify your idea. Not only does Lego® supply a variety of bricks, they also make many types of wheels, gears, shafts, motors, sensors … and … for those who may be interested … little plastic people J . One of the latest Lego developments is the big kids Lego® … the Mindstorm system. The Mindstorm®, together with the RCX computer brick, enables you to build and program a wide variety of devices.
Probably the majority of the Lego work has been done with robots, but the possibilities are by no means limited to this area. For example, in the Applications group, below, you will find a link to a Lego® scanner. Then, in the Nanoworld link, there is a model of a spectrophotometer, which could be expanded to become a full-fledged computer controlled scientific instrument made mostly out of Lego® bricks.
This week's column looks a little heavy, but it only touches on the surface of the Lego® resources that can be found on the Web.
* A good example of Roger’s prototyping tequnique can be found at:
http://www.central-jersey-sas.org/projects/tidal_forces/magnetic_gravimeter/baker/
Lego Kits
Lego Home Page
Lego MindStorm lets you design and program real robots.
Lego Robolab … Lego Mindstorms sets for schools
http://www.lego.com/dacta/robolab/home.asp
The Lego RCX Computer
A description of the internals of the Lego RCX computer brick.
http://graphics.stanford.edu/~kekoa/rcx/
MIT's implementation of the Logo language for the LEGO RCX brick.
http://el.www.media.mit.edu/projects/ybl/
NQC … "Not Quite C" … a simple "C like" language for the RCX.
http://www.enteract.com/~dbaum/nqc/index.html
RCX Command Center
http://www.cs.uu.nl/~markov/lego/
Lego Sensors
MindStorms RCX Sensor Input Page
http://www.plazaearth.com/usr/gasperi/lego.htm
Homebrew Lego sensors
http://www.stormyprods.com/lego/
Lego Mindstorms compatible devices
http://philohome.free.fr/sensors.htm
A Lego simulation of a stepper motor
http://home.earthlink.net/~mrob/pub/lego/stepper.html
Zero Force Limit Switch, Rotation and Linear Motion Sensor
http://www.umbra.demon.co.uk/sensor1.html
Power Steering Mechanism
http://www.umbra.demon.co.uk/power_steering.html
Lego as logic blocks
http://anon.razorwire.com/lego/
Gordon's Brick Programmer
http://www.umbra.demon.co.uk/gbp.html
Applications
Exploring the Nanoworld with Lego Bricks
http://mrsec.wisc.edu/edetc/LEGO/
A Lego scanner and more …
http://www.mop.no/~simen/lego.htm
Lego Wall Hugging Mouse
http://www.grasp.upenn.edu/vgrasp/projects/mouse/
An Application for Graphing Data from Crickets and RCX Bricks
http://el.www.media.mit.edu/projects/logo-graph/
Lego Glove
http://www.pulsar.org/archive/int/timswork/Legoglove.html
http://www.pulsar.org/archive/int/timswork/dataglove.html
Lego Spider Robot
http://schalburg.homepage.dk/Spider/Spider.html
Miscellaneous
LEGO CAD … Lego prototyping software.
http://www.lego.com/dacta/legocad/about.htm
The International Lego Users group Network
Lego building resources from the University of Queensland, AU.
http://www.itee.uq.edu.au/~robocup/junior/toc.htm
Lego surgery competition
http://cisstweb.cs.jhu.edu/~cissrs/Activities/LEGOComp/overview.html
Trinity Lego Mindstorm Competition.
http://www.cs.tcd.ie/research_groups/cvrg/lego/
Andrew Lipson's Lego Page of Interesting creations
http://www.lipsons.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/lego.htm
Let anyone on the Web control your Lego robot.
http://www.sckans.edu/~sireland/webcam/webrcx/
Jin Sato's LEGO MINDSTORMS: The Master's Technique ISBN: 1-886411-56-5.
