20 Years of LEGO Mindstorms
Posted by FlagsNZ,
Yesterday's Random set of the Day article featured 9719 Robotics Invention System which was released in 1998. 2018 therefore marks the 20th anniversary of LEGO Robotics which has since been given the theme name: MINDSTORMS.
The modern version of MINDSTORMS - 31313: MINDSTORMS EV3 - has been available since 2013. It is one of the LEGO Group's longest surviving sets on shop shelves.
MINDSTORMS does not feature very often in Brickset news articles and so I would like the celebrate this 20th anniversary milestone and, once again showcase an innovative book on MINDSTORMS programming: Building Smart LEGO MINDSTORMS EV3 Robots by Kyle Markland.
Read on and take a look down memory lane of LEGO robotics.
LEGO developed their first robotics set twenty years ago with the introduction of the RCX Programmable LEGO Brick in 9719 Robotics Invention System set.
The late 1990s was a difficult time for the LEGO Group as they embarked on a range of explorative themes. The development of MINDSTORMS was one of their more successful themes. It also saw the development of MINDSTORMS Community Partnerships (MCP). This was one of the first AFOL community partnerships with the LEGO Group.
This short, one-minute YouTube clip by Coder Shah is a trip down memory lane as it features the MINDSTORMS sets over the past 20 years.
This video, also from Coder Shar, showcases several innovative LEGO MINDSTORMS robots that were displayed at the LEGO House for the 20th Anniversary Exhibition of MINDSTORMS.
Kyle Markland - Author of Building Smart LEGO MINDSTORMS EV3 Robots
In 2017 LEGO MINDSTORMS officially named Kyle Markland as a MINDSTORMS Community Partner. He was just 17 years old.
LEGO robotics was Kyles first introduction to STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) in the educational world. His school bought a MINDSTORMS NXT set for the students to try out. Kyle was in the fifth grade.
"I spent most of my days in middle school thinking about solving problems using MINDSTORMS, whether it be for a FIRST LEGO League (FLL) competition robot, or for personal projects I was working on at home.
"The graphical programming languages used to program the NXT and EV3 made programming more approachable and intuitive to me. I started out with the basics: making a robot move from point A to point B. Then, I moved on to programming remote control cars; after I mastered the simple RC program, I honed my skills by adding features and building onto my simple programs to make more complex programs.
"During my final FLL season, I created my first line squaring program, and later a line following program, which taught me about feedback loops. In high school, I conducted research on GPS technology… using a MINDSTORMS EV3!"
Building Smart LEGO MINDSTORMS EV3 Robots
Kyle Markland introduces readers to the robotics found in everyday life. He looks at robotic vacuum cleaners right through to autonomous, or self-driving, cars. In these examples, Kyle explains that the programming required by these two examples differs quite considerably: the robotic vacuum cleaners quietly bump around a house and clean up dust while autonomous cars must make complex observations about the outside world in order to drive safely in a chaotic road environment.
The six projects in Building Smart LEGO MINDSTORMS EV3 Robots also include a range of robotic complexities.
Security Tank – Object Tracking Robot and Timmyton – Interactive Robotic Shark have already been reviewed.
I take a look at Grunt – Quirky Bipedal Robot and Omnilander – Ultimate All Terrain Vehicle in this review.
I will review Falcon – Remote Control Race Car and GPS Car – Autonomous EV3 Navigation early next year.
Grunt – Quirky Bipedal Robot
In Grunt – the Quirky Bipedal Robot, Kyle Markland takes the mechanical robot design in a completely new direction: all of the robots he has made so far have used a tank-style drivetrain with either tracks or wheels to move around.
Grunt does not rely on wheels to carry him around! Instead, he has a simple walking mechanism that allows him to shuffle around on two feet.
This YouTube three-minute clip shows all the quirky features of Grunt.
Builderdude35 logo - Grunt - Quirky Bipedal Robot
Kyle Markland's YouTube Channel, Builderdude35 has over 17,000 followers. He posts new tutorials every Thursday.
The Builderdude35 logo is a clean image of Grunt - Quirky Bipedal Robot.
Omnilander – Ultimate All-Terrain Vehicle
Omnilander, a box-climbing robot. This is the ultimate all-terrain vehicle. Its large tank tracks give it traction over a diverse range of surfaces and allow it to drive up steep inclines.
The Omnilander is also equipped with special hardware that allows it to climb up some vertical obstacles!
This three-minute YouTube clip shows the Omnilander – Ultimate All-Terrain Vehicle in action.
Additional EV3 Parts
Grunt – the Quirky Bipedal Robot utilises an EV3 Infrared Sensor.
The Ultimate All-Terrain Vehicle utilises an EV3 Ultrasonic Sensor and two Medium Servo Motors.
The standard 31313 EV3 set comes one Medium Motor and does not include an Ultrasonic sensor.
The 45544 Education EV3 Core Set does not include any Infrared Sensor and has only one Medium Motor.
Ultimate All-Terrain Vehicle utilises Rubber Attachment For Track Elements which are not found in 31313 EV3 set .
These extra EV3 Sensors, motors and rubber track elements can be sourced from LEGO Online or Bricklink.
There are additional Technic parts needed to build this model but they are mostly used for aesthetic reasons.
Get your EV3 before it is retired
EV3 MINDSTORMS comes in two standard sets: 31313 Mindstorms EV3 and 45544 Education EV3 Core Set. As mentioned earlier, the EV3 MINDSTORMS has been available since 2013.
Some countries are showing the 31313 EV3 set as being out-of-stock although the EV3 intelligent brick and many sensors are still in stock as individual items. Check out your local store before EV3 disappears from the shelves.
Modern robotics
Kyle says, "With all of the time I spent working on robots, it seemed an natural choice for me to continue my studies and pursue engineering after high school, which is why I chose to study at MIT.
"Arguably the birthplace of artificial intelligence, MIT is an incubator for all things related to STEM, and the field of robotics is especially promising. The Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Lab (CSAIL) is one of the largest, most exciting groups here at the Institute.
"CSAIL stands on the bleeding edge of robotics technology, and looking at the projects the group is developing allows us to peer into the future of robotics: technologies such as autonomous cars, the bipedal Atlas robot for natural disaster response, machine learning algorithms that diagnose diseases, and much more."
Kyle's interest in robotics which has lead him to MIT first started with understanding the graphical programming blocks used in LEGO MINDSTORMS. Autonomous robots and artificial intelligence will be infiltrating everyday life more than you can imagine.
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10 comments on this article
Always wanted mindstorms ev3 but it’s just too exspensive might get it in the future
Only ever saw these kits in schools, and even then they very rarely got used which is a shame....
To expensive for what you got to justify buying for myself.
Bit the bullet and bought the book; thanks for the inspiration, FlagsNZ!
Does that mean EV4 is around the corner? I mean it would be a great tie-in with 20 years of mindstorms and EV3 being phased out.
I really hope we see a replacement for EV3 rather than a reliance on Boost alone.
I have several of the Mindstorms NXT sets, even got a replacement 9841 last year direct from Lego. Second-hand NXT sets that I have seen for sale either got for more than original MSRP or for next to nothing. I just wish that Lego would pick one set of electrical connector, for backward compatibility.
Please Lego, find some way to make a Mindstorm BB-8
I was on a mindstorms team when I was a kid. Was a great experience.
I have it but I like making my own creations (i.e. card shuffler, tetrahedron cube rubix solver, lego builder, etc.)
I missed the chance to comment on the random set the other day.
I’ve still got the complete first mindstorms set 9719. It still works just fine too. One of the few sets that hasn’t yet been integrated into my 12YO son’s collection. He’s is currently exploring what he can make with it.
And to be honest he’s a lot more creative with the elements than I ever was!
I know it’s not as technologically advanced than the EV3, but it hasn’t lost it’s playability (or charm!).