LEGO Mindstorms NXT will be available sometime this fall. It is the next generation of LEGO’s robotics kit product line. What’s cool about it for a Mac user? How about controlling your own LEGO robot via USB or Bluetooth from your Mac?
A small 1st generation Mindstorms toy
I bought the first generation LEGO Mindstorms kit when it came out way back in the last millenium (1998). And, after reading the features for NXT...
…I am eagerly awaiting this next version.
And, if you pass by a newstand, check out the February issue of Wired. The feature in big red letters reads The LEGO Army Wants You. Any other AFOL (Adult Fan of Lego) out there in MacDevCenter-land?
I can't wait. I teach fifth grade, and have used Mindstorms with my students for a few years. Getting it to work on my Macs has always been frustrating. Right now we are using Microworlds Robotics EX - and updated version of logo - to program them and it works pretty well. Nothing beats legos for getting kids' brains pumping.
The new kit looks to be really cool. I like that they dumped their software and pretty much went with the next generation of Robolab from National Instruments. I applied for a pre-release demo kit, but I am not holding my breath. They are only giving out a few hundred. There is a blog started about the NXT here:
http://nxtbot.com/blog/
They have some early stuff from CES. Can't wait to see the hacks that come out for this one. The NXT has a beefier processor and more interface options.
This is simply going to be fantastic. I have been a LEGO person for years, and the new NXT are going to be a massive advance. My son is now finally getting to the age where he will be able to use these. As with the first generation, I can't wait to see what third party applications and add-ons will be developed.
I can't wait either. A Lego fan since ages, I am Mac OS X Developer with a focus on hardware.
This will be a joy!
Alex
I have been wanting to get my hands on Mindstorms for years! I love LEGOS. I have been a LEGO person for over THIRTY YEARS! I can still remember my very first kit. I was in the 3rd grade and in the hospital to get my tonsils removed. They gave me a littke Model T LEGO kit. Who could have known that I'd still have that kit today? I can't wait! I can't wait! I can't wait!
Brad
Does anyone have info or links about programming the older version of Mindstorms from a Mac OS X machine? I used to be able to use NCQ to write and download code, but once I switched to Mac OS X I wasn't able to get the software to connect to the brick. It may be the drivers for my Belkin USB-serial converter, or something else. Any hints would be appreciated, especially since I actually have a useful project in mind for it.