The Mindstorms NXT 8547lets you realise, build and program your own robot. But that's not everything!
It's not just about constructing a machine and making it do things, but about making more and more compex machines that get more and more intelligent as you learn some advanced programming. You likely will not go on to make the next Robocop or Terminator, but with all the amazing things you can do with the LEGO Mindstorms NXT, you'll be occupied and delighted for a lifetime. It's kind of like that old classic Lego set that you might still have stacked away. It's always good fun when you take it back out and see what new things you can construct. The Mindstorms set will have a similar effect, but better - you'll never put it away in the basement or cellar, it will always be kept in sight - ready to be drawn away and played with again and again..
It IS a lot of money to have to pay for a Christmas toy, but for something that'll last you a lifetime, the LEGO Mindstorms NXT 8547 is most certainly worth buying this Christmas.
Who Should You Get The Mindstorms Set For
The Mindstorms set is suitable for anyone over ten years of age. It is amazingly simple to follow the instructions for constructing your first machine.
And ofcourse, anyone hearing the world 'programming' probably thinks it's complex, but it's astonishingly simple when you come to use it.
Kids can find numerous ways of enjoying their Mindstorms set, whereas the die-hard robotics lover can indulge in complicated programs that can play naughts and crosses and even solve a Rubik's cube.
What Does The LEGO Mindstorms 8547 Come With??
The LegoMindstorms box contains six hundred and nineteen parts. This is mostly comprised of connectors, wheels, rods, beams and sensors.
The Standard Building Unit
You may notice that the basic piece is a beam instead of a block as they usually have in LEGO, producing a Meccano look. But Mindstorms isn't like Meccano, as you don't need to use any extra instruments to connect the beams together.
Due to a huge number of pieces that look almost identical, it may be a little difficult at first and perhaps somewhat frustrating trying to find the pieces that you need. But after some time you'll know where to find just what you need and what it looks like, so it'll take you no time at all to make those robots.
3 Motors - The Movement Unit
These servo motors will give your robots motion.
Sensory Units
The sensors will allow your machine to acquire data about its surroundings. Here are the sensors that the Mindstorms NXT 2.0 is equipped with
1. A light sensing unit, which is sort of like the eyes of the robot, allowing it to see different colors..
2. A unit that senses touch, which allows your robot to have a particular response when it touches something, or when something/someone else touches the robot.
3. A sensory unit for audio stimuli, enabling your robot to listen to and react to various sounds.
4. An ultrasound sensory unit that makes use of echo-location, so your robot can know how far away it is from an object such as a wall.
The Mindstorms Intelligent Brick
Your robot's core processing unit, a tiny computer-like device that you program and according to the programming you give it, directs the servo motors to react by implementation a movement, whether it be by stepping forward, turning a wheel, shooting balls, flicking through pages in a book..... and so on.
Instruction Manual
The User's Guide for the Mindstorms kit is very thorough and quite simple to follow, with one-step-at-a-time instructions on how to make a shooter bot, robotic alligator, color sorting machine and a walking man-like robot as featured on the box.
Past this you can go on to make, build and program anything you want. You can also buy separate guides (yes, whole guides written just on the LEGO Mindstorms NXT 8547) that demonstrate how to build more sophisticated robots with far superior programming.
The one trouble you may face when embarking past the guide book and into the unknown, is a lack of pieces when you want to construct something big. If you run into this pitfall, rest assured - you do not need to purchase a whole nother Mindstorms set. Instead, you can simply complement your current Mindstorms set with parts from the Lego Technique range.
Where Do They Have The Lowest Prices For The Mindstorms Set?
