You can see the popularity of the Lego Mindstorms NXT robotics system by the number of books available on Amazon.com dealing with the NXT. Here is just a sample:
Thursday, March 12, 2009
Limited Edition Black NXT Brick
Celebrate 10 years of LEGO Mindstorms with this limited-edition black NXT microcontroller. A limited number of the units will be available exclusively at Amazon.com for a short period.
Thursday, March 5, 2009
Northern Maine Robot Track Meet
CLICK HERE FOR THE OFFICIAL MAINE ROBOTICS INFO
May 9th, 2008 9:00 am
Field House - Maine Maritime Academy, Castine
Sponsored by the Maine Maritime Academy
For map & directions:
Maine Maritime Academy
The Maine Robot Track Meet is designed to
be accessible and affordable for all size teams.
We believe a team of one should be able to
compete as well as a team of 30.
NOTE!! There are significant changes for 2009, please read and review all
events you are entering.
Payments accepted in the form of check, Purchase Order, or online payment through
our MR Shopping Page
Cost is per child, not per team. This is a benefit for smaller teams, and about the same for teams
of 10, when compared to the FIRST LEGO League or other national robotics programs.
Open to all children currently enrolled in grades 3 to 8. Teams must be coached by
an adult over 18 who is approved by the school or organization sponsoring the team.
Teams may be of any number of children and each team may compete in one,
several, or all of the events. However, each team may only enter seven events (once
in each of the seven events, or seven robots in one event, or any combination). If you
have lots of robots to compete you will need to register more teams from your group,
but the cost is the same.
Each team builds robots (or bridge) before coming to the track meet and pits their
creations against the creations of other teams. Full rules and descriptions are
posted above in the Official Description.
The Maine Robot Track Meet is designed to evaluate finished products in the form of
robot performance. In this respect it is very much like a track meet.
Robots may be of any shape or variety as long as they meet the robot rules.
Programming, individual building styles, team work, or other important
aspects are NOT part of the MRTM. All criteria are based on the ability of
the robot or construction to perform under specific challenges.
The events (we've tried to highlight the changes below):
The slope climber: Build a robot that can climb the steepest slope (up to 80
degrees from horizontal). If more than one robot can make it up the steepest
slope, then the fastest to do it wins! (video)
The table clearing mission: Build a robot that can move around a table top
without falling off and clear up to 8 empty aluminum cans from the table. This
robot must use sensors to identify the edge of the table to keep from falling
off. The fastest robot to do this wins! New Event!
The Delivery Mission: Build and program a robot to deliver a LEGO object to
a designated location on the field. Score is a combination of time and
placement. Changed Field!
The fastest robot: The only goal here is to make a robot that can go straight
for 18 feet, pass through a four foot goal, and do it faster than anyone else!
Sound easy? Let's see what people come up with.
The strongest robot: Build a robot that can pull a lot of weight! How much?
Let's start with 20 pounds and go up to 60 pounds. If more than one can pull
60 pounds for 2 feet, then it will be the one that can do it fastest.
The strongest bridge: Build a non-robotic LEGO bridge that spans 2 feet.
Start loading it down with weight (up to 80 pounds) until the bridge fails or you
reach 60 pounds. If more than one bridge can hold 80 pounds, then the
lightest bridge wins! I put an "Understanding Bridge Stresses" here
Ping Pong Shot Put: Build a stationary robot that can deliver ping pong balls
to a pair of receiving bins 1 meter away. Deliver as many as possible within a
30 second trial. Changed (video)
Robot Speed Build: Build a standard "treadbot" robot or the NXT Simple
Wheeled Robot using Maine Robotic parts (every competitor gets a bucket with
the parts) in as little time as possible. Added the NXT this year!
There will be trophies for each of the 8 events as well as an overall meet champion
trophy. Each participant will receive a t-shirt for participating in the program.
May 9th, 2008 9:00 am
Field House - Maine Maritime Academy, Castine
Sponsored by the Maine Maritime Academy
For map & directions:
Maine Maritime Academy
The Maine Robot Track Meet is designed to
be accessible and affordable for all size teams.
We believe a team of one should be able to
compete as well as a team of 30.
NOTE!! There are significant changes for 2009, please read and review all
events you are entering.
Payments accepted in the form of check, Purchase Order, or online payment through
our MR Shopping Page
Cost is per child, not per team. This is a benefit for smaller teams, and about the same for teams
of 10, when compared to the FIRST LEGO League or other national robotics programs.
Open to all children currently enrolled in grades 3 to 8. Teams must be coached by
an adult over 18 who is approved by the school or organization sponsoring the team.
Teams may be of any number of children and each team may compete in one,
several, or all of the events. However, each team may only enter seven events (once
in each of the seven events, or seven robots in one event, or any combination). If you
have lots of robots to compete you will need to register more teams from your group,
but the cost is the same.
Each team builds robots (or bridge) before coming to the track meet and pits their
creations against the creations of other teams. Full rules and descriptions are
posted above in the Official Description.
The Maine Robot Track Meet is designed to evaluate finished products in the form of
robot performance. In this respect it is very much like a track meet.
Robots may be of any shape or variety as long as they meet the robot rules.
Programming, individual building styles, team work, or other important
aspects are NOT part of the MRTM. All criteria are based on the ability of
the robot or construction to perform under specific challenges.
The events (we've tried to highlight the changes below):
The slope climber: Build a robot that can climb the steepest slope (up to 80
degrees from horizontal). If more than one robot can make it up the steepest
slope, then the fastest to do it wins! (video)
The table clearing mission: Build a robot that can move around a table top
without falling off and clear up to 8 empty aluminum cans from the table. This
robot must use sensors to identify the edge of the table to keep from falling
off. The fastest robot to do this wins! New Event!
The Delivery Mission: Build and program a robot to deliver a LEGO object to
a designated location on the field. Score is a combination of time and
placement. Changed Field!
The fastest robot: The only goal here is to make a robot that can go straight
for 18 feet, pass through a four foot goal, and do it faster than anyone else!
Sound easy? Let's see what people come up with.
The strongest robot: Build a robot that can pull a lot of weight! How much?
Let's start with 20 pounds and go up to 60 pounds. If more than one can pull
60 pounds for 2 feet, then it will be the one that can do it fastest.
The strongest bridge: Build a non-robotic LEGO bridge that spans 2 feet.
Start loading it down with weight (up to 80 pounds) until the bridge fails or you
reach 60 pounds. If more than one bridge can hold 80 pounds, then the
lightest bridge wins! I put an "Understanding Bridge Stresses" here
Ping Pong Shot Put: Build a stationary robot that can deliver ping pong balls
to a pair of receiving bins 1 meter away. Deliver as many as possible within a
30 second trial. Changed (video)
Robot Speed Build: Build a standard "treadbot" robot or the NXT Simple
Wheeled Robot using Maine Robotic parts (every competitor gets a bucket with
the parts) in as little time as possible. Added the NXT this year!
There will be trophies for each of the 8 events as well as an overall meet champion
trophy. Each participant will receive a t-shirt for participating in the program.
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