Lego Mindstorms NXT 2.0

Lego Mindstorms NXT 2.0 is the second set from LEGO's Lego Mindstorms series, launched on August 5, 2009 at the Lego Shop in the U.S. The set contains 619 pieces, including a new sensor that can detect colors. Its consist of NXT Intelligent Brick, Sensor, and Actuator.

NXT Intelligent Brick

• 32-bit Atmel AT91SAM7S256 main microcontroller (256 KB flash memory, 64 KB RAM)
• 8-bit Atmel ATmega48 microcontroller @ 4 MHz (4 KB flash memory, 512 Bytes RAM)
• 100x64 pixel LCD Screen
• four 6-pin input ports (ports 1-4)
• three 6-pin output ports (ports A-C)
• USB Port
• Bluetooth Class II V2.0
• Loudspeaker - 8 kHz sound quality, 8-bit resolution, 2-16 kHz sample rate
• Four Push Buttons

Orange button: On/Enter

Light grey arrows: moving left and right in the NXT menu

Dark grey button: Clear/Go back

• Powered by six AA batteries or the NXT Rechargeable DC Battery

Lego Mindstorms NXT Part 4: Connector

Lego Mindstorms NXT Sensors are connected to the NXT brick using a 6-position modular connector that features both analog and digital interfaces. The analog interface is backward-compatible (using an adapter) with the older Robotics Invention System. The digital interface is capable of both I²C and RS-485 communication.

NXT Sensor Interface Pinout

Pin	Name	Function	Color	Pin Numbering
1	ANALOG	Analog interface, +9V Supply	white
2	GND	Ground	black
3	GND	Ground	red
4	IPOWERA	+4.3V Supply	green
5	DIGIAI0	I2C Clock (SCL), RS-485 B	yellow
6	DIGIAI1	I2C Data (SDA), RS-485 A	blue

Lego Mindstorms NXT Part 3: Sensors

Lego Mindstorms NXT 1.0 base kit includes:

• 3 identical servo motors that have built-in reduction gear assemblies with internal optical rotary encoders that sense their rotations within one degree of accuracy.
• The touch sensor detects whether it is currently pressed, has been bumped, or released. The orange Enter button and the gray right and left NXT buttons can be programmed to serve as touch sensors. In the NXT-G programming software, a value of 0 is given out when it is not pressed, and a value of 1 is given out if it is pressed down.
• The light sensor detects the light level in one direction, and also includes a LED for illuminating an object. The light sensor can sense reflected light values (using the built-in red LED), or ambient light. In the NXT-G programming software the sensor senses light on a scale of 0 to 100, 100 being very bright and 0 being dark. If calibrated, the sensor can also be used as a distance sensor.
• The sound sensor measures volume level on a scale of 0 to 100, 100 being very loud, 0 being completely silent.
• The ultrasonic sensor can measure the distance from the sensor to something that it is facing, and detect movement. It can show the distance in both centimeters and inches. The maximum distance it can measure is 233 cm with a precision of 3 centimeters. The ultrasonic sensor works by sending out ultrasonic sound waves that bounce off an object ahead of it and then back. It senses the time it took for that to happen. This sensor is only accurate at detecting flat surfaces.

Lego Mindstorms NXT Part 2: Programming

Lego Mindstorms NXT programming is very simple programs. It can be created using the menu on the NXT Intelligent Brick. More complicated programs and sound files can be downloaded using a USB port or wirelessly using Bluetooth. Files can also be copied between two NXT bricks wirelessly, and some mobile phones can be used as a remote control. Up to three NXT bricks can communicate simultaneously via Bluetooth when user created programs are run.

The retail version of the kit includes software for writing programs that run on Microsoft and Macintosh personal computers. The software is based on National Instruments LabVIEW and provides a visual programming language for writing simple programs and downloading them to the NXT Brick. This means that rather than requiring users to write lines of code, they instead can use flowchart like "blocks" to design their program.

Lego Mindstorms NXT Part 1

LEGO Mindstorms NXT is a programmable robotics kit released by LEGO in late July 2006. It replaced the first-generation LEGO Mindstorms kit, which was called the Robotics Invention System. The base kit ships in two versions: the Retail Version (set #8527) and the Education Base Set (set #9797). It comes with the NXT-G programming software, or optionally LabVIEW for LEGO MINDSTORMS. A variety of unofficial languages exist, such as NXC, NBC, leJOS NXJ, and RobotC. A new version of the set, the new Lego Mindstorms NXT 2.0, was released on August 1, 2009, featuring a colour sensor and other upgraded capabilities.