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Building Robots with LEGO Mindstorms NXT
Copyright (cid:14)9 2007 by Elsevier, Inc. All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. Except as permitted
under the Copyright Act of 1976, no part of this publication may be reproduced or distributed in any form or by
any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the publisher, with
the exception that the program listings may be entered, stored, and executed in a computer system, but they may
not be reproduced for publication.
Printed in the United States of America
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0
ISBN-13:9781597491525
Publisher: Amorette Pedersen Project Manager: Gary Byrne
Acquisitions Editor: Andrew Williams Page Layout and Art: Patricia Lupien
Technical Editor: Dave Astolfo Copy Editor: Audrey Doyle
Cover Designer: Michael Kavish Indexer: J. Edmund Rush
For information on rights, translations, and bulk sales, contact Matt Pedersen, Commercial Sales Director and
Rights, at Syngress Publishing; email
Dave Astolfo (GIS A.S.) is a Project Manager/Business Analyst with the
technical arm of a North American environmental consulting company. He
currently provides project management, technical consulting, database
design, and software architecture with a focus on geographic information
systems ranging from desktop mapping software to Web mapping portals
and mobile software applications. His specialties include database modeling
and software design/architecture. Dave is a key contributor to the business
development and implementation of products and services. As such, he
develops enterprisewide technology solutions and methodologies focused
on client organizations.
Dave holds a bachelor's degree from Trent University and is a certified
Geographic Information Systems Applications Specialist holding a certifi-
cate from Sir Sandford Fleming College. In early 2006, Dave was invited by
LEGO to participate in the LEGO MINDSTORMS Developer Program
(MDP) to help LEGO beta test the prerelease of the LEGO MIND-
STORMS NXT robotics system. After the release of the NXT, Dave was
invited back to participate in the LEGO MINDSTORMS Community
Partner Program (MCP) to work with LEGO in developing the product
further while providing an ear to the community. Dave has been involved
with LEGO all of his life, and he has been working with the MIND-
STORMS product since the initial release of the LEGO MINDSTORMS
Robotics Invention System (RIS) in 1998. Dave is well known for building
a MINDSTORMS domino-placing robot that was published in a previous
Syngress book (10 Cool Leg o Ultimate Builders Leg,o Mindstorms Robots, ISBN"
1-931-836-60-4). Since then, he has created newer versions with a more
recent NXT version being used by LEGO marketing staff in Europe. Visit
Dave's Web site, www.plastibots.com, for more information on his work.
Called the "DaVincis of LEGOS," Mario and Giulio Ferrari are world-
renowned experts in the field of LEGO MINDSTORMS robotics.
Mario Ferrari received his first LEGO box around 1964, when he was
four. LEGO was his favorite toy for many years, until he thought he was
too old to play with it. In 1998, the LEGO MINDSTORMS RIS set gave
him reason to again have LEGO become his main addiction. Mario believes
LEGO is the closest thing to the perfect toy. He is Managing Director at
EDIS, a leader in finishing and packaging solutions and promotional pack-
aging. The advent of the MINDSTORMS product line represented for him
the perfect opportunity to combine his interest in IT and robotics with his
passion for LEGO bricks, which started during his early childhood. Mario
has been a very active member of the online MINDSTORMS community
from the beginning and has pushed LEGO robotics to its limits. Mario
holds a bachelor's degree in Business Administration from the University of
Turin and has always nourished a strong interest for physics, mathematics,
and computer science. He is fluent in many programming languages, and
his background includes positions as an IT manager and as a project super-
visor. Mario estimates he owns more than 60,000 LEGO pieces. Mario
works in Modena, Italy, where he lives with his wife, Anna, and his children,
Sebastiano and Camilla.
Giulio Ferrari is Sales Manager at EDIS, a company that specializes in
premiums and promotional packaging. He studied economics and engi-
neering at the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia. He is fond of
computer programming and mathematical sciences, as well as puzzles and
games in general. He has a collection of 1,500 dice of all kinds and shapes.
Giulio coauthored the bestselling Building, Robots with LEGO Mindstorms
(Syngress Publishing, ISBN: 1-928994-67-9) with his brother Mario and
Ralph Hempel. The book has quickly become a fundamental reference and
source of ideas for many LEGO robotics fans. He is also a contributor to
vi
Programming LEGO MINDSTOKMS with Java (Syngress Publishing,
ISBN: 1-928994-55-5) and LEGO MINDSTORMS Masterpieces
(Syngress Publishing, ISBN" 1-931836-75-2). Giulio has been playing with
LEGO bricks since he was very young, and his passion for robotics started
in 1998, with the arrival of the MINDSTO1KMS series. From that moment
on, he held an important place in the creation of the Italian LEGO com-
munity, ItLUG, now one of the most important LEGO user groups world-
wide. He works in Modena, where he lives with his girlfriend, Claire, and
his son, Zeno.
Bryan Bonahoom is a LEGO MINDSTORMS enthusiast. He is a
member of the Lafayette LEGO Robotics Club and one of the original
team that developed the Great Ball Contraption. Bryan is also cofounder of
Brickworld TM. Bryan was selected by LEGO in 2006 as a member of the
MDP and later as a member of the MINDSTORMS Community Partners
(MCP). Bryan was also awarded the Best Robot Design Trophy at the 2005
AFOL Tournament at LEGO headquarters as a member of Team
Hassenplug. Bryan is possibly most well known for the creation of an NXT-
based robot that plays tic-tac-toe with a human opponent.
John Brost had a passion for LEGO and all things mechanical at an early
age. However, the interest waned, and like most adult LEGO fans, John
went through his "dark ages" in high school and while attending Purdue
University. The release of the Star Wars LEGO sets brought a renewed
interest in LEGO to John. But it was a chance encounter with an
announcement of a LEGO Robotic Sumo competition being held locally
that brought John back to LEGO 100 percent. It took only this event to
get John hooked. Less than two weeks later, John had his first MIND-
STORMS RIS kit, and he has been busily building robots and all sorts of
mechanical LEGO contraptions ever since then.
vii
John has participated in all types of MINDSTORMS competitions,
winning a few here and there. He has also been a coach for LafLRC's
(Lafayette LEGO Robotics Club) FIRST LEGO League team for the past
five years. In 2006, John was lucky enough to become a member of the
LEGO MINDSTORMS Developer Program to test the MINDSTORMS
NXT. Currently, John is a moderator on LEGO's NXTlog Web site and a
coordinator for the 2007 Brickworld convention being held in Chicago.
Rebeca Dunn-Krahn is a member of a working group at the University
of Victoria dedicated to increasing awareness and understanding of com-
puter science among children and young adults. She is currently producing
a short documentary film about these outreach efforts that include flee
robotics festivals using LEGO MINDSTORMS. Rebeca has also worked in
quality assurance and as a Java developer.
Rebeca holds a bachelor's degree in computer science and biochemistry
from the University of Victoria and lives in Victoria, Canada, with her
family. Rebeca would like to thank her husband, Tobias, and her children,
Sophia and Sebastian, for their support.
Richard Li is one of two nonadult contributors to Building Robots with
LEGO MINDSTORMS NXT. He is currently a seventh-grader at Beck
Academy and heads two award-winning FIRST LEGO League (FFL)
teams. They have been honored with the Champion's Award on several
occasions and are ranked as two of the top teams yearly. When not working
with his FLL teams, he experiments with his own robots at home. He
would like to thank his parents, Lin and Liang-Hong, for buying him his
LEGOs and dealing with him as he stayed up late several nights to meet his
deadline for this book. Richard currently resides in Simpsonville, SC.
Christopher Dale Minamyer (Bachelor of Science in Mechanical
Engineering, University of Arizona, 2007) began studying mechanical engi-
neering during the fall of 2002 and graduated from the University of
Arizona in May 2007. A lifelong LEGO fan, Chris has been building with
LEGO for 20 years.
viii
For the past four years Chris was an instructor of LEGO Robotics at
Ventana Vista Elementary School in Tucson, AZ. During this time he
instructed more than 300 students in grades one through five in LEGO
MINDSTORMS RCX and NXT. In addition Chris is a founding member
of the Tucson LEGO Club Masters Group and the head coach. Chris has
been a FIRST LEGO League coach for the past four years. In that time the
teams he coached have won the Robot Performance award (2004) and the
Research Quality award (2005) for the state of Arizona. In addition Chris
received the Adult Coach/Mentor award (2005) and the Appreciation award
(2006).
Chris would like to thank his mother, Martha, and father, Rodger, for
always supporting his LEGO building, and giving him his first set at the age
of three. In addition he would like to thank Misha Chernobelskiy of the
Tucson LEGO Club for providing an ideal environment for the instruction
of LEGO enthusiasts. Finally, Chris would like to thank Caryl Jones of
Ventana Vista Elementary School for her support and her continuing dedi-
cation to teaching LEGO robotics.
Deepak Patil developed interest in LEGO robotics when the original
LEGO MINDSTORMS kit was introduced in 1998. Since then Deepak
has coached FLL teams and has conducted several robotics workshops with
LEGO MINDSTORMS.
Deepak has a master's degree in Industrial Design from liT Bombay
and has designed user interfaces for diverse products, including pro-
grammable logic controllers, telephony software, and multimedia systems.
Deepak has worked for Cisco and other leading technology companies, and
he has led technology projects with globally interspersed teams of
engineers.
Deepak lives in Richmond, VA, with his wife, Priti, daughter, Vibha,
and son, Uday, an avid LEGO Robotics fan.
Mac Ruiz is a retired construction superintendent. His work entailed
problem solving and coordinating of off-site engineers and subcontractors
with the projects' realities. He also has experience in fabrication of farm
equipment from his family's dealership. This included steel fabrication and
mechanicals.
ix
