Lego Mindstorm NXT

I got a new toy this weekend and started playing with it. It was interesting because two of my kids wanted to play with it as well. The new toy is the Lego Mindstorm. It is a simple robot that allows you to program how it moves and interacts with its surroundings. It is interesting to me because I have taken a variety of programming classes as well as artificial intelligence classes. It is interesting to my oldest son because he is in college now and is getting significant exposure to simulations and building things through his engineering classes. My youngest son loves it because it is a toy that can move around and chase things.

I’m looking forward to doing more with this. The program interface looks relatively simple enough for the youngest to use and complex enough for the oldest to play with as well. I am going to look at loading a java virtual machine onto the system and see if I can get an AI engine on the robot. I was intrigued to find out that the system is pre-wired for bluetooth so that I can talk to it with a headset or control it with my cell phone. This looks to be an interesting project and something that should be fun to play with.

more as I learn more….