book

The LEGO MINDSTORMS EV3 Laboratory

by Daniele Benedettelli

October 2013

Intermediate to advanced

432 pages

11h 44m

English

No Starch Press

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playing without a computerwhom is this book for?what do I need to use this book?the EV3 softwarethe structure of this bookthe companion websitelet’s start already!
the studless way of buildingstudless vs. studded: the structural differencesnaming the piecesbeamsstraight beamsangular beamsframesthin beams and linksconnectorspins and axle pinsaxles and bushesaxle, pin, and angle connectorscross blocksgearswheels, tires, and treadsdecorative piecesmiscellaneous pieceselectronic piecesthe differences between the EV3 retail and education setsconclusion

base moduleROV3R with wheelstouch sensor bumperROV3R with touch sensor bumperline-following moduleline-following ROV3Rfront IR sensorROV3R with front IR sensorwall-following modulewall-following ROV3Ralternative: ROV3R with wall-following and line-following modulesDexter’s cleaning toolROV3R with cleaning toolalternative #1: ROV3R with cleaning tool and touch sensor bumperalternative #2: wall-following ROV3R with cleaning toolROV3R with treadssecret project: grabber moduleconclusion
the building blocks of any programsequenceschoicesloopsprogramming with the brick program appyour first brick programthe block palettethe action blocksthe move blockthe large motor blockthe medium motor blockthe display blockthe sound blockthe brick status light blockthe wait blocksthe wait touch sensor blockthe wait reflected light sensor blockthe wait color sensor blockthe wait brick buttons blockthe wait motor rotation blockthe wait time blockthe wait infrared sensor blockthe wait infrared remote blockthe loop blockconclusion
ROV3R with touch sensor bumpermaking ROV3R drive along geometric pathsmaking ROV3R follow linesusing the brick program to follow linesimproving the motionmaking ROV3R follow wallsimproving the motionconclusion
EV3 software setupEV3 software overviewthe lobbythe programming interfacethe hardware pagethe tools menuthe programming palettesthe action blocksThe Flow control blocksthe sensor blocksthe data operations blocksthe advanced blocksMy Blocksproject propertiesconnecting the EV3 brick to your computerimporting a brick programanalyzing the imported brick programediting the imported brick programgoing for precisiontraveling a precise distanceturning a precise number of degreesexperimenting with action blockscontrolling the program flowthe switch blockconclusion
remote IR beaconusing the remote IR beacon as a remoteusing sensor blocks and data wiresEV3 software features for debugging programsdisplaying data nicely with the text blockunderstanding data typesdata type conversionfollowing the remote IR beaconusing the basic operations of the math blockconclusion
dealing with measurement noisethe math block in advanced modethe round blockthe compare blockconverting numeric values to logic valuesembedded compare blocksthe constant blockimproving our wall-following programconclusion
the angular beams unveiledtriangles vs. rectanglesextending beamsbracingcross blocksgears revisitedgetting gears to mesh together wellassembling gearsgear combinations90-degree-coupled gearsgear trainsthe worm gearmotion transformationbuilding ideas for the motorsmedium motor with front output #1medium motor with front output #2medium motor with single lateral outputmedium motor with double lateral outputmedium motor with single geared-down lateral outputmedium motor with gearboxmedium motor with multiple outputslarge motor with horizontal outputlarge motor gearing optionsconclusion
how does WATCHGOOZ3 walk?right leg assemblyleft leg assemblymain assemblyleft foot assemblyright foot assemblymain assemblyback bracket assemblyfront bracket assemblymain assemblyneck assemblymain assembly
the brick program for WATCHGOOZ3the programhow it worksrunning and troubleshooting the robotimporting and editing the program in the EV3 softwaremaking a backupmodifying the programcreating My Blocks with the My Block Builder toolcreating My Blocks with inputs and outputsautomatically adding inputs and outputs to My Blocksadditional configuration of a My Blockcreating an advanced programthe ResetBody My Blockcreating the advanced My Block for walkingthe final program for WATCHGOOZ3the logic operations blockthe timer blockconclusion
main assemblyhood assemblymain assemblycar roof assemblymain assemblysteering assemblymain assemblybuilding the R3MOTEconclusion
electronic vs. mechanical differentialsusing variablesusing arraysusing the variable block with numeric and logic arraysusing the array operations blockusing the switch block with multiple casesrunning parallel sequences (multitasking)building the My Blocksthe ResetSteer My Blockthe Steer My Blockthe Drive My Blockthe ReadRemote2 My Blockprogramming the car to drive aroundprogramming the car for remote controlusing arrays to clean up the Read Remote My Blockprogramming the car to follow the beaconthe Sign My Blockthe Saturation My Blockthe ReadBeacon My Blockthe range blockthe Followbeacon programadding a siren effect to the SUP3R CARthe loop interrupt blockthe stop program blockconclusion
main assemblyright leg assemblymain assemblyleft leg assemblymain assemblychest assemblymain assemblyleft arm assemblyright arm assemblymain assemblyback shield assemblyback shield middle subassemblycontinuing the back shield assemblyhead subassemblycompleting the back shield assemblymain assemblybuilding the COLOR CUB3conclusion
the file access blockcreating and deleting a file and writing datareading data from a filedetecting the end of a filethe random blockbuilding the My Blocksthe ResetLegs My Blockthe WalkFWD My Blockthe Laser My Blockthe Turn My Blockthe PowerDownFX My Blockthe WaitButton My Blockthe SayColor My Blockthe ExeCode My Blockthe MakeProgram My Blockthe RunProgram My Blockthe MakePrgFile My Blockthe ParseFile My Blockthe RunPrgFile My Blockprogramming the SENTIN3L to patrolcolor-programming the SENTIN3L at runtimemaking permanent runtime color programsconclusion
main assemblylegs frame assemblymain assemblyleft legright leg assemblymain assemblyEV3 brick assemblymain assemblyhead and torso assemblymain assemblyconclusion
building the My Blocks for the Wander programthe Reset My Blockthe MoveAbsolute and MoveAbsolute2 My Blocksthe Step My Blockthe Roar My Blockthe Chew My Blockthe Look My Blockthe Right My Blockthe Left My Blockthe TurnUntil My Blockprogramming the T-R3X to wanderdesigning the behavior of the T-R3XDigging Deeper: Behavior Modeling Using State Machinesimplementing a state machinegeneral structurestarting statestate variabletransitionssensor eventstimer eventstimer-filtered eventsactionsDigging Deeper: Computing Complex Logic Operations Using the Math Blockmaking the My Blocks for the final programthe Turn My Blockthe ReadBeacon My Blockthe INIT My Blockthe IDLE My Blockthe HUNGRY My Blockthe SEEK My Blockthe CHASE My Blockprogramming the T-R3X’s behaviorconclusion
electronic devicesthe EV3 softwareturning the retail set into the education core setturning the education core set into the retail setturning the education expansion set into the retail set

Content preview from The LEGO MINDSTORMS EV3 Laboratory

introduction

The idea for this book was born in 2012 during a sandstorm in Saudi Arabia. I was locked in my hotel room waiting for the weather to improve and listening to Paul Dukas’s symphonic poem The Sorcerer’s Apprentice. At that time, I was involved in helping The LEGO Group in developing and testing the new LEGO MINDSTORMS EV3. I began drafting the story of a kid given the chance to become the apprentice of a scientist; I wanted this story to be the background of my next book about LEGO MINDSTORMS.

playing without a computer

The LEGO Group’s idea for the EV3 set is that it should be fully usable if you have a computer with a fast Internet connection. Unlike previous versions, the EV3 Software is available only as a download. You also won’t ...