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Latest Question
Category:
Beginner
Where do you get new ideas from? How can I come up with new ideas for projects?
You just have to keep your eyes (and your mind!) open. Some people get ideas from contests (that's one of the reasons LEGO has contests on NXTLOG - to spread ideas & see new solutions). Sometimes it's from another product that you see in the "real world" (my Packbot robot was completely inspired by a robot the military uses that I had seen videos of).
Sometimes, an idea will come to you from a friend, or a family member, or teacher, or a book. You just have to be aware that inspiration is all around you - but you have to look at it that way. Personally, trying to "force" myself to be inspired is very difficult. But trying to beat my friends in some contest has sometimes resulted in the best robots I've ever made. Or when someone has told me, "but there's probably no way you could do that in LEGO", it's just made me work harder... and sometimes, prove them wrong.
Answered by ...
Name:Brian Davis
From:Elkhart, Indiana, USA
Experience:Brian Davis is a stay-at-home parent and physics professor teaching physics, astronomy, & biophysics from Elkhart, Indiana, USA. He has taught a FLL type group (of 4 to 12 year olds) at his son’s school and he started entering contests, and launched up the MINDSTORMS learning cur...