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Not your dad’s train set… MINDSTORMS NXT controls LEGO R/C Trains with HiTechnic IR Link!
 The HiTechnic IR Link (IR stands for InfraRed) has been available for a little over a year now. If you have the MINDSTORMS RCX brick, motors and sensors, LEGO TECHNIC sets with Power Function Motors, or even LEGO R/C Trains, the IR Link from HiTechnic can enable you to control them with the NXT.
The folks from HiTechnic created a LEGO R/C Trains project that uses the MINDSTORMS NXT and a HiTechnic IR Link to control the trains.
In this project a MINDSTORMS NXT Ultrasonic Sensor and a Light Sensor are used to detect the location of the trains. An NXT program monitors the location of each train and sends commands (using the IR Link) to each of the trains to control when to start, and then to stop once they have reached their destination.
The NXT can control up to three trains at a time, and can select and set their speed and direction of each.
What a great project for the holidays, MINDSTORMS NXT controlled LEGO Trains under your Christmas tree!
To see video of these trains in action and to download a program file, check out the HiTechnic LEGO R/C Train project on NXTLOG.
The IR link from HiTechnic is available online at LEGO Shop at Home: IR (Infrared) Link Sensor
The LEGO R/C train is also available from Shop at Home: LEGO R/C Train Sets
The IR Link sensor NXT-G blocks are available from the downloads page at the HiTechnic website:
HiTechnic
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Learning about games and playing through LEGO MINDSTORMS NXT
 Twice a year a course, held by the youth organisation FDF, for approximately 300 young kids in the age span of 14-19 is held at The Outdoor Center Sletten near the city of Silkeborg, Denmark. All these 300 are sorted into groups according to their desire for learning about the world, philosophy or themselves. Each group is run by volunteers, called instructors for this purpose, who all love to pass on the knowledge they themselves have been taught or learned throughout the years.
We had a group of 19 young men and women who had decided they wanted to learn more about the essentials of games and playing (theory and practice). Therefore it was with great fondness we had thought of LEGO when we decided to implement it into our schedule on the course in the fall of 2008. Normal LEGO, however, would not do for a, to some degree, serious course. Also we feared traditional LEGO would not catch the attention of the group we had in mind. Consequently we stumbled upon LEGO Mindstorms NXT. It had all the things we were looking for, the basics of LEGO where you assemble the pieces in an easy to understand way. It had the looks to appeal our group and required the imaginative and ingenuity we hoped to inspire the group with. Unfortunately, the prize was slightly out of our reach, considering we would need around 10 complete sets to make sure everybody would be able to get their hands on this cool machinery. Luckily, a request was posted to the right people, and we were allowed to borrow 10 complete sets of LEGO for the benefits of learning and understanding it in practice.
There had been set several days aside, computers had been borrowed from friends, families and other instructors to run the LEGO Mindstorms NXT programs, to make downloading and creating programs as quick as possible. Then the day finally dawned, and my fellow instructors and I looked at each other nervously. Had we missed our mark? Would this even appeal in the slightest to this group of teenagers? A generation, infamous for its towering standards and from time to time unreasonable criticism of things earlier generations had no problem with. Had LEGO simply been a fad that we had loved and was now lost in the abyss of older generations? With great anxiety we waited for them to arrive, and most of all their reaction.
We were not disappointed. The group was overly ecstatic to learn what we had planned for them. Boys and girls alike were only not racing towards the big grey boxes placed alongside the computers out of politeness as we finished our introduction. When we allowed them, they actually ran to each box to delve into the mysteries of LEGO Mindstorms NXT. The girls were fascinated with the robot’s ability to recognize colour, and the boys were awestruck by the possibility to build humanoid robots.
After the first day with LEGO Mindstorms NXT, about eight hours of intensive work with the robots, we realized that we would not have enough time to learn them perfectly, as the possibilities and options seemed to expand rapidly as we learned more and more. In the end, the teenagers who had come to Sletten to learn about games and playing went home with so much more, thanks to LEGO Mindstorms NXT and the generosity of The LEGO Company.
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NXTLOG Holiday Building Challenge
 'Tis the season to be building
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Robots to help with holiday gilding
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Put your project up on NXTLOG…
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Wow! A cool robotic yule log
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The holiday season is here and we want you to design a Holiday NXTbot! Your robot must represent a seasonal holiday. (Thanksgiving, Kwanzaa, Hanukkah, Christmas, Eid-el-Fitr, Diwali, and more…).
You can make a NXT Turkey, a timely ornament, a Kwanzaa kinara, a dreidel, or even a robotic gift wrapper. The ideas are endless so use your creative imagination to make a fun holiday bot!
There's no limit on amount of LEGO MINDSTORMS NXT sensors, motors, NXT programmable bricks, HiTechnic sensors, or Bluetooth communication you can use on your MINDSTORMS NXT Holiday Bot.
You have until Friday December 31, 2008 to enter your robot.
See this NXTLOG to enter Holiday Building Challenge
Happy Building!
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The NXTLOG Cool Creature Building Challenge Winners are in!
 Lots of brave NXTLOGgers entered the Cool Creature Building Challenge, designing robots that resemble creatures of all kids. Three of the winners are first time NXTLOGgers! From insects to slimy snails, all the bots entered in this challenge are worth building and playing with. Visit, comment, rate, and get inspired by the gaggle, flock, or swarm of robots in this challenge by entering the tag "nxt200810"
Here are the winners:
CHAMPION'S AWARD
Robby, the Elephant
Created by:
Robby-Hood
Robby-Hood created Robby, the Elephant because, “We always thought Elephant was a really cool, majestic, and friendly creature.” This NXT Elephant moves its trunk up and down and ears back and forth as it is walking, and it grunts as well! This project uses just one NXT brick, 3 motors, and its body is 100% constructed out of LEGO Pieces. Robby-Hood clearly describes how he construced and programmed the robot and provides an LDD and program file so you can build one too! For a very cool creature, we award Robby, the Elephant the Champion’s Award! (This is Robby-Hood’s first project on NXTLOG.)
ROBOT DESIGN AWARD
Slime the Snail
Created by:
jayko543
Slime the Snail was created as a “happy accident.” First Jayko543 tried making a little biped, but when it tried to walk, it fell over and flopped all over the table. “I thought it sort of looked like a slug or snail. So thats when I created it. . . ewwww.” But Slime the Snail is not all that gross, it has some fun and innovative design elements. The motors are used as CAMs (the motors are offset on the robot) to make it move, and when the robots eyes are touched or when something makes a loud noise it will pull them into its shell. Jayko543 provides program files, an LDD file, and video of Slime the Snail in action! For creative and unique robot, we award Slime the Snail the Robot Design Award. (This is Jayko543’s fourteenth project on NXTLOG and the second contest award - sneezebot ("achoo") won the CREATIVE USE OF NXTLOG AWARD in the Winter Wonderland Challenge).
ROBOT PERFORMANCE AWARD
Norton the NXT-Rex
Created by: Elmo9701
If at first you don’t succeed, try, try, again. That’s what Elmo9701 did with the Norton the NXT-Rex project. It is now a robotic dinosaur. It started as a worm, then evolved to a dragon, and finally transformed to Norton the NXT-Rex. Elmo9701’s NXTLOG is well organized into steps that describe the robot’s Design, the Challenges and Solutions to building the project and a highly detailed step related to The Program. Norton is programmed to interact with its user via the sound sensor, touch sensor, ultrasonic sensor, motors, and NXT buttons, display screen, and speaker. He talks to the user, walks on the floor, adds simple numbers, and tells the user the distance to objects that are in front of him. Elmo9701 annotated the program files and gives credit to NXTLOGgers LegoManIAm94 and NXTGeek2 whose projects inspired the programming. For excellence in robotic programming (and NXTLOG team effort) we award Norton the NXT-Rex the Robot Performance Award! (This is Elmo9701’s first NXTLOG Project.)
CREATIVE USE OF NXTLOG AWARD
A PANDA!!
Created by:
chocolatelover2014
A very creative Cool Creature Challenge entry, A PANDA!! is narrated by 3 minifig reporters from the LNN (LEGO News Network), Samantha, Daniel, and Adam. The three are working on an epic mission to rescue a Panda from danger in the mountains to the LEGOLAND Zoo. When they rescue the Panda they discover it is lonely so they build a NXT Panda to keep it company. The robotic Panda is programmed to walk on a quest for bamboo, and it will back up if it sees dark, and will stop when its tail is hit. For a very original NXTLOG, we award A PANDA!! the creative use of NXTLOG award. (This is chocolatelover2014’s first entry on NXTLOG).
HONORABLE MENTION(S)
Some robots listed in the Honerable Mention section were not considered for awards due to (1) a missing program file, (2) a missing .lxf (LEGO Digital Designer File), or (3) both.
Walkingthunder-The Dragon
Created by: NatoNX
Roboworm, 1-legged walker
Created by: Luis007006
Bumble bee
Created by: rammjet
Turtle bot
Created by: spacedude1234567
Snail
Created by: alemaster123
Mawchaw the gineapiglet
Created by: rammjet
The Waddling Penguin
Created by: toothpaste35
Robo-Girrafe
Created by: doddy345
monkey
Created by: duncydunc
Jumping insects with moving feelers
Created by: Zsolo66
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