Lego Mindstorms EV3 facts for kids
Lego Mindstorms EV3 is a cool robotics kit from Lego. It's the third version in the Mindstorms series, following the Lego Mindstorms NXT 2.0. The "EV" stands for "evolution," showing how the Mindstorms line has grown. The "3" means it's the third main computer brick, after the RCX and NXT. Lego officially announced it on January 4, 2013, and it came out in stores on September 1, 2013. An education version was released a bit earlier, on August 1, 2013. Many exciting robot competitions use this kit, like the FIRST Lego League Challenge and the World Robot Olympiad.
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What's Inside the EV3 Kit?
The biggest upgrade from the older Lego Mindstorms NXT kits to the EV3 is how much smarter the main computer brick became. The NXT's brain was good, but the EV3 has a much more powerful processor. It even runs on a special version of Linux, which is a computer operating system.
The EV3 brick also has new features like a USB port and a Micro SD card slot. This means you can connect it to more devices and add extra storage, up to 32GB!
When you get an EV3 kit, it comes with instructions to build 5 different robots. These include cool names like EV3RSTORM, GRIPP3R, R3PTAR, SPIK3R, and TRACK3R. Lego also put instructions online for 12 more projects, like ROBODOZ3R and the EL3CTRIC GUITAR.
You can program your EV3 robots using a special computer program called Lego Mindstorms EV3 Home Edition. This program uses a visual language with "blocks" instead of lines of code, making it easy to learn. You can also program the robot directly on the brick itself! Recently, you can even use MicroPython to code your robots.
Home and Education Sets
There are two main types of EV3 sets:
- The EV3 Home (31313) set includes:
* 1 EV3 programmable brick (the brain of your robot) * 2 Large Motors (for powerful movements) * 1 Medium Motor (for smaller, quicker actions) * 1 Touch Sensor (to detect when it touches something) * 1 Color Sensor (to see colors and light) * 1 Infrared Sensor (to detect objects and signals from a remote control) * 1 Remote Control (to steer your robot) * Cables and a USB cable * 585 TECHNIC building pieces
- The Education EV3 Core Set (45544) is designed for schools and learning. It includes:
* 1 EV3 programmable brick * 2 Large Motors * 1 Medium Motor * 2 Touch Sensors * 1 Color Sensor * 1 Gyroscopic Sensor (to measure rotation and balance) * 1 Ultrasonic Sensor (to measure distance, like a bat) * Cables and a USB cable * 1 Rechargeable battery * 547 TECHNIC building pieces
You can also buy an expansion set for the Educational Core Set, which adds 853 more Lego pieces. With the core education set, you can build robots like the EV3 educator robot, GyroBoy, and the Robot Arm H25. The expansion set lets you build robots like the Tank Bot and the Stair Climber.
How EV3 Compares to Older Versions
Here's a quick look at how the EV3 brick is different from the older NXT and RCX bricks:
| EV3 | NXT | RCX | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Release Date | September 2013 | July 2006 | 1998 |
| Display | 178×128 pixel Black and white screen |
100×64 pixel Black and white screen |
Simple Black and white screen |
| Main Processor | Faster ARM9 core @300 MHz |
ARM7 core @48 MHz |
Older H8/300 @16 MHz |
| Memory/Storage | 64 MB RAM 16 MB Flash microSDHC Slot |
64 KB RAM 256 KB Flash |
32 KB RAM 16 KB ROM |
| USB Host Port | Yes | No | No |
| WiFi | Yes (with extra part) | No | No |
| Bluetooth | Yes | Yes | No |
| Connects to Apple devices | Yes | No | No |
Compatibility with Older Kits
Good news! If you have older NXT sensors, motors, or building pieces, they will work with your EV3 brick. The EV3 brick will recognize them as NXT parts.
However, EV3 sensors generally do not work with the older NXT brick. But EV3 motors can be used with the NXT brick. You can even program an NXT brick using the EV3 software, though you might need to download some extra programming blocks for certain NXT sensors. The EV3 brick cannot be programmed with the standard NXT software.
Amazing Robots Made with EV3
People have built some truly incredible robots using the EV3 platform:
Braigo
The Braigo is a special robot that can print in Braille. It was designed by Shubham Banerjee, who was only 12 years old at the time! He created it in California's Silicon Valley. The Braigo is a changed version of another Lego project called BANNER PRINT3R. What makes it so amazing is its low cost (around US$354). This is a huge deal because regular Braille printers can cost thousands of dollars.
CubeStormer III
The CubeStormer III is a robot that solves a Rubik's Cube. It used to hold the Guinness World Records title for the fastest Rubik's Cube solving robot! It solved a cube in an incredible 3.256 seconds. The previous record was held by the CubeStormer II, which was built with older NXT parts. The CubeStormer III broke the record on March 15, 2014.
See also
In Spanish: Set de Lego mindstorms EV3 para niños
