Lego Mindstorms NXT facts for kids

This "Golf bot" is a robot made with the NXT set.

The Lego Mindstorms NXT is a cool robotics kit. It lets you build and program your very own robots! You can often create your first robot and get it moving in about 30 minutes. This kit took the place of an older system called Robotics Invention System.

There were a few different versions of the NXT kit. These included the Lego Mindstorms NXT 1.0 (set #8527), Lego Mindstorms NXT 2.0 (set #8547), and Lego Mindstorms Education NXT (set #9797). The kit comes with its own software called NXT-G. You can also use other programming languages like NXC, NBC, leJOS NXJ, and RobotC, but you need to get that software separately.

What's Inside the NXT Kit?

The most important part of the Lego Mindstorms NXT kit is the NXT Intelligent Brick. This is like the robot's brain! It's a small computer module that tells your robot what to do.

The NXT Intelligent Brick

The NXT Intelligent Brick has a powerful 32-bit microprocessor inside. It has four input ports where you connect sensors. It also has three output ports for motors. The brick can communicate using Bluetooth and has a USB 2.0 port to connect to a computer. It also has a small speaker and a screen that shows 100x64 pixels.

You can make very simple programs right on the NXT Intelligent Brick without needing a computer. For more complex programs, you can create them on a computer. Then, you can send them to your robot using Bluetooth or a USB cable. The NXT-G programming language is easy to use. You just drag and drop blocks to create your programs.

Powerful Motors

The NXT kit also comes with three strong servo motors. These motors have built-in sensors that measure how much they turn. This means your robot can know exactly how far its wheels have moved or how much an arm has rotated.

Robot Sensors

The NXT kit includes different types of sensors. These sensors help your robot understand the world around it. The original NXT kit came with Touch, Light, Sound, and Ultrasonic sensors. The Sound sensor was not included in the Lego Mindstorms NXT 2.0 kit.

Touch Sensor

The touch sensor works like a button. It can tell if it's being pressed or released. Your robot can use this to detect if it has bumped into something or if it's holding an object. It can even tell the difference between a single press and multiple quick presses.

Light Sensor

The Light Sensor helps your robot see light and dark. It can measure how bright the light is. It can also tell the difference between different shades or even colors. This is useful for robots that follow lines or react to changes in light.

Sound Sensor

The Sound Sensor measures how loud sounds are. It can tell you the noise level in decibels (dB). It can also measure dBA, which focuses on sounds that the human ear hears best.

Ultrasonic Sensor

The Ultrasonic Sensor is like a bat's sonar. It sends out sound waves that humans can't hear. Then, it listens for the echo. This sensor can detect objects in front of it. It can also measure how far away those objects are in inches or centimeters.

Color Sensor (NXT 2.0)

The Lego Mindstorms NXT 2.0 kit introduced a new Colour sensor. This sensor is very clever! It can detect different colors. It can also measure how much light is reflected from a surface. This helps the robot know if it's on a dark or light area.

Images for kids

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  Logo of Lego Mindstorms NXT.

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  Lego Mindstorms NXT Kit.

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  A robot built from the NXT kit, named Alpha Rex.

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  A Lego NXT car that avoids walls in a virtual environment.

• MultipleViews NXT Forklift.jpg

  A model forklift built using the Lego Mindstorms NXT 2.0 kit.