Build and Program Your Own LEGO®  MINDSTORMS® EV3  Robots Absolutely no experience needed! Build and program amazing robots with the new LEGO MINDSTORMS EV3! With LEGO MINDSTORMS EV3, you can do modern robotics without complex wiring or soldering! This step-by-step, full-color tutorial teaches all you need to know, including basic programming skills most introductory guides skip. Even better—it’s packed with hands-on projects! Start by “unboxing” your new EV3 kit and getting to know every component: motors, sensors, connections, remotes, and the EV3’s more powerful, easier-to-program “brick.” Then walk through building your first “bots”…creating more sophisticated robots with wheels and motors…engineering for strength and balance…“driving” your robot…building robots that recognize colors and do card tricks…and more! LEGO MINDSTORMS EV3 robotics is the perfect pathway into science and technology… and this book is the easiest way to get started, even if you have absolutely no robotics or programming experience!   Explore your new EV3 kit: both the retail “Home”  and LEGO “Education” versions Get foolproof help with building the Track3r and other standard robots Build cars and tanks, and hack them to do even more Write programs that enable your robots to make their own decisions Improve your programs with feedback Handle more sophisticated engineering and programming tasks Troubleshoot problems that keep your robot from moving Get involved with the worldwide MINDSTORMS® robotics community Marziah Karch is Senior Instructional Designer at NWEA, a Google Expert at About.com, and Senior Web Editor at GeekMom. She has more than a decade of experience in instructional technology and was senior educational technologist for Johnson County Community College, where she also taught interactive media development. She holds a master’s degree in Instructional Design and Technology, and is pursuing a doctorate in Library and Information Science. Her hands-on technology experience ranges from 3D animation to multimedia learning, content management to music video creation. She has extensively explored the educational potential of LEGO robotics. She is the author of Android Tablets Made Simple. This book is not authorized or endorsed by the LEGO® Group.

Table of Contents:
&> Chapter 1 What’s In the Box? 1 Unboxing MINDSTORMS EV3 2 The LEGO Family Tree 6  LEGO DUPLO 6  LEGO System Bricks 6  LEGO Technic 6 Core LEGO Units 7  Beams 8  Angled Beams 10  Beam Frames 12  Pegs 12  Axles 15  Bushings 16  Axle Connectors 17  Ball Joints 19  Gears 20 Parts with Flair 26  Wings 26  Spikes 27  Other Decorative Parts 28 The Brains and Brawn 30  EV3 Intelligent Brick 30  Servos 34  Sensors 35  Cables 37 Summary 40    Chapter 2 What’s In the LEGO Education Box? 41 Storage Box 41 Color Scheme 44 Ball Caster 45 Tank Tracks 46 Rechargeable Battery Pack 47 Sensors 48  Touch Sensors 48  Gyro Sensor 49  Sonic Sensor 50 Gears 50 The Expansion Set 53  Extra Wheels 53  Extra Beam Frame Elements 54  Gears and Joints 59  Tank Cleats 65  Wings and Other Decorative Pieces 66 Summary 70   Chapter 3 Comparing the EV3 and NXT 71 The NXT Versus the NXT 2.0 Versus the EV3 71 The Brick 73  Sensor and Motor Connections 74  The Sides 76  Programming 77 Advanced and Alternative Programming Environments 78 Part Compatibility 80  Sensors 80  Motors 80  Batteries 80 Summary 81   Chapter 4 Building Your First Bots 83 Downloading Instructions 83 The EV3 Starter Robots 84  Track3r 85  R3ptar 91  Spik3r 93  Ev3rstorm 97  Gripp3r 102  Bonus Bots 106 Summary 107   Chapter 5 Building the LEGO Education Bots 109 Educator Vehicle 109 Gyro Boy 111 Color Sorter 114 Puppy 115 Arm 116 Expansion Models 116  The Elephant 117  Tank Bot 118  Znap 119  Remote Control 119  The Stair Climber 120  Color Spinner Factory 121  Summary 123   Chapter 6 Hacking What You Have 125 Project 1: The Car 125  Testing 131  Troubleshooting the Flaws 132 Project 2: Hack Your Tank 133 Project 3: Modify the Educator Bot 137  Modify the Design 139  Substitute for the Caster Ball 141 Summary 147   Chapter 7 Make Your First EV3 Program 149 About the LEGO Education Software 149 Getting Started 150  Navigating from the Lobby 150  Creating a New Project 152 Getting to Know the Programming Canvas 153  Program List 155  Select or Pan Button 155  Comment 156  Save, Undo, or Redo 156  Zoom 156  The Content Editor 156  The Programming Canvas, Blocks, and the Palette 158  The Connection Area 159 Writing Your First Program 159  Flowcharting 160  Dragging Blocks Onto the Programming Canvas 161  Changing Modes 162  Checking Your Ports 164  Making the Bot Move 165   Moving the Wheels 166   Controlling Bot Direction 167   Adjusting Motor Power and Speed 168   Adjusting Rotation Count 168  Connecting Your EV3 to Your Computer 169  Making Decisions and Using Loops 172  Saving Your Changes 178 Alternative Programs 179 Summary 179   Chapter 8 More MINDSTORMS Programming: The Line-Following Robot 181 What Is a Program? 181 Project: The Line-Following Robot 183 Getting Started 184  Making Your Own Test Track 185  Thinking About the Instructions 187  Finding Direction 188  Calibrating the Sensor 189 Creating the Program 194  Creating New Variables 194  Calculating with Variables 200  Improving the Program with Feedback 202  Troubleshooting Your Program 206  Adding a Countdown 209  Using a Loop to Make the Robot Follow the Line 211  Adding Switches for Steering 213 Creating Custom Blocks 216 Documenting Your Work 219 Summary 219   Chapter 9 Engineering the Floor-Cleaning Robot 221 Programming a Collision-Avoiding Robot 221  Activating the Touch Sensor 223  Adding Collision Avoidance 224  Testing Your Bot 227  Navigating Corners 228  Adding a Bit of Randomness 229  Using the Education Edition’s Ultrasonic Sensor 232 Controlling Your Bot with the Infrared Remote 235  Programming the Remote 236  Creating Multi-threaded Programs 241 Adding the Floor-Cleaning Functions 245  Building the Mophead Assembly 246  Adjusting the Sensor Assembly 250  Building the Floor Cleaning Program 253 Summary 256   Chapter 10 The Color Magic Card Trick 257 Brainstorming and Building the Bot 258  Building the Platform 261  Raising the Platform 265  Building the Wheel Assembly 267  Checking the Assembly 269  Placing the Intelligent Brick 270  Controlling the Cards 272 Calibrating the Color Sensor 280 Creating the Program 282  Detecting the Color 284  Playing the Sound 287  Adding the Motor Block 288 Summary 289   Chapter 11 Daisy-Chaining Projects 291 The Daisy-Chain Test 291  Numbering Your Bricks 292  Programming the Test 295 Building a Daisy-Chained Robot Car 297  Assembling the Wheels 297  Programming the Bot 307  Adding a Remote Control 309  Adding Collision Avoidance 317 Messaging Between Robots 320 Adding “Magic” to the Card Trick 321  Configuring the Sending Program 321  Configuring the Receiving Program 323  Running the “Magic” 325 Summary 325   Chapter 12 Extending Play 327 Installing leJOS 327  Preparing Your Desktop 328  Loading the SD Card 330  Working in LeJOS 333 Community-Created Models 334  DINOR3X 335  EL3CTRIC GUITAR 336  EV3D4 337  EV3MEG 338  MR B3AM 339  KRAZ3 340  RAC3R 341  EV3GAME 342  WACK3M 344  BANNER PRINT3R 344  Finding More Communities 345 Scoring Extra LEGO Parts 346  Tetrix 346  K’nex 346  Erector Sets 346  3D Printers 346 Robotics Competitions 347  First Robotics LEGO League 347  World Robot Olympiad 347  4-H 347 Decorating Your EV3 348 Summary 348   Appendix: Glossary 349   Index 363