The Mindstorm robots from Lego are in my eyes a perfect introduction to the possibilities of robotics. For a good two years now I have been working with the smart kits in companies and institutions with the Lego robots, in order to develop an understanding for the future technology in innovation impulses.
Now Lego goes one step further with their new Mindstorms Robot Inventor kit. The programming of the robots was already versatile in the previous versions, but the new 949-part kit is intended to become even more versatile. Mindstorms now includes a color sensor, a distance sensor, four motors and Lego’s Bluetooth enabled “Intelligent Hub”.
The kit, which is the first update in 7 years, comes with instructions for five robots. From quadrupeds, humanoid robots and self-propelled cars, everything is included.
The included app uses a scratch-based programming language and also supports the Python programming language. The special feature: the kit contains the new intelligent connection point from Lego. This has a 5×5 LED matrix, a 6-axis gyro, an accelerometer, a loudspeaker, a micro USB port and the interface supports Bluetooth. Six connectors also allow a variety of sensors and motors to be connected.
:format(webp):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/20035275/51515_Lifestyle_16.jpg)
According to Lego, the free Mindstorms Robot Inventor app has building and programming instructions for each of the new robots or you can write your own programs using visual programming or Python.
Personally, I’m looking forward to testing the new kit and the new possibilities, especially in the area of visual programming. In recent years, the combination of playful learning and insights into the possibilities of robotics and artificial intelligence has proven to be an ideal introduction to the future for employees, managers and executives.
Post picture: Lego
