Preface
Welcome to Learning LEGO MINDSTORMS EV3.
The LEGO MINDSTORMS EV3 is a programmable LEGO brick that can control motors and receive feedback from a wide range of sensors. In this book, you will learn how to write programs in the LEGO MINDSTORMS EV3 software. This book is a practical guide that will show you how to advance beyond the basic lessons included in your EV3 kit, combine core programming commands, and implement tested design principles when building your own robot using the LEGO MINDSTORMS EV3 kit. You will become familiar with resources beyond your EV3 kit and enhance your robot designs.
The MINDSTORMS EV3 kit contains over 500 plastic interlocking parts. These parts are made with high-precision moulds. The LEGO Technic bricks in your kit include beams, axles, pines, gears, shafts, and bushings that will allow you to design a wide variety of robots. The LEGO bricks in your LEGO MINDSTORMS kit are compatible with all LEGO bricks made over the past 50 years.
The LEGO MINDSTORMS EV3 Intelligent Brick contains an ARM9 processor running Linux. This allows you to program the brick with a wide variety of languages, such as C, C++, Java, Python, and LabVIEW, but we will focus on the official LEGO MINDSTORMS EV3 software. This software is a visual programming language. Programming in the LEGO MINDSTORMS EV3 software consists of dragging-and-dropping blocks onto a programming canvas. You draw wires to connect the command blocks, such as command flow wires and data wires. There are blocks that store data, control motors, acquire sensor data, and initiate flow structures such as loops and switches. The beauty of a visual programming language is that with a programming hierarchy, you can create easy-to-follow programs where you can visually see the entire program at once.
The EV3 Intelligent Brick connects to motors and a wide variety of sensors, which LEGO builds via electrical wires, including Touch Sensors, Ultrasonic Sensors, Light Sensors, Infrared Sensors, and Gyro Sensors. The motors have built-in shaft encoders, which allow you to control exactly how far they turn. There is an even larger array of sensors produced by third-party vendors that you can use with your EV3. You can download and run your computer programs on the EV3 via a USB cable, Bluetooth, or Wi-Fi. All these features will take your LEGO MINDSTORMS EV3 beyond the category of a simple toy into an impressive robotics kit, which can be used to explore your environment and navigate a complex set of obstacles.
