Understanding educational robot RCX and NXT

As one of the greatest inventions of the 20th century, robot technology has developed very fast since the early 60, and now there are many industrial robots working in various hard and sophisticated production lines, and about 750,000 industrial robots are working in the world.

1998, Lego launched the "RCX Classroom Robot" series, it jiangle high power building systems, computer programming and rich classroom activities effectively combined, easy to use, arbitrary assembly and its openness immediately attracted a large number of robot enthusiasts. It gives students the opportunity to use their imaginations to design their own robots, bringing a whole new kind of educational approach to the school's traditional curriculum. Its core educational idea is "do it, do it", students need to face different challenges together, collaborate to share their ideas to solve actual problems, and apply them to the city of Science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

What is a Lego robot?

Lego robot includes the controller, sensor, servo mechanism and other components, which uses modular structure, can be programmed, according to the needs of the combination of different requirements of the robot. Lego robot can be applied to many disciplines such as system design, sensor principle, microcomputer principle, electromechanical integration technology, numerical control technology and so on. According to statistics LEGO RCX classroom robot Education platform application in more than 25,000 schools around the world educational institutions, the use of the range from kindergartens to universities and research institutes. 2006, Lego launched a new generation of NXT Bluetooth education robot, the newly assembled robot body full of sensors, can be induced by the sound and action to make appropriate response, it will be more sensitive to light and tactile response. The NXT robot's control system is a 32-bit microprocessor that can download programs via a PC or Mac. After assembling the robot's limbs, the user can program it with a LabVIEW-like interface, by building a creative learning process programmed to program The LEGO NXT Bluetooth robot, so that students will have a strong experience in exploring the joys and experiences of technology, engineering and mathematics, Help students develop their skills progressively, making them a learning tool to inspire students ' imaginations and hands-on practice.

The difference between RCX and NXT

The biggest difference between RCX and NXT is that the processor upgrades from 8 bits to 32 bits, the processing power increases dramatically, and some details change, for example, NXT uses the RJ-45 interface. Le Gao NXT uses "ROBOLAB2.9", the software not only can make NXT use of the program, also can complete RCX control program. Before you had to manipulate 430 icons to program, the new program had fewer icons than before, making programming simpler. In communications, it is equipped with a USB interface can be directly connected to the PC, but also equipped with Bluetooth function, mobile phones and other handheld devices to achieve linkage.

New tools for extended development

In addition, the development of Lego NXT software and system platform is also constantly upgrading, LEGO Group and the United States National Instruments (NI) collaborative research and development of Mindstorms NXT Software includes a simple and easy-to-use drag-and-drop, image interface, which is designed for 10-14-year-old children optimization. With this new LabVIEW Toolkit, Mindstorms NXT users can program NXT with advanced image programming tools provided by LabVIEW. Users can also interact with the NXT robot while the program is running, using the mouse to drag the input control of LabVIEW, which can transmit data to the robot and produce effects on the currently executing program. People who use third-party sensors and other Mindstorms NXT additional hardware can use LabVIEW to create local functional modules so that they can be used for programming and controlling hardware devices in Mindstorms NXT software.

Application is still increasing

LEGO RCX Classroom robot application is very much, learn and study it many people, you can refer to some websites and blogs to learn about and learn about, such as http://www.brick-LabS.com and http:// Www.bnxt.com and so on, some of these websites introduced robot knowledge is very professional, for teachers of teaching activities is very helpful. At the same time, robot education has a lot of competitions, such as the Chinese Youth Computer robot competition, the Olympic robot competition, the robot World Cup, each competition has its own special requirements and regulations. Teachers in various schools can organize students to participate in some of the competitions, not only can improve students ' ability to master knowledge, but also can cultivate students ' competitive and cooperative spirit.