Submit your pictures and programs
As you begin to receive your NXT kits, I hope some of you will begin to document your early designs and share them with all of us. Feel free to email me your pictures, screenshots, and .rbt files - whatever you can handle. Please don't send me videos as storage space is always a concern... instead, if you have a video that you absolutely must share, please email me with details first... but JPEG files and .RBT files I'll be happy to take and post.
Now, the small print: If you send me files, please give me written permission within the email to post and share the files on the blog. We also reserve the right to edit your commentary... space limits again, and sometimes spelling/grammar issues will need to be cleaned up.
I'm excited to have some more people with the kits in hand soon... more ideas, more bots, more experiments, more challenges, more troubleshooting, more theory, more of everything NXT.
Also, if any of you are going to be creating your own NXT blogs or websites, please let me know - I'd love to have more links on the right-side of the screen for readers to visit.
It's going to be a CRAZY time - the sheer amount of information, pictures, web content, programs, and other stuff might be overwhelming, so please be patient with all of us here at The NXT STEP as we sift through all the information coming our way... the original purpose (and continuing job) of this blog is to provide links to new information, websites, and other media sources... and we'll continue to do so along with our random bit of commentary, new discoveries, and miscellaneous projects.
Thanks to all of you for the kind words, the encouragement, and your participation in discussions... I never had any idea this blog would become such a fun (and apparently, popular) project to maintain... Brian, Matthias, and the others have brought their own ideas and the blog has really become a partnership.
Good times ahead...
Jim
Now, the small print: If you send me files, please give me written permission within the email to post and share the files on the blog. We also reserve the right to edit your commentary... space limits again, and sometimes spelling/grammar issues will need to be cleaned up.
I'm excited to have some more people with the kits in hand soon... more ideas, more bots, more experiments, more challenges, more troubleshooting, more theory, more of everything NXT.
Also, if any of you are going to be creating your own NXT blogs or websites, please let me know - I'd love to have more links on the right-side of the screen for readers to visit.
It's going to be a CRAZY time - the sheer amount of information, pictures, web content, programs, and other stuff might be overwhelming, so please be patient with all of us here at The NXT STEP as we sift through all the information coming our way... the original purpose (and continuing job) of this blog is to provide links to new information, websites, and other media sources... and we'll continue to do so along with our random bit of commentary, new discoveries, and miscellaneous projects.
Thanks to all of you for the kind words, the encouragement, and your participation in discussions... I never had any idea this blog would become such a fun (and apparently, popular) project to maintain... Brian, Matthias, and the others have brought their own ideas and the blog has really become a partnership.
Good times ahead...
Jim
Comments
-Jonathan
The memory problems with the NXT aren't really bad, but I found I have to be careful to only have a few sounds uploaded, as they take up a ton of space. This is too bad, because I don't think the NXT has enough memory to make a robot that can say a lot to you.
-Jonathan
-Jonathan
As to memory within the NXT, yes, it's limited... and sound files can be big. But I'm not sure (for sound files) there's really a way around this. It would be nice if there was an option to use a really-low-sample-rate sound file... but then how clear would the speech be? For simple sounds, it's OK, and for long complex sounds, well... any way you slice it, that needs bytes.
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Brian Davis
It's partially a question of how you use the memory that is availible.
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Brian Davis
It's partially a question of how you use the memory that is availible.
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Brian Davis
I do have one request, though - let's let everyone who's receiving their NXTs and those that are still waiting enjoy their opening moments and try and refrain from finding problems...
Yes, there are problems... but I'd rather focus (for now) on the good stuff and let people enjoy their new toy... I mean, tool.
Plenty of time for complaining later... :)
Just my opinion...
(By the way: I'm running XP Pro on a P3 1.8Ghz with 1gig of RAM. Loading the NXT program the FIRST time is a little slower than subsequent openings as long as the PC isn't rebooted. If I close down the program and then re-open it again a few minutes or hours later, it opens much more quickly. 1Gig of RAM is nice!)
Jim
Hope you don't think this is a complaint. I just thought it might help as people get their kits and try the sample robot.
Nope... not a complaint, but useful information. Thanks for posting... can anyone else verify this?
Jim
I think I know your problem, because I think I had the same one. The instructions tell you to put the wheels on with the wrong sides pointing out (there's two different sides to the wheel). If you just put the wheels on with the other sides pointing out, it will work perfectly.
Jim,
You're right, the sounds aren't really important, and I found that as long as I keep the number of programs limited, I can have a reasonable amount of sounds, and as big a program as I need.
Anyone who can help,
I have a question. Is there anyway to make your own sounds to play on the NXT? I saw an interview with someone working in the NXT department, and in it he shows Alpha Rex saying, "Hey, you're blocking my view." I couldn't find this in the list of sounds, so that's why I'm wondering if you can make your own.
-Jonathan
Jim
http://bricxcc.sourceforge.net/utilities.html
Then just drop the newly created .rso file into the "sounds" directory within the application (LEGO MINDSTORMS NXT -> engine -> sounds), and it will appear in the configuration panel of any sound block you drop. that easy.
Hehe. Mine plays R2D2, as well as "By your command" (Cylons).
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Brian Davis
-Jonathan
As to distorting the sound, yeah, a simple speaking in a complex plastic enclsure does *not* have a high-quality sound response. There's no way around that I know of (you even get it with simple tones, and it's a serious issue for the RCX as well).
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Brian Davis
More NXT's = more memory (dedicate one to playing sounds via BT comands.
Better yet. Use BT to control your MP3 Phone and add it to you bot.
I'm working on decoding comands for Motorola's ROKR which has nice external speakers, a camera, light (flashlight and decorative), video, MP3, and txtmsging all of which can be accessed via Bluetooth. (I think its the best and updated phones with NXT in mind.)
I'd like to hear if anyone else has figured out ways to make Palm Pilots respond. My T3 also plays sound files but I dont know how to boss it around with BT.
I imagine thier migth be a way to control your computer and have NXT trigger your PC to play sounds via full speakers.
Can a program be made that will hotswap files while a program is running? (NXT deletes a sound file then requests via BT or USB tether the next sound its about to play then plays and deletes it?)
I think the Image utility is available already.
Regarding "BT extension" of the NXT: to get NXT-to-Palm or NXT-to-Phone communication working I've seen people do it at a lower level than the NXT-G language (perhaps we can figure out a way to do it within the language, but I've not seen it done... *yet*). As to streaming files onto the NXT as needed, interesting idea. Since file transfer from the computer is not controled or requestable from the NXT brick, I don't think this is possible in the standard environment... which is not to say that might not change, or that 3rd party solutions wouldn't be able to get around this.
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Brian Davis
Lol, I wondered if you guys read posts there. Since I couldn't play with the NXT, I spent my time scavenging around for any piece of information I could find about it. : )
Thanks for the extra info. 200+ cm is only about 80+ inches. So I guess the real range is actually quite a bit shorter than advertized.
-Jonathan
On the US sensor, I'm really not sure what the "ultimate" range is (and I'd like to). As far as truth in advertising, the reduced range for small, curved, or soft objects is exactly what would be expected from an US sensor. The detection range will always be smaller fomr some objects, due to the physics of the situation. A bigger problem is that two US sensor in the same room can result in nonsensical readings.
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Brian Davis
That's really too bad about two US sensors messing each other up - I was just thinking of all the wonderful things I could make with multiple US sensors (like precision tracking).
-Jonathan
As for precision tracking, you can still do a lot with one. for instance, pivot it back and forth, so you know if an object is left/right/ahead. Or triangulate, by moving the whole robot to a different loaction and re-aquiring the same target. And keep in mind with both the range and bearing (you can now keep track of how much your robot turns, with thos motor encoders), you know pretty well where an object is even if viewed from a single location.
There are a *lot* of solutions just waiting to be found...
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Brian Davis
Boy, that will be a problem in FLL. I have a team (Built On The Rock, NJ) and will be competing this year. Thankfully, we're probably only going to use the built-in rotation sensors, since roation sensors worked really well for us last year (we placed third in the state tournament).
-Jonathan
e-mail me if possible
Bigdahlton@hotmail.com
-Dahlton