"A long Time Coming"

Quick, in what year did LEGO launch their Mindstorms line?

The answer? 1999. And it was this set to the right here >

And now, a decade later, I, Nick T, have a Mindstorms set of my very own! (Not counting the partial set dad got from Ebay 3 years back...)

Technology really jumps when you're waiting for something. In 1999, it was the Robotics Invention System 1.0. That set went through two updates, 1.5 and 2.0.

Then some time later, LEGO released the new Mindstorms NXT. Superior to the RIS in every way, including the price tag to boot. It currently has one update, version 2.0.

< So, the latest incarnation of the Mindstorms series has finally come into my possession. All I had to do was score 10As to do it. (See? Studying does indeed pay off!)

Wasn't long before the guy on the right here was standing on my computer desk. And boy can he do quite a bit. He walks, talks, sees, grabs, and can even do the moonwalk!

Okay, the moonwalk is just him moving backwards... But it does look like it ;)

The ultrasonic sensor on the head grants sight, and distance judging. He's not running into obstacles anytime soon! And the light sensor on the right arm can detect colour. Also, the processor brick has a built in voice, music and sfx synthesizer. Yeah, he can now demand stuff. (Although taking over the world will still be a long way off) Hmm, maybe I should program him to play the guitar as well...

The processor brick, the heart of the matter, links up to the PC via USB cable and, wait for it, Bluetooth! Yup, Bluetooth. Even mobile phones can connect to it, although I haven't tried that out yet. Now, all I need is a Tablet PC, and I can program this fella on the go!

And all this for only one of many possible models. I still haven't utilized the shooting mechanism featured in other models. And there are certainly many, many more uses for the ultrasonic, touch, and light sensors. So, if I ever appear to be unreachable anytime in the future, you can have a pretty good guess why...

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And now, without forgetting, Happy Birthday, Mom!