Extreme Mindstorms: An Advanced Guide to LEGO MINDSTORMS

Description

Three MINDSTORMS experts have joined with the maintainer of the legOS HOWTO to produce the book that all advanced users of LEGO MINDSTORMS have been waiting for. Each author has written material based on his specialty. Dave Baum shows you how to take NQC to its limits. Ralph Hempel explains the ins and outs of pbForth. Michel Gasperi teaches you how to build numerous custom sensors with simple, systematic instructions. Luis Villa show you how (and when) to upgrade MINDSTORMS' built-in operating system to take advantage of the extra power of legOS, a complete C environment for the RCX.

Extreme MINDSTORMS: An Advanced Guide to LEGO MINDSTORMS starts with an overview of the RCX firmware and includes a whole chapter on the new RCX 2.0 firmware. Next, the book concentrates on the steps needed to build Seeker, a Light-Seeking Robot, and to program it in NQC. Later chapters extend Seeker's functionality using pbForth and legOS. The book concludes with two chapters on building both custom passive and custom powered sensors. These sensors can take LEGO MINDSTORMS to levels impossible to achieve with just the parts supplied in the box or available through normal channels.

FEATURES:

* The four contributing authors, Dave Baum, Michael Gasperi, Ralph Hempel, and Luis Villa, are well-known authorities on LEGO(r) MINDSTORMS(tm)
* Discusses advanced programming techniques using RCX 2.0 firmware, pbForth, and legOS with lots of sample programs
* Includes lots of projects and clear step-by-step instructions for building custom sensors

CONTENTS:

Foreword

Chapters

* Chapter 1: Extreme MINDSTORMS

* Chapter 2:The RCX

* Chapter 3: Seeker - A Light Seeking Robot

* Chapter 4: RCX 2.0 Firmware

* Chapter 5: Introduction to pbForth

* Chapter 6: Programming Seeker in pbForth

* Chapter 7: Introduction to LegOS

* Chapter 8: Advanced LegOS

* Chapter 9: Homebrew Passive Sensors

* Chapter 10: Homebrew Powered Sensors

Appendixes

* A: Internet Resources

* B: NQC API Reference

* C: Frequently Used Forth Words

* D: LegOS API Reference

* E: Installing LegOS