The motors can be programmed to activate for a certain amount of time, speed or rotations, while the colour sensor, for example, can be set to respond only to certain hues. The included software is daunting because of how fine-grained it allows you to be. The Brick has six buttons that allow for quick instructions for all those goodies to be put together on its monochrome screen, while more complex programs require connecting to a computer via USB. At the heart of the EV3 is the Intelligent Brick, a miniaturized computer that controls its two big motors, one small one, plus its IR, colour and touch sensors.
The designers have found some nifty ways to modernize the whole experience while at the same time keeping it rooted in the toys' physical nature.Īfter that, however, things get more complicated. So far, this is some pretty innovative stuff for Lego. The robot even has a certain element of charm to it – it responds with an "okay" or an "okey dokey" whenever you tap a command. You can get the SPIK3R, for example, to move forward, backwards, left and right, or you can have it "skate" – where it moves forward one foot at a time – or even attack with its spinning rotor blade. With luck, all Lego sets of the future will eventually come with similar apps.Ī second app, Commander, lets you remotely control the robot from your smartphone, tablet or iPod via Bluetooth. It's hard to make mistakes with such full, three-dimensional control. The instructions, built with Autodesk software, are the stuff of Lego fans' dreams – you can pan around pieces, zoom in on them, watch the animations as they explain how to connect pieces, reverse them, skip ahead and so on. A small handheld remote lets you drive the two tank treads forward or in reverse.įrom there, the downloadable 3D Builder app for iOS and Android provides animated instructions on how to build several other robots, including the snake-like R3PTAR and SPIK3R humanoid. It takes about an hour and, once you're done, you can control it through its infrared sensor, much like a remote-control car. The EV3 instructions start simply: they guide you through the building of the first robot, the TRACK3R, a tank-like vehicle with a spinning claw.
0 kommentar(er)
