LEGO Mindstorms NXT 2.0 (8547)

Product Description

The "NXT" generation of buildable, programmable robots is here! LEGO MINDSTORMS NXT is back and better than ever, with new robot models, even more customizable programming, and all-new technology including a color sensor! LEGO MINDSTORMS NXT 2.0 combines the unlimited versatility of the LEGO building system with an intelligent microcomputer brick and intuitive drag-and-drop programming software. The new 2.0 toolkit features everything you need to create your first robot in 30 minutes and then tens of thousands of other robotic inventions that do what you want!

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Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #13286 in Toys & Games
• Brand: LEGO
• Model: 4544091
• Number of items: 1
• Dimensions: 14.88" h x 3.70" w x 18.90" l, 4.53 pounds

Features

• The intelligent NXT Lego brick features 32-bit microprocessor, a large matrix display
• Three interactive servo motors; four sensors(Ultrasonic Sensor, 2 Touch Sensors and the all-new Color Sensor)
• Color Sensor has triple functionality: Distinguishes colors and light settings, and functions as a lamp
• Easy-to-use software (PC and Mac) with icon-based drag-and-drop programming and 16 fun building and programming challenges
• Batteries not included with this product
• Building instructions for 4 new amazing robots
• Four input and 3 output ports, and Bluetooth and USB communication link

Customer Reviews

Most helpful customer reviews

500 of 518 people found the following review helpful.
NXT 2.0: A Solid Improvement on the Best MINDSTORMS Set Ever
By David J. Perdue
I first encountered the MINDSTORMS series in 2001 when I bought the Robotics Invention System 1.5 out of curiosity. Since then, I've purchased and used numerous MINDSTORMS sets, written two MINDSTORMS books, developed and taught a LEGO robotics course, and given LEGO presentations. So when I heard that LEGO was releasing the NXT 2.0 set in summer/fall 2009, I was curious to discover how LEGO would improve its flagship product. After finally getting my hands on a 2.0 set, I've been busy building, programming, and analyzing the kit's features. And I think this is the best MINDSTORMS set to date.

The original NXT set released in 2006 (I'll call it the "1.0 set") enjoyed enormous success but still had some shortcomings. The NXT 2.0 set addresses some of those flaws and really is everything the 1.0 set should have been. As a robotics kit, the NXT 2.0 set mainly involves building and programming, so I'll take a look at how the kit performs in each of these areas.

First, the building experience is fun and challenging while offering some exciting new additions. For the electronic elements, the NXT microcomputer and servo motors remain the same in both design and quantity; however, the selection of sensors has changed. There are now two touch sensors, an ultrasonic (distance) sensor, and the color sensor. The new color sensor boasts three functionalities. It can detect colors (6 basic colors), measure light intensity, and act as a lamp (emitting a red, blue, or green light). Unlike the 1.0 set, there is no light sensor or sound sensor: the new color sensor can function as a light sensor, and LEGO apparently thought that having two touch sensors would be more useful than having one touch sensor and one sound sensor as in the 1.0 set. I agree.

The building elements are, once again, studless LEGO TECHINC pieces rather than traditional bricks. The 1.0 set included a few TECHNIC bricks, but these are gone in the 2.0 set, which focuses entirely on studless construction. Overall, there is still a good selection of beams, pegs, and axles (including a new #9 length axle) as well as the addition of two small rubber bands. Also fun is the special ball shooter equipment along with 12 small, brightly colored balls.

There are only a few gears included, though. Whereas the 1.0 set included a fairly good variety and quantity of gears, the 2.0 set includes only a handful of double bevel gears and a single 12t bevel gear. This is a bit disappointing but also understandable. People like to add lots of gears to their robots to make them look cool, but lots of gears introduce lots of friction. The 2.0 kit's sample robot designs demonstrate how to connect pieces directly to motors rather than using gears to transmit the motion. This works fine and takes a little bit of getting used to, but I would still encourage new LEGO users to expand their collection of gears after purchasing the 2.0 set.

As for the programming, the 2.0 version of the included NXT-G software offers some welcome new features. A remote control, sound editor, image editor, new programming blocks, improved performance, and other features make programming a more enjoyable experience. Performance is noticeably better than in the 1.0 version but can still be sluggish.

The software includes a number of fun challenges spread across four robot designs: Shooterbot, Robogator, Color Sorter, and Alpha Rex. The sample robots are durable and work well, although some of the instructions for using Color Sorter were a bit confusing. The new version of Alpha-Rex is a truly fascinating robot: in addition to being a fun "advanced" model to build, new users can learn a lot from its incredibly compact and elegant design.

The NXT 2.0 set is leading the MINDSTORMS series in the right direction. I like what I see in this set, and I believe LEGO has a winner on its hands. The 2.0 set is more expensive than the 1.0 set--by $30--but I believe the improvements and added functionality justify the extra cost. In sum, the NXT 2.0 set is a great toolset for any robotics enthusiast and a must-have for MINDSTORMS fans.

71 of 74 people found the following review helpful.
And now I shall sing of my unabashed love for this toy
By D. B. Hutchens
I honestly get a little choked up thinking about Lego Mindstorms NXT 2.0. I believe this brilliant little system is going to open up a lot of opportunity for a lot of kids.

Last night my bright eight-year-old son begged me to wake him up at 5:00 this morning so he could spend some more time perfecting his latest robot. (Sure enough, his eyes popped open when I shook him at 5:00 and he went straight to work.) I see this toy awakening new passion and skill in my son, and for that I have nothing but gratitude.

Let me back up a bit. My son received this as a Christmas gift this year. (Thanks grandma!) We have no experience with previous Mindstorm kits. I was concerned about the difficulty level, as the box recommends a minimum age of 10 years and my son is eight. He is a huge fan of Lego Bionicle toys, and can follow the instructions to build the more complex Bionicle models without my help. I hoped that that might be a good litmus test for his readiness to jump into some robot building.

It turns out I was right. With some concentration, he worked through the instructions to build the first basic car-like robot, and then the shooterbot. I was, to be honest, a little dissappointed that he didn't want my supervision... but thrilled that this expensive toy was clearly not going to gather dust in my house.

Next came the programming. Again, I was a little worried, as this was an area where neither I nor my son were experienced. I loaded the software on my computer (works on a Mac! Bless you Lego.) and clicked around a bit. Despite the visual nature of the programming language, I could see that it was a rich system with lots of options and nuance. Hmmm. This might take some work.

Most reviews here have not commented on a feature that I think is pretty neat: you can actually do some very simple programming on the brick itself -- without the computer. By clicking around the little navigation screen on the brick, my son was able to program some simple instructions. (For example, if the robot "sees" a wall, back up, turn a quarter turn, and then continue.) This turns out to be an easy little introduction to the "if/then" statements that comprise the more full-featured computer software.

Later robots offer a step-by-step guide to the programming. ("First drag this command into place; next drag this command" and so on.) In the process, there are lots of opportunities to tweak the settings. Before I knew it, my son was getting the hang of this somewhat complex software.

Today we are still experimenting with the basic robots, and using the predesigned programs that come with each. He can change options and parameters within the software. His confidence is growing, as is his endless motivation to build totally jamming robots that HE can control. Yep, he can do this.

I share all of this because you, like me, may be trying to evaluate whether to make the considerable investment in this toy. I do think it's a great choice for a sharp eight-year-old who has demonstrated a love for building with other Lego projects. (What about a seven-year-old? Hard to say. My guess is that my kid would not have been quite ready for this a year ago.)

But I can't tell you how cool, how wonderfully satisfying it is to see my son turn off the dang Spongebob reruns and lose himself for hours in this beautiful toy. It feels like THIS is what learning, and what childhood, is supposed to be.

I know from my own childhood that sometimes the right opportunity comes along and can awaken passion and skill that a child didn't know he had. It's a sacred thing when little spirits get a taste of what they might be good at, and how they might exercise their imaginations in this world. Will Mindstorms NXT be that kind of seminal opportunity for my son? I don't know yet. But thank you, thank you, Lego, for giving him the chance to find out.

124 of 135 people found the following review helpful.
A great set for the creative youngster (and for the inventive adult!)
By Laurens Valk
SUMMARY:

I think that the LEGO MINDSTORMS NXT 2.0 is a great set for the creative youngster (and for the inventive adult!) This robotics kit can offer hours and hours of fun. While playing with it, you'll (your kid) be able to interact with people all over the world, and you'll have a great start in engineering.

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At the moment of writing this review, 4 customer reviews have been posted: two 1-star reviews and two 5- star reviews. This gives an average of 3 stars, which is way below what the kit deserves. It deserves 5 stars.

Another customer (D. Perdue) has already posted a great review (5 stars) about the new features in the set, and in this review I'd like to add some more to this. Furthermore, I'd like to respond to the two negative reviews posted so far.

I have been into MINDSTORMS for about 4 years now, and my first robot set was a RIS 2.0 set (the older MINDSTORMS system). I purchased my first NXT set in 2007 and I still have not stopped playing with it. This is what I like about MINDSTORMS: the possibilities are endless. You can not only build and program robots, but you can also design, invent and even interact with the MINDSTORMS community.
By corresponding with others in this community, you'll get to learn new building and programming techniques, and you can share your knowledge and robot inventions with other LEGO - minded people. As a result, you can get in touch with people all over the world. This has been so for all the MINDSTORMS system, and now that the NXT 2.0 is introduced, I expect the community to grow even larger.

When you first open the NXT 2.0 box, you'll find a special bag with building elements called "start here!". With these parts you can start of building your first robot with step by step building instructions.
I have to admit, the next step is a little harder: programming. The drag-and-drop programming software is really easy to use, but the documentation isn't always very clear: there is not a step-by-step guide in the kit which teaches you all the ins and outs about programming (but there is a good reference manual in the software). Fortunately, there are enough sample programs to get you started. Everyone with a little creativity can do the trick.

As you finished playing with the basics of robot programming, you can start building some of the other robot models that appear on the NXT box: an alligator, a ball color sorter and a humanoid: Alpha Rex. I recommend to start with the training vehicle (Shooterbot) first, though. But, having built these four models doesn't end the fun yet!
There are a lot of websites dedicated to MINDSTORMS (NXT 2.0). Some of them offer building instructions so you can build even more robots. Apart from these websites, there are also plenty of MINDSTORMS books, which teach you how to make the best of your NXT set. Also, there are a few books, especially dedicated to NXT 2.0, coming out at the end of the year.

As you gain more MINDSTORMS experience you'll be able to invent your own robotic creations. Then, you can take photos, or even create a 3d model of your robot on your computer, and share it on the MINDSTORMS NXTLOG website.

In the rest of this review, I'd like to respond to the two 1-star reviews posted on Amazon as of now.

- Re: "Buyer beware!" (Customer support issue and technical problems)
I'm sorry to hear about your problems with the NXT 2.0. I know that a lot of MINDSTORMS sets are being returned to LEGO, but sometimes that is because people do not know how to use it. If this is the case, the mistake can often be solved easily (An example problem is an incorrectly placed motor or sensor cable).
In general, I would recommend to post issues on MINDSTORMS forums by the community (just Google for "the NXT step" or "NXTasy"). The people there usually know more about it than the technical support service.
I have to add that the programs on the NXT Intelligent Brick actually did correctly work on my end. These programs are not faulty, and regular programming using the software also worked with no problems.

Of course, when there is really a problem with the hardware in the set, it is good to let LEGO know and to request replacement parts. This turns out to be the case for this reviewer. Hopefully, this problem doesn't occur in too many sets. I've experienced the LEGO customer service to be quite helpful. In the past, I have had two broken electronic LEGO pieces, and I received new, working parts after a call with them.

UPDATE: I've just checked the NXT 2.0 User Guide, and found a small, but important error on page 15: The colored annonations that instruct the user to plug the cables are incorrect. With these cable configurations, the programs do not work indeed. You can follow the building steps in the software instead - these are correct.

- Re: "Better than ever?"
I agree that NXT 2.0 (as apposed to NXT 1.0) was not improved on the hardware side apart form a new Color. I think this is great. Why? All NXT 2.0 sets are still compatible with the NXT 1.0 sets, simply because they use the same intelligent brick. This way, existing users can upgrade without throwing their old system away. Furthermore, all the useful information made up by the community for NXT 1.0, is still just as valuable for NXT 2.0.

SUMMARY:

I think that the LEGO MINDSTORMS NXT 2.0 is a great set for the creative youngster (and for the inventive adult!) This robotics kit can offer hours and hours of fun. While playing with it, you'll (your kid) be able to interact with people all over the world, and you'll have a great start in engineering.

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Laurens Valk, the Netherlands

Designer of the Manty robot which appears on the back of the NXT 2.0 box,
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