The Lego Group has been teasing us for months now and it was presented at the occasion of the 2013 Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas.
After several years of intensive use at home by makers and at schools by teachers and students, the LEGO Mindstorms NXT is now being replaced by the Mindstorms EV3. An evolution more than a revolution but a lot of new features and capabilities are embedded in this little brick.
From a technical point of view, here are the main characteristic to be aware of:
- A powerful ARM9 microcontroller
- 16Mb of Flash Memory
- 64Mb of RAM with a SD slot
- Linux operating system now onboard
- USB 2.0 interface with the ability to use a Wifi Dongle
- 4 sensor ports
- 4 motor ports
- The ability to daisy chain 4 EV3 intelligent bricks
- The LCD screen is still a B&W model but it has a better resolution
- A (very loud) loudspeaker
- Backlit buttons to geek around, even at night
- On-brick programming capability
- Bluetooth v2.1 protocol support
- Android and iOS apps available
Regarding hardware found around the brick, some new exciting stuff:
- Two types of servomotors are now available:The large one and the medium one (like the French fries 🙂 )
- An infrared device called IR seeker is now present in the base set and can measure distances, detect objects and also be used as an infrared received for a remote control
- The new infrared beacon allows controlling robots from a 2 meter distance
- The color sensor was improved and can also measure the ambient light
- A full set of 594 LEGO TECHNIC and brand new robot models easy to assemble and to program
From a software point of view, NXT-G evolves and the new programming environment, called X3, uses the same visual programming concept with graphic blocks that can be linked by data wires allowing using sensor data and controlling actuators present on the intelligent brick.
The LEGO Mindstorms EV3 is now available and in stock at Génération Robots. The lucky people having placed preorder will be delivered soon if it is not already the case. For all the other, be aware that this set is in stock at Génération Robots and can be shipped very quickly.
As usual, we’ll continue to propose to all Mindstorms enthusiasts and schools sensors and compatible accessories.