LEGO has created a powerful tool for you to share your robotic creations with the world! It’s a web site called MINDSTORMS Community, which I know you’re going to love. This is an official LEGO web site, so it’s totally safe for kids. The MINDSTORMS Community is constantly growing and changing, so some features might not be available when you visit. But you’ll enjoy seeing all the other robots that people are submitting, and hopefully you’ll start submitting your own. This appendix is a brief overview of how it works.
LEGO Club User Account
First, you create a LEGO Club user account (if you haven’t already) so that you can access the MINDSTORMS Community site. Visit http://club.lego.com and click the Sign-Up button, shown in Figure A-1 (note that the background image on the button changes every few seconds).
Figure A-1. Create a user account on LEGO’s web site
If you are already a member, enter your username and password at the upper right and click Enter. If you’re not a member yet, click the Sign Up button at the center of the screen. Enter your information, read the LEGO ID Terms of Service, and work your way to the final screen. After you’ve created your account, visit http://mindstorms.lego.com and log in to the MINDSTORMS EV3 page.
Community Gallery
When you are logged in to the MINDSTORMS Community site , as shown in Figure A-2, you can click Gallery in the menu bar at the top of the screen.
Figure A-2. The MINDSTORMS Community Gallery screen
The following are a few things that you can do from this page:
My robots: You can view projects you have uploaded, and other club members can provide comments and reviews of your designs. You can also choose a picture for each of your projects and read comments others have left for you.
Share your robot: You can upload pictures, videos, and notes about your robotic creations. Share your new robots with the world and give others a chance to test your designs.
See all robots: If you’re looking for design ideas, you’ll have plenty of robots to examine. The “community” of robot designers is growing every day, so you’ll need to check back often to see what’s new.
Now, if you’re wondering how you add steps to your projects, let me give you a small glimpse of how this works. In Figure A-2, if you click the Share Your Robot button, you can upload building instruction photos for your robots, one at a time. You can also share your EV3-G programs. If you post building instructions, other members will be able to build and test your designs, and maybe suggest improvements or upgrades!
Note
Since you are posting your designs on the Internet, don’t be worried or upset if others take your designs and modify them. That’s just good robot design—and you should do the same! Take a design and change it, add new sensors or more motors, and definitely provide feedback on the MINDSTORMS Community site for the original designer and other members.
The MINDSTORMS Community is a great way for you to work with robot fans from around the world. Think about how much fun you’ll have working on a robot project with friends from Europe, Japan, Australia, or other countries. You’ll find teams of robot designers discussing project ideas and then submitting their designs. You’ll be able to participate in competitions (such as “Design an EV3 robot that can change a light bulb”) and even create your own.
The EV3 robotics community is going to give you plenty of ideas, and you’ll never run out of robots to experiment with and program and test. Have fun!
Online Reference and Support
You should have received a printed TRACK3R Instruction Guide with your LEGO MINDSTORMS EV3 retail kit. The detailed PDF of the full manual is available online at https://www.lego.com/en-us/mindstorms/downloads/user-guide . Building instructions for the other kit robots are readily found at https://www.lego.com/en-us/mindstorms/build-a-robot . But that’s not the end of the reference material available for your robotics kit. The amount of information available online is substantial and growing fast.
There is no way for me to include everything available for your EV3 reading pleasure. There are new web sites, blogs, and training materials popping up every day. From videos to pictures to new operating systems and software, the EV3 world has enough to keep you busy for quite a while. Let’s look at a few.
Web Sites
When it comes to web sites , there are plenty. The web sites I’m including here have proven to be kid-friendly:
http://www.mindstorms.com : The official web site of the LEGO MINDSTORMS EV3. This site offers videos, building instructions, plenty of cool downloads, interviews with EV3 designers and demos of their designs, links to blogs and other web sites, and access to online forums. The site is always changing, so check in frequently to see what’s new.
http://www.education.lego.com : The companion web site for LEGO Education. This web site has interesting articles to read (a good source for future bot ideas) and offers challenges that will improve your robot design skills.
http://mynxt.matthiaspaulscholz.eu/lego-mindstorms-ev3.html : Matthias Paul Scholz lives in Germany and has worked with me on many projects, including TheNXTStep blog (see the “Blogs and Forums” section next). His web site includes videos, pictures, and instructions for many strange and unusual bots that he’s designed. He also provides links to other web sites and blogs.
http://www.firstlegoleague.org : FIRST LEGO League is a series of robotic competitions for students ages 9 to 14. There are local competitions that culminate in an annual international competition, with teams from around the world coming together to display some excellent robotic design and programming skills.
http://www.philohome.com : Phillipe Hurbain’s web site covers some fairly advanced robotic subjects, but it’s always fun to visit. Philo (his nickname) likes to take his Bricks apart, so don’t try and copy him when he does. It could damage your EV3.
There are plenty more web sites that focus on the EV3, and new ones are popping up all the time. You might want to even consider starting your own web site on the EV3!
Blogs and Forums
Blogs have been growing in popularity for a few years now, and the number of blogs related to the EV3 continues to increase. Forums and message boards are popular places for you to share your comments, questions, and robot designs with other EV3 fans. Be aware that most forums require you to register with a username and a password to use the site. Be sure to read the rules for what you can post and what you cannot post. Violating the rules can get you banned from using the forum in the future.
Here are some popular, frequently updated blogs and forums that are focused on the EV3 robotics kit, related products, and news:
http://thenxtstep.com : I contribute to this blog with a handful of EV3 colleagues. We cover news and products related to the EV3 and more. It’s a good place to check for updates on new products as well as information on new web sites, forums, and blogs. (The name thenxtstep reflects this site’s origins in the earlier LEGO NXT world. But it does actively deal with our EV3 work!)
https://community.education.lego.com : This forum focuses on the MINDSTORMS Education EV3 kit and includes news and updates pertaining to MINDSTORMS EV3 and the classroom. You need your LEGO ID to log into this site.
As with web sites, there are many more blogs out there dedicated to the MINDSTORMS EV3 kit. You might even want to consider starting your own; visit http://www.blogger.com or http://wordpress.com to learn how to create your own blog, absolutely free. Post news of your EV3 bot designs with pictures and video and you may find yourself developing a growing base of fans who visit your blog often.