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  • © 2011

LEGO MINDSTORMS NXT: Mars Base Command

Apress
  • LEGO MINDSTORMS NXT: Mars Base Command provides readers with a collection of eight challenges to complete—all centered around a Mars Base theme—by designing and building robots using the LEGO MINDSTORMS NXT kit.
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  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book USD 39.99
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Table of contents (19 chapters)

  1. Front Matter

    Pages i-xiii
  2. Plan B

    • James Floyd Kelly, Christopher Smith
    Pages 1-5
  3. Creating the Power Interrupt Device

    • James Floyd Kelly, Christopher Smith
    Pages 7-30
  4. Creating the Power Redirect

    • James Floyd Kelly, Christopher Smith
    Pages 31-63
  5. Creating the Solar Collector

    • James Floyd Kelly, Christopher Smith
    Pages 65-101
  6. Synopsis and Rules of the Plan B Challenge

    • James Floyd Kelly, Christopher Smith
    Pages 103-115
  7. Storm Front

    • James Floyd Kelly, Christopher Smith
    Pages 117-120
  8. Rescuing the Lander Mark VII

    • James Floyd Kelly, Christopher Smith
    Pages 121-164
  9. Finishing the Lander Mark VII

    • James Floyd Kelly, Christopher Smith
    Pages 165-206
  10. Synopsis and Rules of the Storm Front Challenge

    • James Floyd Kelly, Christopher Smith
    Pages 207-217
  11. Internal Medicine

    • James Floyd Kelly, Christopher Smith
    Pages 219-223
  12. Getting Started with Commander Evans’s Hand Challenge

    • James Floyd Kelly, Christopher Smith
    Pages 225-237
  13. Finishing Commander Evans’s Hand

    • James Floyd Kelly, Christopher Smith
    Pages 239-257
  14. Synopsis and Rules of the Internal Medicine Challenge

    • James Floyd Kelly, Christopher Smith
    Pages 259-269
  15. Systems Crash

    • James Floyd Kelly, Christopher Smith
    Pages 271-275
  16. Setting Up the Black Box Challenge

    • James Floyd Kelly, Christopher Smith
    Pages 277-297
  17. Finishing the Black Box Challenge Setup

    • James Floyd Kelly, Christopher Smith
    Pages 299-322
  18. Synopsis and Rules of the Black Box Challenge

    • James Floyd Kelly, Christopher Smith
    Pages 323-335
  19. Mars Base Lambda

    • James Floyd Kelly, Christopher Smith
    Pages 337-340
  20. Designing Your Own Challenges

    • James Floyd Kelly, Christopher Smith
    Pages 341-344

About this book

Congratulations! You’re on Mars Base Alpha, the first human outpost on the red planet. Don’t relax, though. It’s not all roses and unicorns up here. Mars isn’t called "The Bringer of War" for nothing! You’ve just been rained on by a meteor shower and it’s up to you—you!—to put your LEGO MINDSTORMS NXT robotics skills to work to save the day, and the base! And that’s only the beginning of the challenges that lie ahead.

LEGO MINDSTORMS NXT: Mars Base Command is a book of challenge. It’s about challenging yourself to design and build robots to solve problems, tough problems. Taking a similar approach to best-selling LEGO author James Kelly’s other books, this book presents a series of four challenges in the setting of mankind’s first-ever manned base on the planet Mars. Each challenge begins with a backstory to set the scene. You’re given instructions for constructing a playing field, including devices that your eventual robot must manipulate. Your job is to build a robot that will execute the challenge and garner you the most points.

The book requires the LEGO MINDSTORMS NXT Education Resource Set. Scoring sheets are included that allow for the book’s use in educational and group settings. Teachers can base lesson plans around the different concepts taught in each challenge. Groups and clubs can choose to run mini-competitions in which teams or individuals compete against each other in a race to save the base. LEGO MINDSTORMS NXT: Mars Base Command is an excellent choice for an individual, a group, or a teacher wishing to learn about and have more fun with LEGO’s best-selling robotics platform.

Please note: the print version of this title is black & white; the eBook is full color.

About the authors

James Floyd Kelly is a professional writer from Atlanta, Georgia. He has written numerous books on multiple subjects, including LEGO robotics, open source software, and building your own CNC machine as well as a 3D printer. He is the editor-in-chief of the number one MINDSTORMS NXT blog, The NXT Step (TheNXTStep.com), where he is joined by fellow NXT experts who share their knowledge and designs with other robot fans around the world.

Bibliographic Information

Buy it now

Buying options

eBook USD 29.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book USD 39.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Other ways to access