Home > Store

Hacking Your LEGO Mindstorms EV3 Kit

Register your product to gain access to bonus material or receive a coupon.

Hacking Your LEGO Mindstorms EV3 Kit

Book

  • Sorry, this book is no longer in print.
Not for Sale

eBook (Watermarked)

  • Your Price: $16.31
  • List Price: $20.39
  • Includes EPUB and PDF
  • About eBook Formats
  • This eBook includes the following formats, accessible from your Account page after purchase:

    ePub EPUB The open industry format known for its reflowable content and usability on supported mobile devices.

    Adobe Reader PDF The popular standard, used most often with the free Acrobat® Reader® software.

    This eBook requires no passwords or activation to read. We customize your eBook by discreetly watermarking it with your name, making it uniquely yours.

About

Features

• The first guide to hacking the out-of-the-box Mindstorms EV3 kit: build amazing robots, and take DIY to a whole new level!
• Build five incredibly cool robots with a single EV3 set!
• No additional parts needed for any of the basic projects (but Baichtal also shows students how to supercharge their projects with low cost additions!)
• Beautiful 4-color design: shows them exactly what to do, with hundreds of vivid, step-by-step photos!
• Written by one of the industry's most experienced makers and writers, John Baichtal

Description

  • Copyright 2016
  • Dimensions: 7" x 9-1/8"
  • Pages: 320
  • Edition: 1st
  • Book
  • ISBN-10: 0-7897-5538-6
  • ISBN-13: 978-0-7897-5538-4

EV3 without limits!

Build 5 amazing robotics projects that take DIY to a whole new level!

You can do way more with your LEGO Mindstorms EV3 kit than anyone ever told you! In this full-color, step-by-step tutorial, top-maker and best-selling author John Baichtal shows you how to transcend Mindstorms’ limits as you build five cutting-edge robotics projects.

You’ll discover just how much you can do with only the parts that came with your kit–and how much farther you can go with extremely low-cost add-ons like Arduino and Raspberry Pi. You’ll learn how to reprogram your Mindstorms Intelligent Brick to add additional hardware options and create more complex programs.

Hundreds of full-color, step-by-step photos teach you every step, every skill. Whenever you’re ready for advanced techniques, Baichtal explains them in plain English.


Here’s just some of what you’ll learn how to do:

  • Build a drawing Plotter Bot that gyrates to draw new patterns
  • Hack Mindstorms’ wires–and control robots without wires
  • Create a remote-controlled crane, and operate it from your smartphone
  • Use the EV3 brick to control third-party electronic modules of all kinds
  • Replace the EV3 brick with smarter, more flexible Arduino, Raspberry Pi, or BeagleBone Black hardware
  • Build a robotic flower whose petals open and close based on time of day
  • Use third-party sensors to build robots that can sense practically anything
  • Load an alternate operating system onto your EV3 brick
  • 3D print, laser, and mill your own perfect LEGO parts
  • Create ball contraptions, and extend them with your own custom parts
  • Make a pole-climbing robot–and hook up an altimeter to track its height

This book is not authorized or endorsed by the LEGO® Group.

Register Your Book at www.quepublishing.com/register and receive 35% off your next purchase.

Sample Content

Online Sample Chapter

Hacking Your LEGO Mindstorms EV3 Kit: Connections

Sample Pages

Download the sample pages (includes Chapter 3 and Index)

Table of Contents

Chapter 1 Introduction 1

    Hacking Mindstorms 2

    Chapter Topics 6

Chapter 2 Project: Plotter Bot 7

    Parts List 8

    Building the Plotter Bot 9

    Program the Plotter Bot 43

        Moving the Motors 44

        A Simple Program 45

        Resetting the X Axis 47

        Hacking Opportunities 49

    Summary 49

Chapter 3 Hacking LEGO I: Connections 51

    Mindstorms Wires Explained 51

        Inside the Mindstorms Wire 52

        Hacking Mindstorms Wires 53

    Exploring Wireless Options 56

        Infrared Sensor and Beacon 56

        Bluetooth 57

        Hacking Wireless 58

    Summary 62

Chapter 4 Project: Remote-Controlled Crane 63

    Parts List 64

    Building the Crane 65

    Programming the Crane 93

    Controlling the Crane with Infrared 98

    Using Your Phone’s Commander App 98

    Summary 104

Chapter 5 Hacking LEGO II: Alternate Controllers 105

    Microcontrollers and Microcomputers 106

        Arduino 106

        Raspberry Pi 108

        BeagleBone Black 110

        But Why? 112

    Example Projects 114

        Book Reader 114

        Mini Tank 115

        Chocolate Milk Maker 116

        Ball Counting Robot 117

        Rolling Alarm Robot 118

        BeagleBone Black Robot 119

    Programing Environments 120

        LeJos 121

    RobotC 121

        Monobrick 121

        ev3dev 121

    Summary 122

Chapter 6 Project: Robot Flower 123

    Robot Flower Mindstorms Build 124

        Parts List 124

        Steps 125

        Program the Robot Flower 146

    Substituting the Arduino 150

        Quick and Dirty Arduino 151

        Parts 152

        Steps 153

        Programming the Arduino 154

    Summary 155

Chapter 7 Hacking LEGO III: Create Your Own LEGO Parts 157

    Designing Your Own Parts 158

        Check Your Dimensions 159

        Create the Design File 160

        Output and Iterate 161

    Finding Designs 161

        Thingiverse 162

        LDraw 163

        SketchUp Warehouse 163

    Outputting Your Own Parts 164

        CNC Mill 164

        Laser Cutter 167

        3D Printer 170

        Tip: Parametric 3D Models 175

    Summary 176

Chapter 8 Project: Ball Contraption 177

    Building the Contraption 178

        Parts List 178

        Steps 179

    Program the Contraption 224

    Creating Your Own Parts 225

        The Baseplate 226

        The Gear 233

    Summary 237

Chapter 9 Hacking LEGO IV: Add-on Electronics 239

    Motors and Wheels 240

        Motor Driver 240

        Omni-Wheels 240

        8-Channel Servo Controller 241

        Hub-ee Wheels 242

        Linear Actuator 242

        Servo-Actuated Pneumatic Valve 243

    Lighting Systems 244

        RGB LED Modules 244

        Light Strands 245

    Sensors 246

        Grove Sensor Adapter 246

        dGPS 246

        Proximity Sensor 247

        Pixy and Pixy Adapter 248

        Sensor Mux 249

        Absolute IMU-ACG 250

        dPressure Sensor 251

        Thermal Infrared Sensor 252

    NXT and Education Electronics 252

        Pneumatics Add-On Set 252

        NXT Light Sensor 253

        NXT Temperature Sensor 253

        NXT Sound Sensor 254

        NXT Ultrasonic 255

    Control Systems 255

        Relay Driver 256

        sBrick Control System 256

        PlayStation Controller Interface 257

        NXTBee Wireless Board 258

    Summary 258

Chapter 10 Project: Flagpole Climber 259

    Building the Flagpole Climber 260

        Parts List 260

        Building Steps 262

        Programming the Pole Climber 288

        Installing the Ultrasonic Sensor 289

        Programming the Sensor 290

    Swapping in the BrickPi 291

        Raspberry Pi Quick Start 292

        Adding the RPi and BrickPi 292

        Parts List 294

        Steps 294

        Tip: Troubleshooting 301

    Summary 302

Glossary 303

TOC, 9780789755384, 10/12/2015

9780789755384_book.indb vi 10/9/15 1:05 PM

Updates

Submit Errata

More Information

InformIT Promotional Mailings & Special Offers

I would like to receive exclusive offers and hear about products from InformIT and its family of brands. I can unsubscribe at any time.

Overview


Pearson Education, Inc., 221 River Street, Hoboken, New Jersey 07030, (Pearson) presents this site to provide information about products and services that can be purchased through this site.

This privacy notice provides an overview of our commitment to privacy and describes how we collect, protect, use and share personal information collected through this site. Please note that other Pearson websites and online products and services have their own separate privacy policies.

Collection and Use of Information


To conduct business and deliver products and services, Pearson collects and uses personal information in several ways in connection with this site, including:

Questions and Inquiries

For inquiries and questions, we collect the inquiry or question, together with name, contact details (email address, phone number and mailing address) and any other additional information voluntarily submitted to us through a Contact Us form or an email. We use this information to address the inquiry and respond to the question.

Online Store

For orders and purchases placed through our online store on this site, we collect order details, name, institution name and address (if applicable), email address, phone number, shipping and billing addresses, credit/debit card information, shipping options and any instructions. We use this information to complete transactions, fulfill orders, communicate with individuals placing orders or visiting the online store, and for related purposes.

Surveys

Pearson may offer opportunities to provide feedback or participate in surveys, including surveys evaluating Pearson products, services or sites. Participation is voluntary. Pearson collects information requested in the survey questions and uses the information to evaluate, support, maintain and improve products, services or sites, develop new products and services, conduct educational research and for other purposes specified in the survey.

Contests and Drawings

Occasionally, we may sponsor a contest or drawing. Participation is optional. Pearson collects name, contact information and other information specified on the entry form for the contest or drawing to conduct the contest or drawing. Pearson may collect additional personal information from the winners of a contest or drawing in order to award the prize and for tax reporting purposes, as required by law.

Newsletters

If you have elected to receive email newsletters or promotional mailings and special offers but want to unsubscribe, simply email information@informit.com.

Service Announcements

On rare occasions it is necessary to send out a strictly service related announcement. For instance, if our service is temporarily suspended for maintenance we might send users an email. Generally, users may not opt-out of these communications, though they can deactivate their account information. However, these communications are not promotional in nature.

Customer Service

We communicate with users on a regular basis to provide requested services and in regard to issues relating to their account we reply via email or phone in accordance with the users' wishes when a user submits their information through our Contact Us form.

Other Collection and Use of Information


Application and System Logs

Pearson automatically collects log data to help ensure the delivery, availability and security of this site. Log data may include technical information about how a user or visitor connected to this site, such as browser type, type of computer/device, operating system, internet service provider and IP address. We use this information for support purposes and to monitor the health of the site, identify problems, improve service, detect unauthorized access and fraudulent activity, prevent and respond to security incidents and appropriately scale computing resources.

Web Analytics

Pearson may use third party web trend analytical services, including Google Analytics, to collect visitor information, such as IP addresses, browser types, referring pages, pages visited and time spent on a particular site. While these analytical services collect and report information on an anonymous basis, they may use cookies to gather web trend information. The information gathered may enable Pearson (but not the third party web trend services) to link information with application and system log data. Pearson uses this information for system administration and to identify problems, improve service, detect unauthorized access and fraudulent activity, prevent and respond to security incidents, appropriately scale computing resources and otherwise support and deliver this site and its services.

Cookies and Related Technologies

This site uses cookies and similar technologies to personalize content, measure traffic patterns, control security, track use and access of information on this site, and provide interest-based messages and advertising. Users can manage and block the use of cookies through their browser. Disabling or blocking certain cookies may limit the functionality of this site.

Do Not Track

This site currently does not respond to Do Not Track signals.

Security


Pearson uses appropriate physical, administrative and technical security measures to protect personal information from unauthorized access, use and disclosure.

Children


This site is not directed to children under the age of 13.

Marketing


Pearson may send or direct marketing communications to users, provided that

  • Pearson will not use personal information collected or processed as a K-12 school service provider for the purpose of directed or targeted advertising.
  • Such marketing is consistent with applicable law and Pearson's legal obligations.
  • Pearson will not knowingly direct or send marketing communications to an individual who has expressed a preference not to receive marketing.
  • Where required by applicable law, express or implied consent to marketing exists and has not been withdrawn.

Pearson may provide personal information to a third party service provider on a restricted basis to provide marketing solely on behalf of Pearson or an affiliate or customer for whom Pearson is a service provider. Marketing preferences may be changed at any time.

Correcting/Updating Personal Information


If a user's personally identifiable information changes (such as your postal address or email address), we provide a way to correct or update that user's personal data provided to us. This can be done on the Account page. If a user no longer desires our service and desires to delete his or her account, please contact us at customer-service@informit.com and we will process the deletion of a user's account.

Choice/Opt-out


Users can always make an informed choice as to whether they should proceed with certain services offered by InformIT. If you choose to remove yourself from our mailing list(s) simply visit the following page and uncheck any communication you no longer want to receive: www.informit.com/u.aspx.

Sale of Personal Information


Pearson does not rent or sell personal information in exchange for any payment of money.

While Pearson does not sell personal information, as defined in Nevada law, Nevada residents may email a request for no sale of their personal information to NevadaDesignatedRequest@pearson.com.

Supplemental Privacy Statement for California Residents


California residents should read our Supplemental privacy statement for California residents in conjunction with this Privacy Notice. The Supplemental privacy statement for California residents explains Pearson's commitment to comply with California law and applies to personal information of California residents collected in connection with this site and the Services.

Sharing and Disclosure


Pearson may disclose personal information, as follows:

  • As required by law.
  • With the consent of the individual (or their parent, if the individual is a minor)
  • In response to a subpoena, court order or legal process, to the extent permitted or required by law
  • To protect the security and safety of individuals, data, assets and systems, consistent with applicable law
  • In connection the sale, joint venture or other transfer of some or all of its company or assets, subject to the provisions of this Privacy Notice
  • To investigate or address actual or suspected fraud or other illegal activities
  • To exercise its legal rights, including enforcement of the Terms of Use for this site or another contract
  • To affiliated Pearson companies and other companies and organizations who perform work for Pearson and are obligated to protect the privacy of personal information consistent with this Privacy Notice
  • To a school, organization, company or government agency, where Pearson collects or processes the personal information in a school setting or on behalf of such organization, company or government agency.

Links


This web site contains links to other sites. Please be aware that we are not responsible for the privacy practices of such other sites. We encourage our users to be aware when they leave our site and to read the privacy statements of each and every web site that collects Personal Information. This privacy statement applies solely to information collected by this web site.

Requests and Contact


Please contact us about this Privacy Notice or if you have any requests or questions relating to the privacy of your personal information.

Changes to this Privacy Notice


We may revise this Privacy Notice through an updated posting. We will identify the effective date of the revision in the posting. Often, updates are made to provide greater clarity or to comply with changes in regulatory requirements. If the updates involve material changes to the collection, protection, use or disclosure of Personal Information, Pearson will provide notice of the change through a conspicuous notice on this site or other appropriate way. Continued use of the site after the effective date of a posted revision evidences acceptance. Please contact us if you have questions or concerns about the Privacy Notice or any objection to any revisions.

Last Update: November 17, 2020