It's Programmable Cat Toys… it's Cubical Pets for Computer Nerds… No, it's 'The Unofficial Guide to LEGO MINDSTORMS Robots'

Business Wire, Oct 20, 1999

SEBASTOPOL, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 20, 1999--

LEGO Mindstorms Robotics Invention Kits may turn out to be the hottest geek gadget of this year's gift-giving season.

Unfortunately, the documentation that goes along with the kit doesn't take its many fans far enough. Forbes Magazine even reported recently that dedicated LEGOs robot programmers had "open-sourced" code designed to run the robots and posted it free on the Web(a).

Jonathan Knudson's new book, "The Unofficial Guide to LEGO(R) MINDSTORMS(TM) Robots" shows geek-gadget buyers everywhere how to get the most out of their LEGO(R) MINDSTORMS(TM) Robotics Invention Kit.

"LEGO(R) robots go way beyond being cool toys. Combine a bunch of LEGO bricks, a standard robot brain, a talented and highly motivated online community, and your own imagination, and you've got an advanced tool for learning and teaching about robot design and programming," says Knudsen. "Best of all, it's a lot of fun."

Based on hands-on robot projects, the book includes descriptions of advanced mechanical techniques, programming with third-party software, building your own sensors, working with more than one kit, and sources of extra parts. "The Unofficial Guide to LEGO(R) MINDSTORMS(TM) Robots" goes far beyond what you'll find in the official documentation to enable you to build and program whatever you can imagine. -0-

     The Unofficial Guide to LEGO(R) MINDSTORMS(TM) Robots includes:

--   Hands-on robot projects, with complete building instructions and
     programs. Different aspects of these projects are used to explore
     fundamental issues of mobile robot design.

--   A chapter on NQC, a popular programming environment for RIS.
     You'll learn how NQC fits into the RIS software architecture, as
     well as how to write programs using NQC's C-like syntax. Includes
     copious examples.

--   A chapter on legOS, an alternate operating system for the RCX.
     legOS provides very low-level access to the resources of the RCX,
     enabling complex robot programming. This chapter describes
     legOS's structure and includes useful sample programs.

--   A chapter on pbForth, another powerful option for RCX robot
     programming. The chapter includes sample programs in Forth.

--   A chapter about building your own sensors. Making your own
     sensors is economical and educational. This chapter describes how
     to build several different sensors that will work with the RIS
     kit.

-0-

The book includes numerous illustrations and code examples. Many URLs are listed to serve as an introduction to the thriving online MINDSTORMS(TM) community.

(a) http://www.forbes.com/forbes/99/0809/6403122a.htm).

For more information about the book, including Table of Contents, index, author bio, online resources, and samples, see: http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/lmstorms/

For a cover graphic in jpeg format go to:

ftp://ftp.ora.com/pub/graphics/book_covers/hi-res/156596927.jpg

For jpegs of two of Jonathan's robots (Minerva, the most complicated robot in his book and Trusty, who follows a line on the floor), contact: Lisa Mann 707/829-05t 230 or lisam@oreilly.com