Robotics

If you are interested in robotics the department uses robotics as part of several courses. Currently the robotic platforms Lego Mindstorms NXT and iRobot Roomba are actively used. The Lego Mindstorms RCX and the Sony AIBO platform are available but currently not used in any course.

Lego Mindstorms NXT

Number of kits: 24

This is the primary robotics platform used in several courses at the department.

Lego Mindstorms NXT is a programmable robotics kit released by Lego in July 2006, replacing the first-generation LEGO Mindstorms RCX kit.

Each kit comes with one main CPU unit (the brick), three identical servo motors, two touch sensors, one light sensor, one sound sensor and one ultrasonic sensor that can be used to measure distance.

The system can be programmed using Java or a growing number of other alternatives.

NOTE: When returning the NXT kit, the following instructions for how to organize the box must be followed.

A small number of third party sensors are available to be used together with the NXT platform.

Camera Vision Subsystem v3 for NXT (NXTCam-v3): This camera sensor has realtime image processing capability to detect and track line or upto 8 colorful objects.	Gyro NXT Gyro Sensor (NGY1044): Measure the additional dimension of rotation with the NXT Gyro Sensor. This sensor that lets you accurately detect rotation for your NXT projects.
Compass NXT Compass Sensor (NMC1034): The NXT Compass Sensor is a digital compass that measures the earth's magnetic field and outputs a value representing the current heading.	Line Senor Array Line Sensor Array for NXT (NXTLineLeader): This is an array of 8 sensors with controlled light source, returning you values of the sensor readings. Your program can then decide if you wish to follow line with it or do something else.

iRobot Roomba

Number of kits: 2

Currenty, the iRobot Roomba has been used in a pilot project course.

The iRobot Roomba is a robotic vacuum cleaner. By taking the vacuum unit out and fit a nano ITX card inside the robot, a more advanced robotic platform can be constructed.

Lego Mindstorms RCX

Number of kits: 21

The RCX is the first generation Lego Mindstorms robotics kit. Previously this platform has been used in a number of real-time courses but is being replaced by the Lego Mindstorms NXT.

Sony AIBO

Number of kits: 3

The Sony AIBO platform have been used in courses where students competed in RoboCup Standard Platform League. Currently this platform is not used in any course.