Contents
Guide
The LEGO
MINDSTORMS
EV3 Idea Book
YOSHIHITO ISOGAWA
The LEGO
MINDSTORMS
EV3 Idea Book.
Copyright 2015 by Yoshihito Isogawa.
All rights reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or
mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage or retrieval system, without the prior
written permission of the copyright owner and the publisher.
Printed in China
First Printing
18 17 16 15 14
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
ISBN-10: 1-59327-600-1
ISBN-13: 978-1-59327-600-3
Publisher: William Pollock
Production Editor: Riley Hoffman
Cover Design: Beth Middleworth
Photographer: Yoshihito Isogawa
Author Photo: Sumiko Hirano
Developmental Editor: Tyler Ortman
Technical Reviewer: Sumiko Hirano
Proofreader: Fleming Editorial Services
For information on distribution, translations, or bulk sales, please contact No Starch Press, Inc. directly:
No Starch Press, Inc.
245 8th Street, San Francisco, CA 94103
phone: 415.863.9900;
www.nostarch.com
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Isogawa, Yoshihito, 1962-
The LEGO Mindstorms EV3 idea book : 181 Simple Machines and Clever Contraptions / Yoshihito Isogawa.
pages cm
ISBN 978-1-59327-600-3 -- ISBN 1-59327-600-1
Machinery--Models.
2. LEGO Mindstorms toys.
I. Title.
TJ248.I86 2015
621.8022'8--dc23
2014027048
No Starch Press and the No Starch Press logo are registered trademarks of No Starch Press, Inc. Other product and
company names mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners. Rather than use a trademark
symbol with every occurrence of a trademarked name, we are using the names only in an editorial fashion and to the
benefit of the trademark owner, with no intention of infringement of the trademark.
LEGO
, MINDSTORMS
, the brick and knob configurations, and the minifigure are trademarks of the LEGO Group,
which does not sponsor, authorize, or endorse this book.
The information in this book is distributed on an As Is basis, without warranty. While every precaution has been
taken in the preparation of this work, neither the author nor No Starch Press, Inc. shall have any liability to any person
or entity with respect to any loss or damage caused or alleged to be caused directly or indirectly by the information
contained in it.
Production Date: 8/5/14
Plant & Location: Printed by Everbest Printing (Guangzhou, China), Co. Ltd
Job / Batch #: 42088-0 / 703189
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Introduction
The LEGO MINDSTORMS EV3 set is
designed to allow builders of any age
to create robots, vehicles, and other
contraptions with moving parts.
Each model in this book is only a small mech-
anism, but you can make an infinite variety
of larger models by combining these ideas.
LEGO bricks arent designed to fit in just one
specific place or in one particular way. Your
imagination is your guide when building with
LEGO, and I hope that you will create your
own wonderful masterpieces using this book
as inspiration.
To build the models in this book, all you need
is the LEGO MINDSTORMS EV3 set (home
edition #31313).
Where Are the Words?
Other than this brief introduction and the table
of contents, this book has almost no words.
Instead, youll find a series of photographs of
increasingly complex models, each designed
to demonstrate a mechanical principle or
building technique.
While the book lists the pieces needed for
each model, it does not include step-by-step
building instructions. Look at the photographs
taken from various angles and try to reproduce