Eun Jung Park - Exploring LEGO Mindstorms EV3: Tools and Techniques for Building and Programming Robots

Exploring LEGO MINDSTORMS EV3: Tools and Techniques for Building and Programming Robots

Published by

John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

10475 Crosspoint Boulevard

Indianapolis, IN 46256

www.wiley.com

Copyright 2014 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana

Published simultaneously in Canada

ISBN: 978-1-118-87974-0

ISBN: 978-1-118-87972-6 (ebk)

ISBN: 978-1-118-87995-5 (ebk)

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning or otherwise, except as permitted under Sections 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act, without either the prior written permission of the Publisher, or authorization through payment of the appropriate per-copy fee to the Copyright Clearance Center, 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, (978) 750-8400, fax (978) 646-8600. Requests to the Publisher for permission should be addressed to the Permissions Department, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030, (201) 748-6011, fax (201) 748-6008, or online at http://www.wiley.com/go/permissions.

Limit of Liability/Disclaimer of Warranty: The publisher and the author make no representations or warranties with respect to the accuracy or completeness of the contents of this work and specifi cally disclaim all warranties, including without limitation warranties of fi tness for a particular purpose. No warranty may be created or extended by sales or promotional materials. The advice and strategies contained herein may not be suitable for every situation. This work is sold with the understanding that the publisher is not engaged in rendering legal, accounting, or other professional services. If professional assistance is required, the services of a competent professional person should be sought. Neither the publisher nor the author shall be liable for damages arising herefrom. The fact that an organization or Web site is referred to in this work as a citation and/or a potential source of further information does not mean that the author or the publisher endorses the information the organization or website may provide or recommendations it may make. Further, readers should be aware that Internet websites listed in this work may have changed or disappeared between when this work was written and when it is read.

For general information on our other products and services please contact our Customer Care Department within the United States at (877) 762-2974, outside the United States at (317) 572-3993 or fax (317) 572-4002.

Wiley publishes in a variety of print and electronic formats and by print-on-demand. Some material included with standard print versions of this book may not be included in e-books or in print-on-demand. If this book refers to media such as a CD or DVD that is not included in the version you purchased, you may download this material at http://booksupport.wiley.com. For more information about Wiley products, visit www.wiley.com.

Library of Congress Control Number: 2014937185

Trademarks: Wiley and the Wiley logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of John Wiley & Sons, Inc. and/or its affi liates, in the United States and other countries, and may not be used without written permission. LEGO and Mindstorms are registered trademarks of LEGO Juris A/S Corporation. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. John Wiley & Sons, Inc. is not associated with any product or vendor mentioned in this book.

(This book is dedicated to my parents.)

Eun Jung (EJ) Park has been developing LEGO robotics and curricula at RoboFun since 2010. There she designs robots that are used in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) programs for children and youths. She hopes that her work provides students with opportunities to develop their creativity and encourages scientific curiosity through robotics and coding. Her LEGO robotics projects and building instructions are used in programs for children and youths around New York City.

EJ was born in Seoul, South Korea, and studied various art disciplines for more than 12 years, which formed the foundation for her passion in the interactive arts. EJ traveled to the United States to earn her Masters degree from the Interactive Telecommunications Program (ITP) at New York University (NYU). In the United States, she enhanced her knowledge of physical computing, programming, mechanical engineering, and a variety of other technologies. At NYU she started building mechanical moving sculptures called automatons and explored various mechanical elements such as gears, cams, and pulleys in her creations.

With her work at ITPand, of course her passion for LEGOshe became the creative force behind Vision Education & Media/RoboFun's LEGO robotics curricula. At any given moment, she is probably building LEGO robots somewhere in New York City. You can see her work at www.ejpark.com.

Dr. Damien Kee holds a PhD in robotics and a bachelor's in electrical engineering. He has been running technology-based workshops for students and professional development for teachers since 2003, both in his home country of Australia and abroad.

Damien has presented a variety of educational technology topics in places such as QSITE (Australia), Google Apps for Education Summit (Australia), RoboCupJunior (China), Jubilee Centre (Jordan), Tuffs University (USA), RoboFest (Singapore), and ATLAB (United Arab Emirates and Qatar).

Since 2001, Damien has been heavily involved with the RoboCup Junior competition, at a local, state, national, and international level. From 20092011, he was chairman of RoboCup Junior Australia and technical chair of the RoboCup Junior International Rescue Committee. He is the author of several teacher resource books, contributor to theNXTstep.com, and a member of the LEGO MINDSTORMS community program, a group of people around the world who consult with LEGO to make the MINDSTORMS system a better product.

1. Acquisitions Editor
2. Mary James
3. Project Editor
4. Jennifer Lynn
5. Technical Editor
6. Damien Kee
7. Production Editor
8. Christine Mugnolo
9. Copy Editor
10. Keith Cline
11. Manager of Content Development and Assembly
12. Mary Beth Wakefield
13. Director of Community Marketing
14. David Mayhew
15. Marketing Manager
16. Carrie Sherrill
17. Business Manager
18. Amy Knies
19. Vice President and Executive Group Publisher
20. Richard Swadley
21. Associate Publisher
22. Jim Minatel
23. Project Coordinator, Cover
24. Todd Klemme
25. Proofreader
26. Nancy Carrasco
27. Indexer
28. John Sleeva
29. Cover Designer
30. Wiley
31. Cover Image
32. Courtesy of Eun Jung (EJ) Park

From the day I started this book and until this moment, I wouldn't have been able to survive without support from the following people.

My editors from Wiley Publishing, Inc., Mary James and Jennifer Lynn, for encouraging me to take on this process and for keeping me on track to meet my deadlines; and also to the technical editor, Damien Kee, for providing valuable advice for the book.