NXT motors are very easy to use, because of their built-in encoders. But, sometimes kids want to understand, or the teacher desires to explain how to collect information from a rotating axle. (The sensor has got its name because it is made of a light sensor and a sheet of paper only.)

How can the robot know the exact tile it is on, when moving around in a room with floor tiles sized 1x1 foot each?

(What if we want to know the exact position to the closest centimeter?
What if we also need to know the exact direction it is facing?
Beginning to sound lik...

In my physics class, the students modified their "Going the Distance" robots to push on a ball. This was an opening activity for my "Force and Motion" unit. We used some fabric taped to the floor as a hole.

In my physics class, my students create physical pendulums to study oscillations. They use the NXT and a light sensor to test their predictions regarding the period of the pendulum's oscillation

Today you won't have troubles to buy an electronic compass from the shelf. But, sometimes you want to understand - or as a teacher - to explain how the compass direction can be turned into digital information. This sensor got its name, because it is made of a few LEGO pieces, the RCX, a magnet, a li...

The aim of this project is to show the nonlinear dynamics of a vertically driven pendulum using Lego NXT. I use this toy in my Nonlinear Dynamics classroom.

Below you find building instructions and a video of the toy.

A pendulum with a fixed suspension point has two eq...

Acceleration is a physical concept that is difficult to understand, although you can feel
it when driving on a roller coaster. This sensor might help kids to realize how
acceleration can be quantified. It got its name, because it is made of a few LEGO pieces,
the RCX, and some n...

In this lesson, students will design and build a wheelchair that can hold a load about the size of a water bottle. Students will build their wheel chairs using the engineering design process and must follow specific design requirements.

This is part of the curriculum unit “Robot...

Eighth-grade students built LEGO balances that were accurate to within half a gram.

Eighth-grade students built LEGO balances that were accurate to within half a gram.