CES 2013: LEGO Debuts iOS-Compatible LEGO MINDSTORMS EV3

MacRumors · Jan 7, 2013, 08:10 AM

As noted by Engadget, Lego has announced Mindstorms EV3, a new line of kid-friendly robotics designed to introduce children to building and programming robots while also attracting hobbyists and other robot enthusiasts.

The new Mindstorms system is powered by the EV3 Intelligent Brick, which features an ARM9 processor, 16MB of flash memory, 64MB of RAM, and the ability to function without the PC that previous Mindstorm systems have been dependent on. Lego has been producing Mindstorms since 1998, but the EV3 is the first version that can be programmed without a computer.

The Intelligent Brick offers full compatibility with iOS and Android devices right out of the box, and a new infrared sensor provides additional control over robots. Mindstorms EV3 also features Linux-based firmware, a USB port, and an SD expansion slot.

Quote:

We are equipping today's tech-literate generation of children with a more accessible, yet sophisticated robotics kit that meets their tech play expectations and abilities to truly unleash their potential so that they may surprise, impress and excite the world with their creativity.

At launch, the set will include building instructions for 17 robots, like "Reptar" the robotic snake that slithers and "Everstorm" the mohawk-sporting humanoid that can shoot mini spheres while it walks.

Lego has partnered with Autodesk to incorporate its first set of 3D building instructions, which will be released in the form of an iPad app.

Lego Mindstorms EV3 will be available for purchase in the summer of 2013 for $349.99.

Article Link: CES 2013: LEGO Debuts iOS-Compatible LEGO MINDSTORMS EV3

thuchu1 · Jan 7, 2013, 08:15 AM

I really wish I had kids so I had an excuse to buy this...

Gemütlichkeit · Jan 7, 2013, 08:18 AM

All of those molded parts don't remind me of the Lego's I remember...

samcolson4 · Jan 7, 2013, 08:19 AM

64gb of RAM?! Why does it need that much? (Genuine question)

ChristianJapan · Jan 7, 2013, 08:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gemütlichkeit

All of those molded parts don't remind me of the Lego's I remember...

That's true; last time I saw an old Lego Spaceship in Lego museum which we had too. Felt transported back 30 years

tbrinkma · Jan 7, 2013, 09:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gemütlichkeit

All of those molded parts don't remind me of the Lego's I remember...

Wait...

You had *unmolded* Lego bricks!!!

notjustjay · Jan 7, 2013, 09:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tbrinkma

Wait...

You had *unmolded* Lego bricks!!!

Haha. I'm sure you knew this but I bet he's referring to all of the "custom" parts that LEGO creates for all the different theme kits. And I agree with the poster you quoted... it's less fun when the pieces assemble more like a model kit and less like a generic "assemble anything you want" building block set.

As for the NXT, when I read the headline, I thought maybe LEGO had come up with a way to use an iPhone or iPod touch as the actual "brain". Instead of that big grey brick, they could just create a piece of LEGO with a dock connector and the wiring to connect sensors and motors. Then the iDevice itself could control everything and you'd have access to even more powerful sensors like the camera, gyroscope, compass, even GPS.

Actually it would probably still be a big brick because you would want batteries to power the LEGO motors. But you could probably sell a "dumb" battery box with a dock connector for much less than an NXT microcontroller.

I'd buy one

Speedy Gonzalez · Jan 7, 2013, 09:35 AM

This may be even better than the curiosity rover on Mars "

tbrinkma · Jan 7, 2013, 10:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by notjustjay

Haha. I'm sure you knew this but I bet he's referring to all of the "custom" parts that LEGO creates for all the different theme kits. And I agree with the poster you quoted... it's less fun when the pieces assemble more like a model kit and less like a generic "assemble anything you want" building block set.

Current Lego kits have *fewer* 'specialty' pieces than most of the kits I grew up with (in the late 70s and through the 80s). The 'look-at-all-the-fancy-pieces' nonsense is pretty much rose-tinted nostalgia.

Quote:

Originally Posted by notjustjay

As for the NXT, when I read the headline, I thought maybe LEGO had come up with a way to use an iPhone or iPod touch as the actual "brain". Instead of that big grey brick, they could just create a piece of LEGO with a dock connector and the wiring to connect sensors and motors. Then the iDevice itself could control everything and you'd have access to even more powerful sensors like the camera, gyroscope, compass, even GPS.

Actually it would probably still be a big brick because you would want batteries to power the LEGO motors. But you could probably sell a "dumb" battery box with a dock connector for much less than an NXT microcontroller.

I'd buy one

That's kind of what I was hoping for as well, but you'd still need about 90% of the NXT 'brick', for the batteries, and connectors, so it doesn't really make much sense to go that route. Additionally, if it actually relied on an iDevice for the 'brains', the whole cost of a usable kit would be *much* more expensive, and they'd be restricting their potential market share (for an already niche portion of a niche product line) even more.

That said, I suspect a sufficiently knowledgeable person could rig up an iPhone-to-Mindstorms interface cable to give access to the iPhone's sensors.

Unggoy Murderer · Jan 7, 2013, 08:19 AM

I loved the Mindstorms NXT, such an amazing piece of kit. Had days of fun building some really awesome things. Wish I had taken it a step further like this guy: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sUtS52lqL5w

Would be a dream come true!

(And a gaping hole blown through the middle of my credit rating...)

jessica. · Jan 7, 2013, 08:19 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by thuchu1

I really wish I had kids so I had an excuse to buy this...

I'm disappointed, you don't need kids to buy this! In fact, I would buy this because I don't have kids! Kids will just mess it all up! haha

ucfgrad93 · Jan 7, 2013, 11:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jessica.

I'm disappointed, you don't need kids to buy this! In fact, I would buy this because I don't have kids! Kids will just mess it all up! haha

Agreed, not to mention, you have to share with them.

This looks totally awesome!

hmeerlo · Jan 7, 2013, 08:19 AM

64GB RAM can't be right

Brian Y · Jan 7, 2013, 08:24 AM

I doubt it has 64GB of RAM - the nxt brick had 64kb!!!

I wonder if the guys who build Lejos will port it over when this is available. These make incredibly fun experimental/weekend toys for geeks/programmers - especially when combined with a raspberry pi and/or a computer with bluetooth!

ChristianJapan · Jan 7, 2013, 08:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bma

I doubt it has 64GB of RAM - the nxt brick had 64kb!!!

I wonder if the guys who build Lejos will port it over when this is available. These make incredibly fun experimental/weekend toys for geeks/programmers - especially when combined with a raspberry pi and/or a computer with bluetooth!

64GB could be it they offer a little camera (USB ?) in or for sound files ... Maybe 64MB ...

Brian Y · Jan 7, 2013, 08:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ChristianJapan

64GB could be it they offer a little camera (USB ?) in or for sound files ... Maybe 64MB ...

Looking at other reports it has 64MB. That's pretty good. That's 1000 times what the old one had!

ChristianJapan · Jan 7, 2013, 08:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by thuchu1

I really wish I had kids so I had an excuse to buy this...

Lucky me, I have a seven years old "excuse" ...

This is actually nice; combine physical toys with virtual components.

whooleytoo · Jan 7, 2013, 08:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by thuchu1

I really wish I had kids so I had an excuse to buy this...

...I think I need to research this product, so I know what to buy my future children. It's just good future-parenting.

snebes · Jan 7, 2013, 12:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by whooleytoo

...I think I need to research this product, so I know what to buy my future children. It's just good future-parenting.

Yes. That is my new excuse for all the Legos in my house.

Dave-Z · Jan 7, 2013, 08:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by thuchu1

I really wish I had kids so I had an excuse to buy this...

Thankfully, I just had a kid last year; so now I have an excuse to buy this!

jjhoekstra · Jan 7, 2013, 08:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by thuchu1

I really wish I had kids so I had an excuse to buy this...

My one year old twin girls are all the excuse I need!!!

Formul · Jan 7, 2013, 08:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by thuchu1

I really wish I had kids so I had an excuse to buy this...

If you are old enough to have kids you are old enough to buy anything you want

EmmEff · Jan 7, 2013, 08:54 AM

This is a very cool, albeit expensive toy! I don't think I can wait until next Christmas to get this for my 8 year old

designs216 · Jan 7, 2013, 09:06 AM

My son is all over the place -- except when it comes to Legos. Too bad this little toy is so expensive.

Candunc · Jan 7, 2013, 08:18 AM

Holy crap! 64 GB of RAM? Typo there

Jan 7, 2013, 08:15 AM	#2
thuchu1 macrumors regular Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: Auburn Hills, MI	I really wish I had kids so I had an excuse to buy this... __________________ MacBook Pro 15" 2.2GHz i7, 16GB RAM, 128 SSD Optibay / 750GB HDD \| iPhone 5 16GB \| iPad 3 Wi-fi 64GB
	4

Jan 7, 2013, 08:18 AM	#3
Gemütlichkeit macrumors 65816 Join Date: Nov 2010	All of those molded parts don't remind me of the Lego's I remember... __________________ "It does me no injury for my neighbor to say there are twenty gods, or no God." -Thomas Jefferson
	1

Jan 7, 2013, 08:19 AM	#4
samcolson4 macrumors member Join Date: Aug 2011	64gb of RAM?! Why does it need that much? (Genuine question) __________________ 15" MacBook Pro 2011 w/optibay SSD iPhone 5 16gb Black
	1

Jan 7, 2013, 08:19 AM	#10
Unggoy Murderer macrumors regular Join Date: Jan 2011 Location: Livingston, Scotland	I loved the Mindstorms NXT, such an amazing piece of kit. Had days of fun building some really awesome things. Wish I had taken it a step further like this guy: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sUtS52lqL5w Would be a dream come true! (And a gaping hole blown through the middle of my credit rating...) __________________ 27" iMac, i7 3.4GHz, 16GB RAM 13" MBP 2.66 GHz, 8GB RAM 3rd Gen iPad 64 GB Wifi+4G, iOS 5.1 iPhone 5 32 GB, iOS 6.0 Mac Mini 2.00 GHz, 2GB RAM
	1

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Jan 7, 2013, 09:35 AM	#8
Speedy Gonzalez macrumors member Join Date: Jun 2012 Location: Alligator Bayou	This may be even better than the curiosity rover on Mars "
	0

Jan 7, 2013, 08:19 AM	#13
hmeerlo macrumors newbie Join Date: Jun 2008	64GB RAM can't be right
	2

Jan 7, 2013, 08:24 AM	#14
Brian Y macrumors 65816 Join Date: Oct 2012	I doubt it has 64GB of RAM - the nxt brick had 64kb!!! I wonder if the guys who build Lejos will port it over when this is available. These make incredibly fun experimental/weekend toys for geeks/programmers - especially when combined with a raspberry pi and/or a computer with bluetooth!
	0

Jan 7, 2013, 08:54 AM	#23
EmmEff macrumors regular Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: Ontario, Canada	This is a very cool, albeit expensive toy! I don't think I can wait until next Christmas to get this for my 8 year old
	0

Jan 7, 2013, 09:06 AM	#24
designs216 macrumors 6502a Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: On the way to M-83	My son is all over the place -- except when it comes to Legos. Too bad this little toy is so expensive.
	0

Jan 7, 2013, 08:18 AM	#25
Candunc macrumors member Join Date: Jul 2012 Location: Canada	Holy crap! 64 GB of RAM? Typo there
	2