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Legos Have Come A Long Way...


Ryan S

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Wow! I always knew you could make anything out of legos! But Wow!

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Guest thefishman65

Pretty cool, but did they use the least number of moves??? I also thought it was interesting that they only used one side of the cube in the algorithm. One side is easy how did they know the other sides were corrrect? Did I miss something?

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Pretty cool, but did they use the least number of moves??? I also thought it was interesting that they only used one side of the cube in the algorithm. One side is easy how did they know the other sides were corrrect? Did I miss something?

The robot scanned the cube at the start, looking over all the sides. Once it memorized the configuration, it just kept a virtual cube in memory.

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The simplest algorithms (but not the fewest moves) solve a rubicks in layers. I must've watched this video 20 times, it doesn't appear to have solved it in layers but by achieving one corner and working with that, which I suspect means that more complex decision-based algorithms are used to make the solution faster.

 

 

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They are using Lego Mindstorms with the NXT module. There are many sensors that can be connected which for this demo I suspect they are using the color sensors. My sons have this.

 

The Lego Mindstorms is the basis of the robots and competition used in the FIRST Lego League (FLL) (9-14 yr olds). This is where teams are formed and compete using robots made using Lego Mindstorms and a multitude of attachments all made from legos. FLL is a world-wide league under the direction of the FIRST foundation formed by Dean Kamen in 1998 (Dean is the inventor of the Segway) and each year there is a different themes to the competition. Last year it was biomedical engineering to discover innovative ways to repair injuries.

 

How do I know all this. Well here comes the proud father in me...

 

Last school year my two sons in middle school were on the Ashburn Robotics team that won the Virginia FLL state title and were invited to represent the region at the world competion in St. Louis. There were over 80 teams from 35+ countries there competing at the FLL level. Although they did not win the overall tournament, my sons team was awarded 1st Place in Robotic Design...(World Champion Lego Robot Designers baby!!!!!)

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Cool, Chris. I have a coworker who coached his kids team, too. They went to the state competition last year but didn't go further. Now I can say that I know who beat 'em out!

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Thanks. It was a long year of after school meetings for them meeting two sometimes three times a week with a 5 hour session on each Sunday. It paid off. My sons have moved up a level in the competition to the FTC level. Dont know if they will make it to a FRC level (late high school) where I understand it takes about $40K to start a team and equipment.

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Wow, that thing's pretty awesome! I did FRC in high school and it definitely adds up quick! It was a lot of fun, and really time consuming in the weeks leading up to competition, but definitely worth it when you get there!

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