Challenge #1 Pull That Weight
NXTCentral’s first challenge is now over!!! We sadly only had 3 entries for the challenge. Here are the rules for challenge #1:

I am challenging all builders to pull as much weight as you possibly can. This will test your creativity to build a robot that not only can pull a bunch of weight, but that looks like something that can actually pull it. Will it be like a tug boat, or a Locomotive? There is no limit on the amount of weight that you can pull. You must pull the weight 10 feet in the lowest amount of time.

The following are the people and their Robots who entered

• mini_man176 - The Tractor
• NXTMonger - TugBot II
• Snowblader13 - Loco the Puller

And the winner of NXTCentral Challenge #1 is:

NXTMonger With his TugBot II, He was able to pull 10.3 Pounds in 1 Minute 21 Seconds!!! Here is a pictures and video of his Bot:

Snowblader13 came in 2nd with 8 pounds pulled in 4 Minutes 15 Seconds. Here is a pictures and video of his Bot:

Mini_Man 176 came in 3rd pulling 3.3 pounds in 5 Minutes 36 Seconds. Here is a pictures of his Bot:

Please let me know if you have any more questions or want o see more photos about the robots.

Well it has been nearly 2 months since we first unveiled challenge #1. There may still be time for thoes of you that have yet to start on it. Go to the forum to see all of the rule for the competition. Be sure to read the Questions and Answers, as some of the rules have been changed or Cleared up!

Click here to go to the forum!

The deadline for challenge #1 is on May 31st, That means that all entries must be sent in following all of the rules by that date! So far no entries have been submitted! Time is running out so get those bots done and sent in!

Have fun and get those entries in!!!

Now this is not directly related to Mindstorms, but way too cool to share with all.

Once again, the record for the world’s largest Lego tower has fallen. Last year, the Lego bricks towered 96 feet over Toronto. A new LEGO tower in the UK has taken over the title of “world’s tallest”. Constructed using over 500,000 bricks, it towers 100-feet above LEGOLAND Windsor. Hitting the 100 foot mark is definitely a fitting way to celebrate the 50th anniversary.

NXT NXT…? Are you seeing double? Yes! We are presenting a doubly fun building challenge where you create a robot that uses 2 NXT bricks! We are also giving you double the amount of time to enter this challenge (projects must be entered by June 30, 2008).

The 2 NXT’s can be onboard the robot or the 2 NXT’s can be separate (for example if 1 NXT is used as a remote controller for the 2nd NXT). The NXT’s must communicate with each other.

Don’t have 2 NXT’s? Why not enter the challenge with a friend!

As we all know it is extremely tricky when it comes to making triangles out of technic pieces. There are several different ways to do it, but i just discovered a new way that i have not seen before over on brickshelf.com.

This comes from Sariel, who has created several creative projects. From what you can see in the picture it is very sturdy looking, and could be adapted for many different uses. The direct link can be found Here.

He has several other creations that are worth checking out aswell.

Here is a really cool Bobcat that i found on you tube, it uses Lego pneumatics to control the lift and tip of the bucket. This is a really good example of how one can combine pneumatics and the NXT together. I wish there were more information on it so that it would be easier to replicate, or make improvements.

Well even though this is not an NXT Creation I think it is still awesome. As most of you know NXTLiftBoy has made several really cool creations. You can check them out over at MOCpages Here.

Here is what he has to say about it:

The ChainRider is a trike featuring two huge wheels, remote control, and, i dare say, excellent drive properties. It is made entirely from a single LEGO set 8275, but appears to be much more fun in playing than the bulldozer!

For more information and building instructions see: http://www.mocpages.com/moc.php/54200

I challenge anyone to try to make a similar version of this with an NXT at the control.

Here is a pretty cool project that Sascha from Germany Sent me.

Here is the information from Sascha:

“This is the Lego NXT “4 In A Row” robot project.
This robot is able to play against you on itself.
He is independend of any computer, so the program - programmed with NXC - is running on the NXT brick.
The human player can choose the row while pushing the touch sensor as often as the row’s number. The computer decides on its own, which row would be the best for it.
This KI is working mainly on the MINIMAX algorithm. However the computer is not as hard as i want him to be, because of the less NXT Brick speed.
the algorithm works like that: The computer simulates the next 3 possible steps and gives any game situation a specific number of points. The Row with the most points will be the next computers choice.
The robot uses three NXT motors:
- one is moving the gameboard
- the second fixes the stones
- the third opens the gate”

I am challenging all builders to pull as much weight as you possibly can. This will test your creativity to build a robot that not only can pull a bunch of weight, but that looks like something that can actually pull it. Will it be like a tug boat, or a Locomotive? There is no limit on the amount of weight that you can pull.

The Course is as follows:

1. Move forward 5 feet

2. Turn 90 degrees

3. Move 2 feet Forward

4. Turn 90 degrees

5. Move Forward 5 feet

Download the rules Here

You MUST read this ‘Questions and Answers’ topic dedicated to challenge #1 frequently. Please ask any questions or concerns you have here. Any post by snowblader13 over this topic is ‘official’ as rules! However, any post by other member should be considered a recommendation at best, until I reply to the
question at hand.

NXTCentral.com has changed its look. Although the look has been changed we will still be bringing you the latest and the greatest Information and projects on all things LEGO Mindstorms.

Please bear with us for a few days as we are making sure that everything looks and works ok.

There are also many cool and exciting things happening around here as well.

We now have a links page so you can find all information related to the Mindstorms Community. If there are any links that you think should be added there is a dedicated forum topic where you can suggest links to be added to NXTCentral.com.

To suggest more links please go here

We are going to start having challenges here as well. The first one will be starting soon, So we are encouraging everyone to participate and to get all of your friends to participate as well.

Thanks

The NXTCentral Team