Use Mindstorms with regular LEGO

[legenjerry]

Hi, I'm looking for some input regarding the exact hardware I would need, and LEGO support couldn't help me out so they directed me here :)

It's quite easy: I want to have 1, maybe 2 base plates with mini figs mov whenever certain music plays (and/or maybe something with motion sensoring, but primarily on sound). So basically I want to make use of some of the features Mindstorms has to offer to build an awesome robot, but without actually building a robot around it. 

Now, it's obvious I need the EV3 Integelligent Brick, but it's not clear to me what else I would need to make this happen. Any advice on this??

[Lok24]

1 minute ago, legenjerry said:

It's quite easy: I want to have  mini figs mov whenever certain music plays

 

There is no microphone in EV3. And how should some software detect the "certain" music?

 

[legenjerry]

By programming it that way, I figured. Is there any it would be possible to have stuff react to any sounds whatsoever? And if not, what could trigger the set to start moving anyway?

 

2 minutes ago, Lok24 said:

There is no microphone in EV3. And how should some software detect the "certain" music?

 

By programming it that way, I figured. Is there any it would be possible to have stuff react to any sounds whatsoever? And if not, what could trigger the set to start moving anyway?

[Lok24]

Just now, legenjerry said:

By programming it that way, I figured.

I cannot imagine that.

 

Just now, legenjerry said:

 Is there any it would be possible to have stuff react to any sounds whatsoever?

Yes, your Smartdevice in conjuntion with the Lego boost App and the PoweredUp Boost.

 

2 minutes ago, legenjerry said:

 And if not, what could trigger the set to start moving anyway?

Anything else but sound....

Light, movement, certain colors (nearby), turning or pressing knobs, also from remote...(via IR or BT)
This works with EV3, Robot Inventor or PoweredUp

 

[Tcm0]

There's also the NXT sound sensor. It can measure how loud a sound is (but can't detect what's beeing said etc). It works with EV3.

[dr_spock]

You could try to run EV3DEV on the EV3 and use a compatible USB sound card or microphone.  Maybe a bluetooth microphone/headset can work too.

[legenjerry]

7 hours ago, Tcm0 said:

There's also the NXT sound sensor. It can measure how loud a sound is (but can't detect what's beeing said etc). It works with EV3.

LEGO site doesn't have that (anymore)?

[legenjerry]

9 hours ago, Lok24 said:

I cannot imagine that.

 

Yes, your Smartdevice in conjuntion with the Lego boost App and the PoweredUp Boost.

 

Anything else but sound....

Light, movement, certain colors (nearby), turning or pressing knobs, also from remote...(via IR or BT)
This works with EV3, Robot Inventor or PoweredUp

 

Alright, let's say I'm gonna work with EV3. What else would I need besides the Intelligent Brick and a cable pack? And some Technic bricks to make it compatible with regular lego of course :)

Or is it easier to do it with PoweredUp? All I basically want to do is have 1 or 2 base plates move, can be by reacting to something or by programming, doesn't really matter how exactly....

[FoxOne]

If you decide to proceed with EV3 you will also need EV3 motors.

The thing is they're in class of their own -- not compatible with other Technic controllers (except NXT). Moreover, they have very specific use case in robotics, and using them in regular Technic vehicles takes some creativity.

So if you're thinking of reusing parts of this installation later, maybe it's better to use something from new Powered Up ecosystem. That also includes Robots Inventor / Spike Prime.

[Lok24]

7 hours ago, legenjerry said:

Alright, let's say I'm gonna work with EV3. What else would I need besides the Intelligent Brick and a cable pack?

 All I basically want to do is have 1 or 2 base plates move, can be by reacting to something or by programming, doesn't really matter how exactly....

That's the problem. If you cant't describe what it should do nobody can tell what you need.
As an example: if you want to build a car  your need two motors, one for steering, on for drive. How many motors do you need? I have no Idea.

In Summary: you can use EV3, RobotInventor or PoweredUp. But they differ in how to program and what you need besides them.

Edited November 9, 2020 by Lok24

[Mr Jos]

To start of, minifigs will move as 1 piece, they wont be able to do small movements like waving arms, walking with legs moving, therefor the parts are to small, and the gears to big.

 

If you go for the [45544], EV3 Education set, you get these usefull items;

- EV3 Brick[45500]

- EV3 rechargeable battery[45501] (You need to buy the charger extra![45517 !!EU Style!!]) it allows the charger to be plugged in and charge whilst running the program, good for long days of demonstration.

- 2 large motors[45502] and 1 medium motor[45503] (EV3 doesn't have small motors)

     To put these motor in your building you will need a few 'Technic bricks' like [3701] or longer ones, pins to connect should already come in the set. Few axles and gears are in the set as well to start you off.

- 1x Color sensor[45506], 1x Gyro sensor[45505], 2x Touch sensor [45505], 1x Ultrasonic sensor [45504].

     You can build these Touch sensors under some building or landscape. When you press the piece attached to the sensor you can make it run some part of the program.

     You can use the Ultrasonic sensor to measure distance, if something comes in front (people walking by) you can make it run some part of the program. (The maximum distance measured is around 250cm, so you can trigger the motion if an object is at <200cm for example)

- 7 cables come in the set[45514], should be enough to start. If later you need a longer cable, for like making the touch sensor 2 meter away from the motors, it is possible, but not easy(You need special connectors+crimping tool, the cable itselve is easy to find. I have all of them here).

 

You will need all of the underlined items to start (and a pc to program). I managed to find one Education set+charger for 170€ from someone who had used it a few years at school, and didn't want it anymore, but usually they don't go for that cheap. Try looking for kids that have grown out of LEGO (how's that possible?!)

Feel free to ask more questions.

Edited November 9, 2020 by Mr Jos
grammar

[legenjerry]

21 minutes ago, Mr Jos said:

To start of, minifigs will move as 1 piece, they wont be able to do small movements like waving arms, walking with legs moving, therefor the parts are to small, and the gears to big.

 

If you go for the [45544], EV3 Education set, you get these usefull items;

- EV3 Brick[45500]

- EV3 rechargeable battery[45501] (You need to buy the charger extra![45517 !!EU Style!!]) it allows the charger to be plugged in and charge whilst running the program, good for long days of demonstration.

- 2 large motors[45502] and 1 medium motor[45503] (EV3 doesn't have small motors)

     To put these motor in your building you will need a few 'Technic bricks' like [3701] or longer ones, pins to connect should already come in the set. Few axles and gears are in the set as well to start you off.

- 1x Color sensor[45506], 1x Gyro sensor[45505], 2x Touch sensor [45505], 1x Ultrasonic sensor [45504].

     You can build these Touch sensors under some building or landscape. When you press the piece attached to the sensor you can make it run some part of the program.

     You can use the Ultrasonic sensor to measure distance, if something comes in front (people walking by) you can make it run some part of the program. (The maximum distance measured is around 250cm, so you can trigger the motion if an object is at <200cm for example)

- 7 cables come in the set[45514], should be enough to start. If later you need a longer cable, for like making the touch sensor 2 meter away from the motors, it is possible, but not easy(You need special connectors+crimping tool, the cable itselve is easy to find. I have all of them here).

 

You will need all of the underlined items to start (and a pc to program). I managed to find one Education set+charger for 170€ from someone who had used it a few years at school, and didn't want it anymore, but usually they don't go for that cheap. Try looking for kids that have grown out of LEGO (how's that possible?!)

Feel free to ask more questions.

Great, thanks a lot! This is exactly what I was looking for.

The Lego website itself doesn't have the 45544 base set (and some other EV3 items are not in stock), but other shops do fortunately. That makes it a lot easier :)

Thanks for the charger advice as well. So just to be sure: the cables are included in the base set as well? 

[Lok24]

32 minutes ago, legenjerry said:

 So just to be sure: the cables are included in the base set as well? 

Yes, in both EV3 sets the cables are included.
But they differ in what's included: the 31313 has a infrared sensor instead of the ultrasonic, but comes with a remote control(IR)

 

 

[legenjerry]

1 hour ago, Lok24 said:

Yes, in both EV3 sets the cables are included.
But they differ in what's included: the 31313 has a infrared sensor instead of the ultrasonic, but comes with a remote control(IR)

 

 

I see, thanks for additional info! I guess the 45544 one fits my needs better :)

[Mr Jos]

1 hour ago, legenjerry said:

I see, thanks for additional info! I guess the 45544 one fits my needs better :)

Indeed, I prefer the 45544 more then 31313 because it already has the rechargeable battery, else you need to fiddle around with AA battery's. (The rechargeable battery can be bought separately but costs around 100€)

Ordering the items directly from the Lego site will take long for delivery, maar Nederland heeft 'Brickshop'. I ordered 3 of my 45544 sets there. Mostly when ordered in early morning I received it the day after in Belgium. They do sell some technic bricks as well, but all in bulk (per 100). To find them there search 'steen met gaten'. I would advise to order atleast the 1x4 ones if you don't have much technic bricks, so you can test and build something.

Have fun with whatever you build! (Pictures of the result would be nice to see)

[legenjerry]

2 hours ago, Mr Jos said:

Indeed, I prefer the 45544 more then 31313 because it already has the rechargeable battery, else you need to fiddle around with AA battery's. (The rechargeable battery can be bought separately but costs around 100€)

Ordering the items directly from the Lego site will take long for delivery, maar Nederland heeft 'Brickshop'. I ordered 3 of my 45544 sets there. Mostly when ordered in early morning I received it the day after in Belgium. They do sell some technic bricks as well, but all in bulk (per 100). To find them there search 'steen met gaten'. I would advise to order atleast the 1x4 ones if you don't have much technic bricks, so you can test and build something.

Have fun with whatever you build! (Pictures of the result would be nice to see)

Bedankt, dat zal ik zeker doen!! :)

Ik heb inderdaad eerder bij Brickshop besteld, daar zag ik m ook al. Bedankt voor je hulp!

[ninoguba]

If you want your build to react to music, you can use Alexa with your EV3.   See here for detailed instructions on how it can be done.

https://www.hackster.io/alexagadgets/lego-mindstorms-voice-challenge-mission-2-599072

[legenjerry]

Check out the result on YouTube!

Edited December 26, 2020 by legenjerry

[Mr Jos]

Great that you managed to do what you wanted! Have fun experimenting for more/different movements.

What set/motors did you end up using?

Here are some examples for bringing motion in regular LEGO that use some more complex 'moves' that I saw and liked very much.

 

[legenjerry]

18 hours ago, Mr Jos said:

Great that you managed to do what you wanted! Have fun experimenting for more/different movements.

What set/motors did you end up using?

Here are some examples for bringing motion in regular LEGO that use some more complex 'moves' that I saw and liked very much.

 

Awesome, thanks for inspiring me :)

I used 1 of the large motors to power the stage/band, and the smaller one to move to crowd