EV3 ... Is it worth upgrading?

[DrJB]

After reviewing the features of the new EV3 ... I'm hesitant whether it is worth upgrading from the NXT 2.0 as I do not see the real benefits of some of the 'incremental' improvements. There are pros for sure but I'm not yet fully convinced. Granted, the extra SD card will provide additional memory, but how much longer are programs going to be if one is still limited by the number of I/O ports? I was also hoping for some 'commonization' with PF but that does not seem to be in the works ... A while back, I was hoping for a color (brighter) screen and built-in connectivity (BT, WI-FI) ... but we're not there yet. What are your thoughts? Will you be getting one? What's your 'justification'? ... I can already guess some of the answers (e.g., it's a toy and why do you need to build a business case for it?) ... but that is NOT what I'm asking.

[Jim]

It all depends on what you do with your current NXT and how much money you are willing to spend on a new set.

Personally I think the new mounting points on the motors and the different type of motors are a major improvement. Extra motor port is very nice too!! Furthermore the WiFi support is great (although I hope smaller dongles will be supported in the future as well). With third party firmware there will be more options to come in the future. It's faster, more memory etc. Possibility for easy daisy chaining. All great, but these are all specs.

The real issues remains; do you want to spend another 350 bucks on a Mindstorms set. If you are into Mindstorms, you just want this set, no justification needed. If you occasionally build a robot, you might want to skip this.

What answer are you looking for?

[Cwetqo]

For me real pros are extra motor port, M-motor and ipad/iphone connectivity. Is it worth upgrading? For now, I think not. Maybe in time, when price drops and there will be discounts.

If you are casual user, EV3 really offers a lot of new experience with prepared instrucitions, mobile device connectivity and remote control. If you just want brick, motors and sensors for you own projects, difference to old version is not that high.

I dont know what so you mean with BT an Wifi conectivity. Already NXT had BT and EV3 offers option of WiFi.

[Jim]

PS no backlit screen is a real bummer!!

For me real pros are extra motor port, M-motor and ipad/iphone connectivity. Is it worth upgrading? For now, I think not. Maybe in time, when price drops and there will be discounts.

If you are casual user, EV3 really offers a lot of new experience with prepared instrucitions, mobile device connectivity and remote control. If you just want brick, motors and sensors for you own projects, difference to old version is not that high.

I dont know what so you mean with BT an Wifi conectivity. Already NXT had BT and EV3 offers option of WiFi.

Agreed!

He means built-in Wifi, instead of using a dongle. However, I am not sure about the BT comment?!

Edited August 30, 2013 by Ted

[Balrog]

On the same note, are there certain compatabilities between NXT 2.0 and EV3? Like, could I run the color or touch sensor from EV3 on my old NXT brick?

[Jim]

On the same note, are there certain compatabilities between NXT 2.0 and EV3? Like, could I run the color or touch sensor from EV3 on my old NXT brick?

If I am not mistaken, the motors are compatible, but the EV3 sensors cannot be used on the NXT. The NXT sensors can be used on the EV3.

This link provides all the informtation you need:

http://robotsquare.c...-compatibility/

Edited August 30, 2013 by Ted

[Balrog]

Thanks for the link. This is very valuable information. Too bad, that sensors are not compatible.

[Jim]

Thanks for the link. This is very valuable information. Too bad, that sensors are not compatible.

No thanks

True, the EV3 sensors seem to be an improvement over the NXT ones.

[Balrog]

Well I just need a color sensor :D

[DrJB]

What answer are you looking for?

Thank You Ted ... I was trying to avoid answers such as the one I mentioned (It's a toy, you don't need any justification).

Forgive my acronyms .... BT = Blue Tooth. I'm aware that BT is 'internal' to EV3 now and that's a good thing. The last thing I want (and I'm sure many agree on here) is to have dongles sticking out of the unit and 'interfering' with the build. Perhaps what I missed the most, going from RCX to NXT, was the inability of NXT to interact with a webcam. Vision Command had some neat possibilities ...

Now, for the EV3, do we know about the capabilities of the USB host port? I'm thinking a webcam at the very least ... but that would require some linux drivers ...

[Jim]

I think we understand that BT means BlueTooth

Just didn't know what you meant with your comment, since BT was internal for the NXT as well. It wasn't compatible with iOS though.

I think the EV3 will open up lots of possibilities (with the USB) in the near future. So you might not see the big deal now, but later you probably will. And no need to hurry, right?

Support for a webcam is what I am hoping for too!

The USB Wifi dongle sticking out like a sore thumb sucks the big one, I agree on that. Was hoping that the smaller Netgear dongle would work. I have tested this, but to no avail

Edited August 30, 2013 by Ted

[jonwil]

Given that the EV3 is based on an ARM CPU and the Linux kernel, I suspect we will see people comming up with improvements to it (including drivers for other WiFi dongles if those dongles have specs available)

The real question is how much of the software LEGO chooses to release as Open Source.

[DrJB]

I think we understand that BT means BlueTooth

Just didn't know what you meant with your comment, since BT was internal for the NXT as well. It wasn't compatible with iOS though.

I guess I was 'ranting' that TLG took few steps backwards going from the various RCX generations to the NXT. I tend to expect improvements and backwards compatibility ... not throw it all away and start over .... but I guess the whole tech industry is following that scheme. As for my comment, I was 'expecting' BT to be a solid option ... In all fairness, BT issues are mostly to blame on BT itself as the technology was still not very mature (few non-compatible flavors out there).

Maybe pros/cons of RCX vs. NXT may help clarify my comments:

RCX Pros:

1. Wireless connectivity out-of-the-box ... no need to buy additional component (dongle)

2. External power jack (at least with 1.0) ... could run non-movable 'robots' without worrying about batteries draining

NXT Cons:

1. Some of the code required fine 'tweaking' of the motors settings. If you're building a mobile robot and do not have a working BT dongle, this means removing/reattaching the USB cable a multitude of times .... In the end I was concerned that my son would break the USB port on the NXT.

2. No option for running with AC power

Edited August 30, 2013 by DrJB

[Jim]

I agree that BT is still not functioning properly. I had some BT issues with the NXT on my iMac and frankly, they still exist. I was hoping better plug and play for BT and the EV3.

External WiFi...I mean, give me a break. Besides the lack of a backlit screen, this is probably the worst let down of the EV3. A giant USB dongle sticking out is not what you would expect in 2013.

So after the first announcement I was little bit disappointed as well, but now I tend to look at the bright side and the positive things, and things to come. Overall I am very pleased with the new kit, but I admit it could (and maybe should) have been better.

As for the RCX; I own one, but I have done very little with it. So I am not comfortable comparing it with the other units.

Edited August 30, 2013 by Ted

[Balrog]

I agree that BT is still not functioning properly. I had some BT issues with the NXT on my iMac and frankly, they still exist. I was hoping better plug and play for BT and the EV3.

I would guess that this is and was (for NXT) not the problem of the programmable brick, but the problem of Apple products. *stopapplehate*

[DrJB]

I would guess that this is and was (for NXT) not the problem of the programmable brick, but the problem of Apple products. *stopapplehate*

. Not quite, I had to try 3 different BT dongles before finding one that works with NXT. The fact that the iPad (or any siblings) won't talk to any BT is another mild aggravation.

[Balrog]

. Not quite, I had to try 3 different BT dongles before finding one that works with NXT. The fact that the iPad (or any siblings) won't talk to any BT is another mild aggravation.

I can only speak for my NXT, but the BT stack of my Laptop and my cheap BT dongle I got from eBay (which is now 6 or 7 years old) as well as my Android devices show no problems when connecting to my NXT brick.