Jim

I'm definitely in favor of running such a contest, but I need someone else to take control. I have been offered help, but I am not comfortable running such a contest. Maybe @Milan is? If not, we need another captain for this contest In the meantime, I will ask around to check it my idea is feasible.

I have been contemplating a contest for a while. Something most of you probably will like, but I am not really sure it's feasible. This is very interesting as well.

I have been thinking about a new contest and I have even requested some prizes. It won't be military though. Having TLG sponsored prizes and military doesn't feel right.

Hi Aris. I know you are as excited as us for the new upcoming sets, but please refrain from asking for new information or pictures. When there is new information, it will be posted here instantly. We don't have a secret forum/topic where we discuss new info. --- I will change the title of this topic.

Hehe I recently had a chat with a TLG employee and he explained that TLG does need a lot of licenses nowadays. Sometimes we say "why don't they build this or that", but that simply not possible or very hard to obtain a license. A lot of brands, models or even colors are protected. It can be a pain in the butt.

That is indeed very hard to tell. A license with Ferrari doesn't automatically mean they can do F1 cars. Every set problably needs a new license. I don't think that there is "a single license" with Ferrari.

You need one more post (10 posts) to use PM. Reply to this email and you can send me a PM.

Yeah, you are right about that. My info was/is a bit outdated.

That's not even a "nice find". That's more or less the regular price in The Netherlands. Lucky us

You are right! I should have updated my review. I haven't seen that 9 hub video before though. Thanks for pointing it out.

I do think it's possible to run six motors at full power (not entirely sure), but the question is; for how long. This will definitely not be efficient.

In which regard? With six motors you mean?

Thanks. Admittedly, it's missing some hands on videos, but you still owed this one.

Proceed! Looks like a nifty little crane.

REVIEW - 45678 - LEGO EDUCATION SPIKE PRIME INTRODUCTION Welcome to my review of the 45678 - LEGO Education Spike Prime set. A review I never thought I would be writing. Initially I gave this set a wide berth, because of the joyful colors (more on that later) and simply for not being aware that this would actually be the successor of the 31313 - LEGO MINDSTORMS EV3 set. I currently own four EV3 sets and a plethora of extra motors and sensors. I was working on a big EV3 project, but as with all my projects, my attention swifts from one hobby/project to another. I have been doing a lot of programming lately, so building LEGO wasn't on the top of my list. Things changed when all of a sudden (actually I already heard the rumors, so it wasn't a real surprise) I received a press release notification telling me that there is a new Mindstorms set coming. The set is designated LEGO MINDSTORMS 51515 Robot Inventor. This immediately raises the question; how are we going to call this new unit? The EV3 had a cool name from the bat. But the RI or Robot Inventor doesn't quite have the same ring to it does it? Time will tell, but let's stick to Robot Inventor (and Spike Prime) for now. This review will be focused on the Spike Prime, but I will talk about the Robot Inventor when it comes to hardware, color schemes, etc. My review of the Robot Inventor set has already been published and you can find it here. Some content will be duplicated, since both sets use the same hardware. For this review, I used an iPhone 8 running iOS 13 something and an iPad running iOS 13 something as well. PICTURES Pictures can be clicked to view hi-res versions. My Flickr album contains all the photos taken for this review. DISCLAIMER The CEE Team of TLG has provided this set. It's not my goal to promote this set. It's my goal to give you an honest opinion about it. Therefore, the opinion in this review is my own and is in no way linked to TLG. SET INFORMATION Number: 45678 Title: LEGO Education Spike Prime Theme: Education Released: 2020 Part Count: 523 Box Dimensions: 41,3 cm x 30,3 cm x 15,5 cm Box Weight: 2075 gram Set Price (RRP): £ 359.99 / $ 329.99 / € 399,99 Price per Part: £ 0.688 / $ 0.631 / € 0,765 Links: Brickset, Bricklink Number: 45680 Title: Expansion Set Theme: Education Released: 2020 Part Count: 603 Box Dimensions: 380,0 cm x 25,8 cm x 9,0 cm Box Weight: 1080 gram Set Price (RRP): £ 109.99 / $ 99.99 / € 119,99 Price per Part: £ 0.182 / $ 0.166 / € 0,199 Links: Brickset, Bricklink THE BOXES BASE SET Just like the previous Mindstorms Educational set, this set comes with a storage bin, providing a decent storage solution for classrooms. When you remove the lid, two storage trays are revealed. The previous Educational set had a single tray with smaller compartments. These trays provide a convenient solution to store most of the parts. Most of the parts of the base set that is. When you add the expansion, you won't have enough room to store all the parts. I would have loved to see some additional bins/boxes/trays for inside the bin. There's a cardboard piece of paper with very brief instructions on the front. And the parts inventory on the back. It also comes with a sticker sheet with stickers to keep the parts sorted properly. And some stickers which you can use to write designations on the motors and hub. The two sorting trays go on top. The previous Mindstorms Education box fitted a single tray. Having two smaller trays is more convenient for building. Under the trays, you will find numbered bags, frames, electronics, etc. There's ample space, even for the expansion set. Here's a picture of the two empty trays. And one where the trays are filled like the instruction mentions. As you can see, there's enough room for the base set parts. EXPANSION SET The box of the Expansion Set does show us something that resembles a main model. I will be building this later on. The back shows us some of the more interesting parts in this expansion, large wheels, turntables, more frames, an extra motor and light sensor. This set looks like must have for Spike fans. CONTENTS OF THE BOX BASE SET The base set contains: 1x Sheet with partlist 1x Sticker sheet with compartment contents 1x Inner box with Spike Hub and Rechargeable Battery 9x Numbered bag 2x Unnumbered bag 1x USB Cable 2x Small motor 1x Large motor 1x Color sensor 1x Distance sensor 1x Force sensor 2x Panel plate 2x Frame Strangely, the bags are numbered 1 to 8 and 13. There are no bags numbered 9 to 12?! At this point I assumed the bags in the exansion would be numbered 9 to 12. EXPANSION SET The expansion set contains: 8x Unnumbered bag 1x Large motor 1x Color sensor 2x 32L Axle 2x Frame The bags in the expansion set are not numbered, which debunks my theory of the missing 9 to 12 bags. Bag 13 contains replacement parts, so I kinda get it's not numbered 9, but I'm at a loss to explain the missing numbers. HIGHLIGHTED PARTS Yellow Technic, Panel Plate 11 x 19 x 1 These plates are very convenient for making bases for non-moving robots. Technic, Liftarm 11 x 15 Open Center Frame Thick This huge frame was introduced this year (2020) and besides medium azure you can also get in in dark bluish grey (Sian and Dom's Charger). These are very convenient for building big robots. There's no excuse anymore to not continue with my life sized robot project Both the base set and the expansion set include two of these frames. Technic, Liftarm 7 x 11 Open Center Frame Thick This frame is slightly less new as its bigger brother. It was introduced in 2019 and is available in white, black and magenta. The base set contains two of these frames, while the expansion contains four of them. Technic, Gear 28 Tooth Double Bevel In 2019 this new gear joined the family, adding a 28 tooth variant between the existing 20T and 36T. In 2020 TLG also introduced a 28T version with pin hole. Wheel 56 x 14 Technic with Axle Hole and 8 Pin Holes with Fixed Medium Azure Rubber Tire Both Spike sets introduce some very interesting new wheels. The base set contains smaller versions of the new tire. Fun fact is that the tires and rims are provides as is and they don't need assembly. I'm not even sure it's possible to separate the two. Not sure why you would want to either. Wheel Large Technic with Axle Hole and 28 Pin Holes with Fixed Medium Azure Rubber Tire The bigger versions are truly amazing. These wheels are very versatile and they allow for building pretty agile robots. The rubber on both versions give the robot lots of grip without a lot of resistance. These new wheels are spot on for robot building. These rims alone are the reason you basically can't get the base set without the expansion. Black Technic, Axle 32 The expansion set also includes two rare 32L axles we hardly see in any set. You won't be needing them frequently, but there are rare cases where you need these in your inventory. ELECTRONIC PARTS AND COMPARISON WITH EV3 HUB The new hub consists of two parts, the hub itself and the rechargeable battery. Here you can clearly see the footprint of the new hub and the recharcheable battery that comes with every set. Unlike its predecessor, the form factor is much more compact and without protrusions. It's very easy to integrate into your models. Opposed to that bulky oddly shaped EV3, it would probably fit in some regular Technic models to provide intelligence to the model. The entire line-up of attachments included in this set. Two small angular motors and a large one. A force (touch), color and distance sensor. Needless to say the new large motor is easier to integrate into your models. Same goes for the small motor. And the distance sensor. And the force sensor. Here's size comparison between the EV3 hub, Powered Up hub and Spike Prime hub. The new Mindstorms hub is by far the easiest one to use. It's only marginally larger than the Powered Up hub. PART LIST The base set contains 523 parts. The base set contains 603 parts. COLORS Let's talk about the colors before we continue, to get it out of my system. One of the reasons I totally ignored this new hub is because of the bright and joyful colors. They didn't pique my interest at all. These gender inclusive colors, as TLG likes to call them, rubbed me the wrong way. I didn't see myself building robots with these new parts. A yellow hub? Medium azure motors? And purple frames to top it off?! Neeehhhhh. However, just like the introduction of yellow and red axles, I slowly got used to the colors. Even up to a point where I started to like these funny colors. I still would have preferred the hub and motors to have a neutral color, but I totally get why TLG chose these gender inclusive colors. When you open the set, you see all those friendly colors, instead of black and white, with red accents. I can imagine that girls, and possibly boys as well, do like the Spike color scheme better than EV3. Fun fact; when the EV3 first showed up, I wasn't fond of the color scheme either. Not sure why, because I do love the red, white and black scheme now. At the time I found the colors to be too hard, because we were used to grey and orange, used in the NXT. Admittedly, I do really like the teal, black and white color scheme for the 51515. What I like most about that set is that the motors don't abide the color scheme. They are simply white and grey, just like the regular motors. If only the hub would have been white and grey as well. Now it's either teal or yellow, which is kinda limiting when it comes to combining with other color schemes. On the other hand, I can totally see myself working on a black and white robot with teal accents. Long story short; I do appreciate the color scheme on the Spike set better now, but I still prefer a "black-white-accent-color" scheme, like the 51515. HARDWARE In the previous section, I discussed the color scheme being one of the reasons to ignore this set for a while. The other reason was that I wasn't aware that this would actually be the new Mindstorms hardware. Here's a summary of the hardware, which I have copied from my Robot Inventor review. At first glance this new hub is disappointing. The new hardware seems to be a step back compared to EV3. Only six ports, no LCD screen, less computing power. What is TLG thinking?! However, when you take some time to make a decent comparison, you'd be surprised by the outcome. BUILT-IN GYROSCOPE AND ACCELEROMETER The hub has a built-in three-axis accelerometer and a three-axis gyroscope. It also supports gestures as tap, free fall, and shake. This allows for a lot of out-of-the-box functionality without even connecting a single sensor. PORTS The hub has six ports (115 kB port speed), which can be used for input or output. Ports can be chosen freely when pairing motors or connecting sensors. This means that a single hub can operate six motors. That's two more than EV3! Since you probably will use a distance or color sensor, it means that you gain a single motor port. Port E and F are prepared for "high speed", whatever that may entail. DISPLAY The display consist of a 5x5 LED matrix white display, which means an array of 5 by 5 (25 in total) white LEDs which can individually be dimmed in 10-step increments. It sounds counterintuitive, but this display is actually more fun and works better than the EV3 display, which was very hard to read. You can see the display on the hub from a great distance. This allows for better feedback. I have started to love the simplicity of this display. OPERATING SYSTEM The hub operates on MicroPython, which means you don't have to flash it with different firmware to run your Python programs. It does work with Scratch 3 as well, so you don't have to be tech savvy to program this hub. SPEAKER The speaker isn't that sofisticated. It can be used for interface sounds and is limited to a maximum sound quality of 12 bit 16 KHz (mono). You can't play .WAV or MP3, which is kinda limiting. You can play sounds, but these sounds will be heard from your smart device or computer. BOOT-UP TIME Remember the boot-up of the EV3 when using Python. You could grab a cup of coffee....and finish it, before the device was ready. The Spike hub boots almost instantly. It's a matter of two or three seconds. FORM FACTOR One major advantage of the new hardware (hubs and motors) is the form factor. The hub and motors are so much easier to integrate into your models. DATA LOGGING At the time of writing my Spike Prime review, datalogging wasn't available yet. But recently there has been some development in that area. Not sure how much datalogging is available, but it's good to know TLG is working on it. COMPUTING POWER The EV3 does have more computing power, more memory and it does have more options for debugging and sensor logging etc, but the question is whether you actually need this. The raw computing power might be less than the EV3, but all things considered the Spike hub does provide some real benefits. For me the new hub is a winner! If you are not sure, take a look at these two videos on Youtube: 10 Reasons to upgrade from EV3 to SPIKE PRIME for FLL 10 Reasons why EV3 is SUPERIOR to SPIKE Prime Finally, an interesting read on Medium from 2019 about Spike Prime. BUILDING INSTRUCTIONS The new form factors allow for very convenient ways to construct robots. However, this easy way also allows designer to be a bit lazy. In other words; the educational set doesn't provide very interesting robots. Even the LEGO Boost set had more interesting ones. I understand that the robots are meant for educational purposes and kids need to be able to build them in a short time, but I would have loved to see some more interesting concepts or one main model. In the next chapter, I will be building the robot of the expansion set. This chapter I will talk about units and building instructions of the base set. BUILDING INSTRUCTIONS Building is usually done using the app on a tablet or your computer. However, PDF instructions can also be found on this page. When you select a robot, you will be taken to the main page of that robot. Here you see the subassemblies of the selected robot, in this case the body and the head. The instructions are very clear and easy to follow. The picture below shows the end of the body subassembly. And after 11 steps for the head assembly, you will attach it to the body. A clear picture with the ports needed for this model. All things considered the digital building instructions will be very appealing to young builders who are already used to using tablets and other digital devices. UNIT PLANS Besides regular building instructions, the app also has Units Plans. These plans contain Spike Prime lessons, grouped into themed units to actively engage middle school students in STEAM learning. The main page of the selected plan tells you what you will be "inventing" today. A short backstory adds some flavor to the build. On the right you see a panel with the instructions for this step. The first step begins with a short video explaining the problem at hand. The second step introduces you to Kiki, the robot you will be using to solve the problem. At the top of the screen a story unfolds about Kiki going for a walk. This short story adds some background information to the problem. There are different stories in each step. Each with their own solution. The software also encourages the user to tell their own stories and customize the program. The last step is a reflection on how you have managed to solve the problems. I really like how the unit plans have been put together. They are educational without being dull. ADVANCED DRIVING BASE Visit the LEGO Education website to check out the Assembling an Advanced Driving Base lesson plan. Let's follow the five building steps to build the base. FRONT PART REAR PART LEFT AND RIGHT SIDE COMPLETED ASSEMBLY The Advanced Driving Base can be combined with tools to accomplish missions. Click this link to check out the tools and missions. Tools Dozer Blade Lift Arm Crates Mission Modules Game Module Line Module Markers Crates The Advanced Driving Base offers the most elaborate options for SUMMARY First of all, I have really started to like this set better over time. The funky colors don't bother me that much anymore and the unit plans are very fun and educational. The big wheels allows for making cool robots. The main question for people interested in the new Mindstorms set is probably whether to get this set or the Robot Inventor set. That choice, as with most choices, depends on personal preferences, but I'd recommend getting the Robot Inventor set. The robots are much more appealing and they offer more playability. The challenges still offer a wide variety of scenarios, so that set also ticks the educational boxes. The Spike Prime is more like a proof of concept set, while the Robot Inventor set offers actual robots to play with. Obviously, this the reason why there is a difference between the retail and educational version, so it makes sense. If you are into robot MOCing the Spike Prime with Expansion is a very nice combination to get you started. The section below is the summary I wrote in my Robot Inventor review. GENERAL CONCENSUS After having played around with Spike Prime and the Robot Inventor set, it's time to draw a conclusion. What's my stance on the new hub and electronics? For starters I am very pleased with the result. At first you think of all the steps backwards. But after careful consideration, there are a lot of improvements over the old set. The ease of integrating the hub and electronic parts into your model is outstanding. No more hassle with odd shapes missing attachment points. Almost instant boot-up and native python support are two improvements which I really like. Another cool feature is support for a game pad and remote control. How cool is it to remotely control your robot using a game pad or other device. Granted, when it comes to raw computing power and memory, this hub is clearly a step backwards. I have heard people running out of memory creating Python programs. As with almost all new electronics, a new hub usually means more power and more memory. Also, there no such thing as daisy-chaining, to connect multiple hubs. Although this might become available via BT in the future. Not being able to use batteries could be considered a downside as well. When your rechargeable battery runs out, there no way of quickly swapping the batteries for a fresh set. This means you need to get yourself a spare rechargeable battery if you don't want to take the risk of running out of juice. TLG provided a new system which makes building and programming robots a breeze. I'm convinced this set is more suitable for even younger builders than the EV3 set. This set closes the gap between Boost/WeDo and EV3. It's interesting to see that TLG positions this system between Boost and EV3 as well. Apparently, this is not regarded as a replacement for the EV3 set, but as a complement. So answering the question whether the new set is better than the EV3 entirely depends on the need of the user. If you are a novice robot builder, I would definitely recommend getting this set. If you want to make more advanced robots with bigger programs and more options, I'd recommend getting the EV3. A lot of (third party) stuff is available for the EV3, which allow for a ton of options. SCORE How do I rate this set? 6 DESIGN There isn't a single very cool robot. 8 BUILDING EXPERIENCE Building the robots and see them come to live is a great experience. 9 FEATURES Lots of features to be discovered by following the unit plans. 9 PLAYABILITY The robots in this set do not offer as much playability as the Robot Inventor set. However, still ton of activities. 7 PARTS Apart from the electronics and tires, not a lot of special parts. For the bigger tires you will need the expansion set. 8 VALUE FOR MONEY Endless hours of fun, if you are into robot building. 7,8 HIGHLY RECOMMENDED Yet, I'd recommend getting the Robot Inventor set instead. INTERESTING VIDEOS Here are some interesting videos. @kbalage made this comparison video for the Robot Inventor and Spike Prime set Bike Prime PID HexaPod

Please send me a PM. To be honest; I'm not sure why we have a "contact us" option. Nobody is reading that email address.

No issues here "Works on my computer" Which forum/topics are you browsing? Have you tried another browser or computer? Same issue?

Information is okay, but no leaked photos.

I will chime in before we go on topic again; Like other states we are part of the recognized fan media. This means we play by the rules and get benefits in return. That's why we get review sets, that's why we have prizes for contest, that's we will be offered opportunities to ask questions to designers, that's why we (we is me as an Ambassador) have access to the LAN (LEGO Ambassador Network) to be able to communicate with TLG and other fan media, and then some. So yeah, this is a public forum where you can discuss leaked sets, but we have agreed not to share leaked photos. Usually there is no need for it either, because they are all over the Internet anyway.

Oops... Response to Seasider We need a plug to lock the spring inside the suspension. To make an inline connector it would need to be part of the plug. This was not possible to make with enough strength to withstand our demands for twisting force. For the Ducati bike, as short a length as possible was also a big wish. Response to Bartybum My way into TLG was through their Job database where I applied for a job as a Technical elements design, in the FrontEnd department. My job is to make the design organization ideas into the safest elements with the most building interfaces and best LEGO quality, while keeping it mass producible. And I love it! My background went through an apprenticeship as a machinist and onto a bachelor’s in mechanical engineering. Followed by 15 years working in other parts of the mechanical industries. My department consists of different engineers with different level of work experience. So just apply if you find an interesting job at the job database. Response to Even-Eleven the Engineer The size of the CV was the best compromise we had at that time. Testing elements in dirt is not part of our quality check, and seen from an engineer point of view, it would cause a big change to all function elements. The Ducati suspension force was chosen so that it would work as good as possibly as a motorbike front suspension. The clutch was developed to protect weaker LEGO elements in large transmissions systems, of course it needs to be at the right place in the systems, or it will not do its job. Answers by: Anders Merrild Kristensen, Mechanical Engineer Manager This concludes the AMA. Thanks to TLG for providing us with this possibility!

This is very cool indeed!

Nope. The session has ended. Possible answer; because they haven't been necessary (enough) to warrant creating two new molds?!

Yes, I got the answers last week. Will try to post them today.

Message from TLG Dear all, We are reaching out with exciting news about a new opportunity to be involved in a LEGO Technic campaign going live in September, where your role will be to inspire kids to do STEM challenges. We are looking for 5-7 volunteers who will be asked to create a 1-2 min video where they set up a challenge that can excite kids about STEM and inspire them to try their own stunt or ‘household hack’ at home, e.g. “How would you move a massive wheel using only LEGO elements?”. We would like you to call out tips and tricks for the kids as you build/create and you can use all types of LEGO elements incl. LEGO MINDSTORMS. The purpose of the video footage is to be used in the LEGO Life app and potentially LEGO.com/kids or Social Media to inspire kids (under 13) and potentially also adults to do their own STEM challenges at home with whatever they have at hand. The video footage would need to be created and shared with us by end of May and a more detailed brief will be shared via email with the volunteers that are selected for this activity. Here’s what we are looking for: Interest or competencies: Engineer skills - either professional or on a hobby basis Using LEGO Technic as a hobby or in your professional work STEM competencies Creativity Basic video knowledge (shooting with your phone in a well-lit setting is okay) English speaking (doesn’t have to be your mother tongue) Participants can be ambassadors or other community members with a profile on LAN  Participants will not be under NDA - but we do ask participants to keep the content of the brief confidential - if members from your community are signing up please make sure they understand this  Participants must be 18 years old or older   Participants can be located anywhere in the world You should be comfortable with speaking to the camera in English as we would like you to describe what you’re doing throughout the footage. We would love to see your face in the video too, as the kids connect better with “real people” but this is not a requirement As we would like to share the footage on LEGO channels you should be savvy with doing video (even if it’s just with your phone) and understand how to set up an inspirational “scenery” (doesn’t need to be too polished but no dirty underwear in the background etc). How to sign up:  Sign up by filling in this form. The link is not restricted so you can send it to any community members who wish to sign up as well (all information in this post can also be shared).   The deadline to sign up is March 15th at 11:30 p.m. CET.   If selected, you will be sent a follow up email with more details and some papers to sign no later than March 31st and we will of course send you some LEGO Technic products to potentially (not necessarily) use in your video. Looking forward to hearing from all you AFOL engineers and STEM enthusiasts out there! All the best,

Amen! That's the spirit. It's not only about winning. It's about having fun and maybe learning a thing or two.