June 12, 2020 - a significant day for the robotics community - the Lego Group announced the release of a new kit of the Mindstorms series. Recall that Mindstorms is a series of specialized robotic kits based on which children around the world learn the basics of robotics. From the advent of the first kit - RCX to the present, the Mindstorms series has become the main driving force behind educational robotics.
At the same time, seven years have passed since the release of the latest version of the kit - Mindstorms EV3, which won the hearts of thousands fans in every corner of the Earth and, of course, everyone was looking forward to this news. The new kit is currently called Mindstorms 51515 Robot Inventor, and the release date is expected before the end of the year, approximately in the fourth quarter (autumn 2020). It is known that the kit will contain 949 parts, from which it is proposed to build models of five different robots - we will consider their features and capabilities below. Also, these robots adorn the box of the Mindstorms Robot Inventor kit on both sides.
The main element, as always, will be an intelligent hub - similar to that presented in the Lego Spike Prime series (with built-in accelerometer, gyrocope, speaker, LED-matrix and Bluetooth connector). It will be possible to connect 4 motors to the hub, and also a distance sensor and a light sensor. It is likely that the number of sensors will be expanded, but probably in the Education version of kit. On the other hand, the developers emphasize that the inclusion of four motors in the composition of the kit (versus three in EV3), which will give more functionality to the robots. Thus there isn't a touch sensor, which in general can be "replaced" by the control buttons on the hub or by setting the operating modes of the distance or color sensors.
At the moment, materials are presented for the so-called Home Edition version (similar to version 31313 EV3). In addition, the new programming environment Robot Inventor app was announced, with two platforms - graphical (Scratch or Scratch-like language) and text (Python) editors for programming.
So, traditionally, developers offer several models to demonstrate the main features and capabilities of the set (for which they prepared assembly instructions and program codes).
Blast
“Action" robot that can shoot and break through obstacles, as well as capture objects. A robot whose motto is “Action is life!”
Charlie
“Creative” robot, ready to impress with its dance or drumming, and captivate everyone with its smile.
Tricky
The robot is an “sportsman” playing excellently in basketball, football, bowling and other sports.
Gelo
"Walking" robot with four legs, which firstly allows it to walk, as well as avoid obstacles and even perform tricks.
M.V.P. (Modular Vehicle Platform)
"Mobile" robot, on the basis of which it is possible to build various models of robots - crane, truck, etc.
By assembling and programming each proposed model, you can master the basic skills of working with the new Robot Inventor kit. But we all love the kits of the Mindstorms series because the number of robots is limited only by our imagination at the current moment. The developers hope that the new kit will allow children (and adults!) to more fully reveal their talents and skills in the STEM fields.
All graphic materials presented in our short review of the Mindstorms 51515 Robot Inventor kit are taken from the Lego Group official website (51515_LEGO_MINDSTORMS_RI_Asset_Bundle). This article is not a direct quote of original article of announce, but only reflects the author’s impressions about future release of the new Robot Inventor kit. Follow with us the latest news!
