Droid does Mindstorms

>With a little help from Lego and AFOLs

Why didn’t this happen when I grew up with Lego Mindstorms, their first generation robotics kit? There were no smartphones with Googles Android OS in those days, really?

Today’s owners of both a smartphone with Android 2.1 or higher and a Lego Mindstorms NXT set can control their robots thanks to the MINDdroid app. Using a Bluetooth connection and the integrated accelorometer they just need to tilt and turn their phone to get the robot moving. Action motors can be activated by pressing a button on the phone’s screen – Shooterbot ready to fire!

The free app was created by two software specialists who also happen to be dedicated „Adult Fans of Lego“ known as AFOLs: Shawn Brown, a Java programmer and teacher living in Tokyo, and Austrian professor Günther Hölzl.

Credits: Lego