Video tutorials

This video tutorial focuses on accomplishing M15 Research Vessel of the FIRST LEGO League 2024-2025 SUBMERGED Challenge using the Nautiq box robot. In this series of test runs, the goal is to achieve 10 out of 10 successful deliveries, with the robot pushing the loaded ship to its destination, releasing it cleanly, and moving to the other launch area without a single failed attempt.

The run uses a pinless attachment with a locking mechanism and friction pins to secure the cargo during movement and allow smooth release upon arrival. The precise programming and stable design ensure consistent performance across the trials.

In this video we look at the way this robot uses the LEGO Mindstorms EV3 motors. How are they attached and the what the rotation of the motor is transferred to the attachments.

This video tutorial focuses on accomplishing M15 Research Vessel of the FIRST LEGO League 2024-2025 SUBMERGED Challenge using the Nautiq box robot (a LEGO Education SPIKE Prime robot). The run uses a pinless attachment designed to push the ship loaded with cargo to its destination. After the previous run, the hook part is removed and replaced with a locking component that holds the ship securely during transport.

The locking mechanism uses friction pins to keep the ship stable until it reaches its destination, where it can then be released smoothly. This approach ensures the cargo remains secure throughout the journey while allowing for safe delivery and quick unloading at the final position.

In Episode 58 we introduced you to a LEGO Mindstorms EV3 Modular robot. In this tutorial, we show you how we reached that construction. We start from a construction found on the Internet and take you through the process of examining and improving it, till we reach a more stable and reliable robot.

This video tutorial focuses on accomplishing M15 Research Vessel of the FIRST LEGO League 2024-2025 SUBMERGED Challenge using the Nautiq box robot. In this series of test runs, the aim is to complete 10 out of 10 flawless retrievals, with the robot successfully latching onto the vessel and pulling it back to base every single time.

This video tutorial focuses on taking the Research Vessel for M15 of the FIRST LEGO League 2024-2025 SUBMERGED Challenge using Nautiq box robot (a LEGO Education SPIKE Prime robot).

This video tutorial focuses on accomplishing M15 Research Vessel of the FIRST LEGO League 2024-2025 SUBMERGED Challenge using the Nautiq box robot (a LEGO Education SPIKE Prime robot). The run uses a pinless latched attachment mounted under the robot for maximum stability. The attachment features a hook that catches the research vessel and pulls it back to the launch area, after which the hook can be removed and the remaining parts reused for the next run.

Important: Before starting this run, ensure the part that locks the boat for the next run is raised; otherwise, the robot cannot hook the vessel correctly. This simple but effective mechanism allows for a quick and reliable retrieval, setting up the next sequence of missions without additional adjustments.

Second active pinless attachment for the robot construction. It is placed in the top/right corner of the robot and includes an interesting gear system for transferring the power. The attachment is suitable for complete rotations.

This video tutorial focuses on accomplishing M02 Shark, collecting the trident for M14 Sample Collection, and collecting a Krill for M12 Feed the Whale of the FIRST LEGO League 2024-2025 SUBMERGED Challenge using the Nautiq box robot (a LEGO Education SPIKE Prime robot). In this series of test runs, our goal is to achieve 10 out of 10 successful attempts, meaning the robot completes all three missions flawlessly in every trial.

The robot uses a pinless attachment with locking beams for stability, enabling it to push the shark into its habitat, trigger a drop wall to catch the Krill, and lower a motorized arm with rubber parts to grab the Trident. This efficient approach ensures consistent results across the attempts while maintaining stability and precision throughout the runs. You can watch the full explaining tutorial here.

This is a third example for adding an active attachment. This third attachment is now connected to the wheel at the front of the robot. Again, the attachment could be easily extended. 

This video tutorial focuses on accomplishing M02 Shark, collecting the trident for M14 Sample Collection, and collecting a Krill for M12 Feed the Whale of the FIRST LEGO League 2024-2025 SUBMERGED Challenge using the Nautiq box robot (a LEGO Education SPIKE Prime robot). The run uses a pinless attachment with two locking beams for stability, featuring two main “chambers” and a motor-powered arm with rubber parts for handling multiple mission elements.

The left chamber is used to push the shark from M02 into its habitat, while the opposite side has a passive beam-trigger mechanism to drop a wall and catch the Krill in front of the shipwreck. The motorized arm slowly lowers to grab the Trident from the bottom using rubber parts, a solution that is not 100% reliable due to the challenge of the element but is the best tested option. The side locking beams are essential for keeping the attachment secured during these precise maneuvers, preventing it from detaching during the run.

We start a course for following a line with crosses and gaps. This is a challenge that one of the users at FLLCasts.com was trying to accomplish and asked us for advice. We present the whole challenge to you step-by-step. But first, let's also see the whole run of the line following algorithm. With this course, we also do an introduction of using State Machine as a programming pattern.

This is a 10 out of 10 video tutorial that focuses on accomplishing M01 Coral Nursery, M02 Shark, M03 Coral Reef, and M04 Scuba Diver of the FIRST LEGO League 2024-2025 SUBMERGED Challenge using the Nautiq box robot (a LEGO Education SPIKE Prime robot).

The robot pushes the shark, flips the coral buds and coral reef, and collects and delivers the Scuba Diver with precision. This efficient multi-mission run is designed for speed and reliability, ensuring maximum points with minimal wasted movement. You can watch the full explaining tutorial here.

In Episode 58 we introduced you to an LEGO Mindstorms EV3 Modular robot. Mic Lowne wrote to us and had that robot remade, because it used too many blue lego pins and could not be build using one EV3 kit.

This video tutorial focuses on accomplishing M01 Coral Nursery, M02 Shark, M03 Coral Reef, and M04 Scuba Diver of the FIRST LEGO League 2024-2025 SUBMERGED Challenge using the Nautiq box robot (a LEGO Education SPIKE Prime robot). The run uses a two-part pinless attachment designed to complete multiple missions in a single sequence. The small angled surface mounted under the robot flips the coral buds from M01 and pushes the shark from M02, while the front arm catches and delivers the Scuba Diver from the coral nursery to the coral reef support.

The back section of the attachment flips the coral reef from M03 using a friction-pin mechanism that stays straight during travel but drops the horizontal arm at the mission model to push the yellow plate and raise the coral reef. Extra axles on the front arm prevent the Scuba Diver from falling during delivery, ensuring reliable scoring. This coordinated multi-mission approach maximizes efficiency by combining pushing, collecting, and delivering into one smooth run.

The last fifth construction is larger compared to the previous constructions. It is wider. It has four sensors and you can take a larger load all by keeping the robot stable. 

This video tutorial focuses on accomplishing M01 Coral Nursery and M03 Coral Reef of the FIRST LEGO League 2024-2025 SUBMERGED Challenge using the Nautiq box robot (a LEGO Education SPIKE Prime robot). The aim is to see a consistent accomplishment by lifting the coral tree to the coral tree support and delivering reef segments outside the launch area in one smooth sequence.

The robot uses a motor-powered attachment to lift the coral tree precisely while a side holder secures the collected reef segments. This ensures both missions are completed without losing any pieces during movement. You can watch the full explaining tutorial here.

Need to transfer circular into a linear motion. You need a rack. Here is an attachment with a rack for our box robot.

This video tutorial focuses on accomplishing M01 Coral Nursery and M03 Coral Reef of the FIRST LEGO League 2024-2025 SUBMERGED Challenge using the Nautiq box robot (a LEGO Education SPIKE Prime robot). The run uses a pinless motor-powered attachment specifically designed to raise the coral tree to the coral tree support while delivering reef segments outside the launch area. This attachment was chosen after testing multiple designs, and it proved to be one of the most reliable solutions for this task.

The motor-driven lifting mechanism is mounted using long axle pins due to the gearwheel’s position, and a heavy brick is added on top for extra sturdiness, preventing the attachment from popping off during operation. On the side, a simple holder secures the three reef segments collected in previous runs for easy delivery during this mission. This combination allows the robot to lift the coral tree smoothly, place it accurately, and complete the reef segment delivery in a single, well-coordinated sequence.

This video tutorial focuses on accomplishing M06 Raise the Mast and M07 Kraken’s Treasure of the FIRST LEGO League 2024-2025 SUBMERGED Challenge using the Nautiq box robot (a LEGO Education SPIKE Prime robot). The point is to achieve a perfect 10 out of 10 score for these interconnected missions in one smooth sequence.

The robot first secures the treasure chest before fully raising the mast, avoiding the mechanism that would otherwise lock the chest in place. This requires precise timing and control to push, lift, and stop at the correct point, then complete the mast-raising motion. You can watch the full explaining tutorial here.

Based on feedback from many of you in this episode I would like to show you how to build an active attachment that changes the orientation of a gear wheel placed vertically to a gear wheel placed horizontally. This attachment could be used in competitions and shows a basic principle of changing the orientation. All attachments could follow the same principle. 

This is a very interesting idea that is worth sharing with the rest of the teams and the ELM team has provided it to us. Check out how they drop a LEGO human at a specific place.

This video tutorial focuses on accomplishing M06 Raise the Mast and M07 Kraken’s Treasure of the FIRST LEGO League 2024-2025 SUBMERGED Challenge using the Nautiq box robot (a LEGO Education SPIKE Prime robot). The run uses a pinless attachment connected to the bottom of the robot, featuring side guides with stoppers for precise mast lifting and a central rubberized section to catch the treasure chest.

The challenge in this run is to collect the treasure before raising the mast fully, as the mission model locks the chest if the mast is lifted too far too soon. The robot must push and lift with great precision, stopping at exactly the right point to avoid triggering the lock, then continue raising the mast to complete the mission. This sequence demonstrates careful mechanical design, accurate programming, and precise timing to accomplish two interconnected missions in one smooth run.

The attachment builds on previous episodes this time using two LEGO rubber bands. When a lever is released the rubber band exerts pressure on it and moves it in a circular motion. As an example we are solving the 2012 FIRST LEGO League, Senior Solutions, stove mission (which was quite interesting as a mission)

In this video tutorial, the MiniBox box robot accomplishes M14 and M15 of the FIRST LEGO League 2023-2024 MASTERPIECE Challenge robotics competition. The robot is a LEGO Education SPIKE Prime robot. In this run, the robot delivers the LEGO minifigures to their designated places.

Each year the FIRST LEGO League robotics Competition involves loops. In this video tutorial I will go through the most common way of taking loops, show its disadvantages and suggest another way to do it.

In this video tutorial, the MiniBox box robot accomplishes M08, M14, and M15 of the FIRST LEGO League 2023-2024 MASTERPIECE Challenge robotics competition. The robot is a LEGO Education SPIKE Prime box robot. In this run, the robot delivers the LEGO minifigure to its designated place and then pushes the M08 camera down the track to shoot the movie scene.