To demonstrate that it does not matter where in the circuit we place the switch, we placed it at the negative battery terminal. However, in practice, it is always better to put it near the positive terminal as it lowers the area that can damage your electronics if accidentally touched by other power sources or grounding.
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.
You can notice that the two positive terminals are placed in the middle. That is a common practice that has a few functionalities, like shortening the paths on the PCB, but the main purpose is to lower the chance that the power cables connected directly to the battery are more difficult to touch accidentally.
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.
The motor’s contacts are connected by a wire that is wrapped in a special way. When electricity flows through the wire, it creates a magnetic field that makes the shaft spin. The direction the shaft spins depends on which way the electricity flows. If you switch the wires, the shaft will just spin the other way, and nothing bad will happen. The plus (+) and minus (–) marks on the motor only show which way to connect it if you want the shaft to spin in a certain direction.
This is one of the very interesting attachments by the ELM team. It is using rubber bands and some rubber to precisely drop the chicken. Very interesting way. Check it out and try to learn from it.
Notice that we connect the switch to the red cables and not the black. That is standard practice aimed at minimizing the points through which power can accidentally be connected to other electrical components. Stopping the power near its source is the best way to do it.
In this video lesson I am building a LEGO Mindstorms EV3 active attachment powered by a small gear wheel. The attachment could move up and down, it is very useful for collecting objects. It could easily be adapted and used on other robots.
We are making a parallel with Video Lesson 56 from the series and we are also showing ways to improve the stability of an axle which is most of the time neglected, but could lead to great problems.
Connecting the other side of the motor directly to the battery will turn it on, but we want a way to control when we turn it on without having to disconnect and reconnect cables constantly. For that reason, we added a switch between one of the connections from the motor to the battery. It may seem easier to use a larger switch, but the DIP switch is meant to be soldered to a PCB, and that is what we'll do in the end.
In this Episode, we stop at the pinless attachments for the Box Robot 2 and especially for the constructing a frame. This frame is then used for further extending the robot with attachments.
It doesn’t matter if you connect the wire to the positive (cathode) or the negative (anode) terminal of the battery.
Note that for power sources, the cathode and anode are marked opposite to that of diodes and other electronics. In them, the cathode is the positive terminal and the anode is the negative one.
This robot could quite possibly be build from a single EV3 core and EV3 resource sets. It uses fewer parts and only three motors. There are additional parts that could be skipped when building the robot and we have added these parts only as to make the construction more complete.
Before you connect wires in your project, you need to take off the plastic covering (insulation) at the ends so the metal wire is exposed. This is called stripping the wire. You can do it with a wire stripper or even with simple tools you may have at home.
In this tutorial we demonstrate how a loops mission could be accomplished with a Push/Pull Attachment. The robot attachment could be adapted to other missions at FIRST LEGO League/World Robotics Olympiad and other robotics competitions that require push/pull. The principle is the same. The tutorial uses Luly, small LEGO Education SPIKE Prime competition robot with 3D building instructions as a robot base.
In this tutorial, we share a tip for organizing robot attachments in the FIRST LEGO League challenge. By designing attachments to hook onto the table edge, you can keep them close at hand for quick swaps, saving time and reducing mistakes.
Options include building hooks into the attachment design or using small separate hooks. This method is used by many teams and is a practical way to stay organized during competitions.
Very simple and basic introduction to the color sensor in the LEGO Mindstorms EV3 set. The first program is to stop at a line. Then we can move from stoping at line to counting lines and even more complex tasks.
In this video tutorial, we demonstrate a full run for the FIRST LEGO League 2024-2025 SUBMERGED challenge, completing all missions in a single sequence. Each mission is shown individually beforehand, with close-up views of how the attachments work and the principles behind their design. All attachments are pinless, making them quick to change during the run, though aligning and loading the robot still requires practice. The strategy involves moving from one base to the other while accomplishing as many missions as possible, including retrying those close to base when needed.
While the complete run takes longer than the official 2.5 minutes, the focus here is on demonstrating reliability, consistency, and the trade-offs between time and scoring points. In some cases, missions are skipped to focus on higher-value tasks, but in this run, we aim to complete them all. The result is a strong performance that comes close to the maximum possible score.
We extract the Proportional Line Following algorithm into a new block with parameters. This allows us to experiment with the Threshold, Constant Speed and Relaxation Coefficient. You can now easily use the block in you other programs without having to implement it.
The programming process for accomplishing M01 Coral Nursery, M02 Shark, M03 Coral Reef, and M04 Scuba Diver of the FIRST LEGO League 2024-2025 SUBMERGED Challenge is straightforward, despite covering multiple missions in one run. Each mission is accomplished with a simple and reliable approach that minimizes the impact on overall run accuracy.
The code consists mainly of movement blocks and gyro turns, allowing for consistent navigation between mission models. By keeping the programming uncomplicated, the robot can perform pushing, collecting, and delivering tasks efficiently without introducing unnecessary complexity, ensuring a smooth and dependable multi-mission run.
This video tutorial contains the final 2 programs for moving straight with a LEGO Mindstorms EV3 robot. The first program is for proportional compensation that just keeps the robot orientation straight, while the second program is for Integral compensation that returns the robot to the straight line when the robot makes a mistake.
The programming process for accomplishing M01 Coral Nursery and M03 Coral Reef of the FIRST LEGO League 2024-2025 SUBMERGED Challenge is straightforward, focusing on controlled movement and stability. The motor-powered attachment lifts the coral tree smoothly to the coral tree support while also delivering reef segments outside the launch area.
The robot moves forward to position itself, raises the coral tree, and then returns to base. To ensure the reef segments remain secure during the run, the program uses slow acceleration and reduced speed when needed. This simple yet reliable approach keeps the sequence easy to execute while maintaining consistency in performance.
The programming process for accomplishing M06 Raise the Mast and M07 Kraken’s Treasure of the FIRST LEGO League 2024-2025 SUBMERGED Challenge is streamlined, focusing on controlled movement and precision. The design of the attachment ensures that the mast is lifted to the correct height while the treasure chest is securely captured.
The code uses simple maneuvering to reach the mission model, but the return path requires special handling. If the robot makes a sharp turn, the chest can be lost, so the program uses light steering to maintain stability while returning to base. This combination of straightforward navigation and careful return control ensures consistent success for both missions in a single run.
This tutorial in an animated demonstration of how a LEGO Education SPIKE Prime robot turns to the left and to the right. To download the program check out the courses in which the tutorial is used.
This video is about a lever that should be pushed and this lever is connected to an axle. This means the lever should rotate. It is a common mission on robotics competitions like FIRST LEGO League/World Robotics Olympiad. The inspiration for this mission is the FLL 2012 Senior Solutions Oven mission. The tutorial uses Luly, a small LEGO Education SPIKE Prime competition robot with 3D building instructions as a robot base.
The programming process for accomplishing M05 Angler Fish, M09 Unexpected Encounter, M14 Sample Collection, M12 Feed the Whale, and M03 Coral Reef of the FIRST LEGO League 2024-2025 SUBMERGED Challenge is streamlined, making it easier to manage even in a large multi-mission run. The design of the two-part attachment system significantly influences how the robot moves, simplifying the code and reducing complexity.
The program is surprisingly simple for such a comprehensive run, with the robot performing a series of maneuvers to collect, deliver, and push mission elements. For maximum accuracy, it uses gyro turns, slow acceleration, and reduced speed in trickier spots to maintain control. By letting the attachments guide much of the interaction, the programming remains clean and reliable, enabling the robot to handle multiple scoring tasks efficiently in a single trip.
In this lesson I would like to show you how to build a LEGO Mindstorms competition robot and tell you how we have designed the construction used in the videos so far. Surely it isn’t perfect, but it is a good start.
This programming tutorial focuses on accomplishing M8 Artificial Habitat of the FIRST LEGO League 2024-2025 SUBMERGED Challenge using the Nautiq box robot (a LEGO Education SPIKE Prime robot).
The sequence is optimized to position all four crabs upright with their yellow bases touching the mat for maximum points. The code uses straightforward but highly accurate movement commands, ensuring the robot engages and adjusts the mission model with precision. This dedicated program minimizes errors and allows for consistent high-scoring runs, combining efficient programming with the attachment’s reliable design.