The LEGO MINDSTORMS EV3 Idea Book: 181 Simple Machines and Clever Contraptions

I've bought several books on EV3 robot building and programming for my children, and this is truly one of the best. The mechanisms in this book are amazing and my children and I have been able to combine them in really interesting and fun ways. For example, you can combine one of the winged mechanisms with one of the tank tread mechanisms to make a robot that climbs piles of legos, appearing to fly as it does it. You can also build a wide variety of fighting robots with these mechanisms and then use the EV3 remote control to have frankenstein-like battle bot competitions. This book is somewhat understated, but awesome. I highly recommend it for those EV3 builders who are transitioning from building robots from plans to building their own robots.

I have 4 boys ages 4 through 14, so we're very into Legos - from Duplo to EV3. I got this book after reading a blog post. This book focuses on the mechanical portion rather than programming portion. It goes through every parts from EV3 and shows you how to use them in different ways. The pictures are great. It's not too detailed in step by step direction, but I actually like it a lot. It provides as little pictures as possible to help you build. (We sometimes find the Lego instructions too tedious.) My 9 year old is in a FLL team, so I went over first several pages with him. He understood the concept pretty easily. We are planning to go through most of the book with the rest of the team as it will benefit all of them. Check out the TOC: Part 1 Basic Mechanisms Gear ratios Compound gear systems Changing the angle of rotation Using worm drives Swinging mechanisms Reciprocating mechanisms Cam mechanisms Intermittent motion Transmitting rotation with rubber bands Transmitting rotation with caterpillar treads Transmitting rotation over a long distance Off-center axes of rotation Chageover mechanisms using rotational direction Universal joints Part 2 Vehicles Driving wheels with a motor Driving wheels with two motors Caster wheels Crawlers Suspended wheels Steering Part 3 Moving without Tires Walking machines Moving like an inchworm Moving through vibration Part 4 Arms, Wings, and Other Movements Flapping wings Gripping fingers Lifting things Shooting things Automatic doors Raking up or out Creating wind Swinging a pendulum Using attachments to change motion Meshing gears diagonally Changing the angle of rotation freely Part 5 Sensors Ideas for using the touch sensor Ideas for using the buttons of the Intelligent EV3 Brick Ideas for using the color sensor Part 6 Something extra Using the Pythagorean theorem Try building something handy!

The book is what it says it is, an idea book, and a very good one. I coach several LEGO robotics teams and the kids grew up building LEGO kits based on instructions with little creativity. When it comes to creating robots on their own, they are sorely lacking the knowledge of how to engineer their robots and actuators. This book helps fill that gap by giving them ideas to serve as a starting point. It provides virtually no text, and the building instructions are minimal. This is actually perfect for us! The kids use the ideas as a beginning, then expand on the ideas.

It's a great book, very good and detailed pictures. The ideas a great! And a good price for the resource. However, my son was gifted the new lego mindstorm set (51515). And while I think he could use it's ideas and adapt it with his different set he didn't want to try as he is just learning (only a 3rd grader). I didn't realize it didn't work with the set he had. I haven't decided yet if we will keep it or return it and buy a new version when one comes out or if his interest in robotics continues. It really is a great book, just hoping for one that incorporates the new mindstorm set soon!

This is an excellent book. I bought it for my First Lego League robot team with the idea that they would learn a lot of simple machines that they could build for their robot. (These are middle school students). There are a lot of excellent ideas in this book for them. The designs are very easy to follow and build. It was a tremendous help for them. I also really like how the book is organized - by mechanical function. This also really helps the students find the action they are looking for, but also gives them insight into actions they didn't even know they could do.

Isogawa-san's book are my kids (under 10) favorite. His Lego Technic books titled "Fantastic contraptions", "Simple Machines" and "Wheeled wonders" were the kids favorite technic books. As a parent I liked these because it forces the kids to figure out how to make it without giving too detailed instructions. When we finally bought the EV3, I was looking for a good resource and was glad to see one by Isogawa-san. Kids love it so far and are cranking on making things. I have been asked numerous times by my kids if they will ever get a chance to meet Isogawa-san. Hope that wish can be materialized some day.

Until we came across this book my six year old and I had been following the typical routine of following a book or internet instructions adding a few creative modifications here and there at the end. Building this way does give you experience and teaches you tricks and principles but it can also make robotics seem more daunting than it should be because you can't help but be awed and intimidated by the intricate designs of people who are expert builders. Your six year old is not going to try to modify that complicated steering mechanism which took four pages of book instructions to explain. In contrast most of the things built in Isogawa's book are explained in just one or two picture frames. Everything is a mechanism, beautifully and simply presented to invite you to want to understand the ideas at work and experiment and tinker yourself. My son started flipping through the almost entirely visual book on his own and was immediately drawn in. The first thing he built were a few of the designs for changing motor rotations into 'lifting' motions. Before very long it felt like both of us had crossed a threshold into a new world with endless new possibilities, learning and exploration ahead. It is said that the Japanese are known as master craftsmen and for the beautiful functional simplicity of their designs. This book proves it so.

Got this for my 9 year old to encourage him to use his Mindstorm set a bit more. He saved up his own money to buy it, but hasn't really taken to the set as I or he thought he would. I got this book thinking it may help him find other ways to use the set or learn about robotics. It's definitely got a lot of projects and info, but not much written about each. Just pics walking you through the set up, but not as simple as Lego instructions.

メカの写真集です。英語は最初の1ページのみですので読み始めてから眠くなることはありません。ご安心ください。

This book is a perfect "add-on" to your bookshelf for Lego Mindstorms EV3 knowledge 😊

El libro es muy bueno pero no sé si vale la pena pagar 20€. Muy bien organizado todo con fotografias y dibujos, explicaciones escritas solo una hoja. No te hace falta saber inglés para este libro, más sencillo imposible. Este libro está basado en las piezas de LEGO MINDSTORM EV3 set home edition #31313. Yo tengo el EV3 education pero me da igual, vale para enseñar y coger ideas (y seguramente podré desarrollar muchas). El libro está totalmente centrado en pequeñas ideas para entender el potencial que pueden dar unos motores y unos sensores combinados con las piezas de montaje LEGO. Decir que no es el primer libro que tengo de esta editorial "NO STARCH PRESS", ya tengo "THE ART OF LEGO MINDSTORMS EV3 PROGRAMING", muy bueno y basado en la programación del EV3. Link: https://www.amazon.es/gp/product/1593275684/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o03_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Este ejemplar es una muy buena opcion para conocer mas las utilidades de Lego Mindstorm, la cantidad de diseños propuestos solo demuestran el gran potencial del producto Lego. El libro es muy bueno, pasta dura, buena calidad en las hojas,no esperen instrucciones de texto, todo es en base a figuras y fotografias de los ensambles asi que a ensamblar y sacarle provecho a Lego M. Saludos

Great book for tickling the minds of robot builders. No lengthy explanations. Only pictures. And as the title says LOTS of Ideas... My son loved it, the moment he opened the book