These instructions will show you how to get started with your Mindstorms system, preparing the hardware and software for writing and running programs.
There are three parts to the process—initializing the NXT brick, installing the Robolab software, and making the connections between the two.
NXT
First we set up the NXT hardware and get things ready to build something with it.
- Find the NXT brick and the rechargeable battery pack and the AC charger.
- Take the battery cover off the brick and put the battery pack in.
- Plug the charger into it and let it soak up the electrons until it's sated. The red light will go off when it's done. The initial charge can take as much as four hours.
Organize the kit of LEGO parts a little bit. This might seem silly, but I guarantee that it will save you lots of time when you sit down to actually build something. There are many categories of building elements and I found it helpful to group parts according to category to make it easy to find them. You can use the orange sort tray for all the rods, gears, beams and connectors, and keep the bigger things underneath.
Here is a picture of how I did it, in case that helps, but as long as you have some kind of system, your life will be easier. (Click on the photo to see a large version in a separate window.)
Robolab
Now we install the Robolab software.
- On the Macintosh, it's a disc image (.dmg file) and you can find it here.
- For Windows, it's an archive (.zip file) and you can find it here.
For either platform, click on the link to download it. After the file arrives on your computer, launch (double-click) it to install the software on your computer. Follow the instructions; it should install both Robolab 2.9 and a LEGO driver.
When you install ROBOLAB 2.9, it will ask you for a serial number of the 2.5.4 version from which you are upgrading. Use the following number: 4229793.
Please pay attention to the note in here about the terms of the software license we have for this application! Be responsible users, please.
Connection
Now we get them talking to each other. This involves configuring some things in the Robolab application and testing the communication between your computer and the brick. All of this should only have to be done once, unless you move the software to a different computer.
- Turn on the NXT, and connect it to the computer with the USB cable.
- Startup the Robolab program. You'll see a screen with three options: ADMINISTRATOR, PROGRAMMER, and INVESTIGATOR
- Select ADMINISTRATOR.
- Choose SELECT COM PORT, then click through the ports until you see the NXT option. Click the green check mark button to confirm this choice.
- Click the DOWNLOAD FIRMWARE button to initialize the brick's internal software. It should squawk at you after it finishes, and say it was successful.
- Click the TEST COMMUNICATION button, just to verify that it's working. You should hear a sweep tone if it worked.
- Finally, at the bottom of the screen, click the RCX/NXT SETTINGS tab, and in the field called NXT NAME, enter a name for your robot so it feels like a real person. This should show up on the top line of the NXT display also.
- Hit BACK and then QUIT (and a second time) to get out of Robolab.
That's it, you're ready to start programming behaviors.