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Foreword xix

while at the same time covering a broad range of topics.Within the pages of LEGO
MINDSTORMS Masterpieces you’ll find vehicles based on amazing mechanical solu-
tions, robots that introduce you to some basic concepts of Artificial Intelligence, and
complex machines that — though not strictly definable “robots” — demonstrate all
the power of the LEGO system as a modeling tool.
Each chapter presents a single robot in extreme detail, offering both an introduc-
tion to some basic concepts involved in the project and offers cues for many further
investigations.To clarify, let me use Kevin Clague’s PneumADDic II (Masterpiece 4)
as an example.You can build the model just because it’s amazing and because you
like it, but in the chapter you will also find a detailed introduction to pneumatics, to
binary math, to Boolean logic and to the method used in a CPU to add two num-
bers. During the construction of the machine, you will be presented with a wide col-
lection of techniques, which range from some basic building techniques, to more
complex matters such as how to use a single motor for multiple tasks, or how to
overcome the limits of the RCX with regards to its number of input ports. Even if
you are not interested in the model itself, or if you don’t have the large supply of
pneumatic parts it requires, there are many other reasons to read Kevin’s chapter with
attention, because I’m sure you’ll find many useful tips to transfer to your own
designs.
The other chapters show the same richness, and the same attitude not to take any
important concept for granted. I want to invite you to not think of these master-
pieces as watertight compartments; because there are many ways you can transfer
ideas and solutions from one model to another, or to your own projects. For
example, the concept of making a vehicle change its shape, introduced by Miguel
Agulló’s Shape-Shifting Camera Tank, could be applied to Doug Carlson’s Stair-
Climber; or the pneumatic logic used in both Kevin Clague’s projects could be used
to partially automate the movement of the arm in my Learning Brick Sorter; or the
“Power Glove” used in Hideaki Yabuki’s CyberArm IV could be used as an elegant
solution to drive other kind of mechanisms or tele-controlled robots.
I hope I succeed in making you curious about this book. Before letting you dive
into its actual content, I’d like to introduce you briefly to each chapter and its author.
Masterpiece 1 Stair-Climber, by Doug Carlson. I met Doug in Toronto,
during a robotic event organized by the local rtlToronto LEGO robotics community.
Doug attending the contest with an amazing robot, and also showing an impressive
collection of LEGO machines of various kinds that were only partially depicted on
his Web site (www.visi.com/~dc). One of these machines was the Stair-Climber that

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