LEGO FTW

If you're reading this and thinking, should I buy a "Lego Mindstorms kit ?", let me save you the trouble and say yes. Yes you should. Because it's brilliant. Don't bother reading the rest of the post, because that's all you need to know.

I'm a great believer in self-rewarding for significant achievements. Completing my PhD got me a laptop, now 4 years old and still going strong - the second most expensive thing I've ever purchased, but by far and away the best. Publishing my thesis data got me a large glass brick (full of thesis data), which I use in just about every presentation possible. This time I'm celebrating publication of another data set, one which took an inordinately long time.

Lego Mindstorms has always been a case of, "yeah, looks fun, but I don't think I want to spend £200 on Lego." Fortunately, I had a £100 gift voucher from my friends at Arecibo when I left.
"I'll spend it wisely", I said.
"That's a shame, we were hoping you'd spend it foolishly", they said.
That was obviously a far better idea, so that's what I did.

I am not a hardware person. As a child, Meccano was OK, but I didn't have the patience to screw everything together (though for some reason typing in programs on a ZX Spectrum wasn't a problem). Woodwork was just a bit meh. Sewing was tedium itself. As for electronics, circuit diagrams give me a paroxysm of bewilderment while my soldering was the inspiration for the death scene of the T1000 in Terminator 2.

But even I can put Lego together from a kit. Plus I already know how to code in Python (which you can use to control Mindstorms if you're that way inclined, and I am), and the fact the kit comes with the parts for not one but five different robots sealed the deal for me (actually there are now official guides for fifteen !).

Each robot comes with 5 different "missions" which can involve modifying the robot and/or the code to control it. So far I've completed the missions for the most basic robot, the "Tracker". This is a simple tracked robot that demonstrates just about all the major features. It took me about 1-2 hours to construct.

In the box, you get bags and bags of >500 Lego pieces. Sadly there's no plastic container within the box to hold them all, so, having read another review beforehand, I went out and bought some Tupperware boxes. That was extremely sensible, since the raised rims of the lids stop the pieces from falling off when I'm gathering the requisite parts. The parts in each bag were pretty well organised so I kept them in the same system. It's simple to find whichever part I need.

I don't recommend just throwing all the parts in a big bag unless you want to give yourself massive Lego-rage later. Especially since there are a few parts you only get one of. Seriously, no, don't do it. Those boxes were quite a lot more full before the Tracker was built, and there's more in the shoebox.

Apart from the Lego, the box contains the instructions for the most basic robot (with handy parts guide and a ruler), and the cover of the box detaches to form a mission mat (where you can test some of the specially-designed programs). The full manual and instructions for the other robots are available online, unfortunately there's no printed version. But you're going to need to be on a PC to program the robot anyway, so that's not really an issue*. A nice thing about the online guide is that it gives you full 3D, rotatable views of each step of the build process, which can be incredibly helpful when assembling some of the more fiddly bits.

* I think it is possible to program the Lego directly, but I can't imagine why you'd want to.

Batteries aren't included either, so go out and buy a few packs of AA and AAA batteries (requires 6 AA and 2 AAA). You'll also, annoyingly, need a very small crosshead screwdriver to open one of the battery compartments.

The build quality is what you'd expect from Lego - genius. Unlike the cheaper imitations everything fits together pretty easily, but is robust enough to withstand some persuasion, when needed. Things don't fall apart unless you want them to. Assembling the Tracker was about the closest I've felt to being 10 years old again since Jurassic Park was re-released at the cinema. Sheer delight. In about an hour - a very, very happy hour - I had a little tracked robot roving around the house, servo-motors making pleasant whirring sounds.