Winning Design!

Design that works! It's what you need if you're building and competing with LEGO MINDSTORMS EV3 robotics. You'll find uses for the new light sensors and gyro sensors in navigation, helping you to follow lines and make turns more consistently. Approach collision detection with greater confidence through EV3's ultrasonic sensor. Learn new designs for power attachments.

Winning Design! is about building with LEGO MINDSTORMS EV3 for fun, for education, but especially for competition. Author James Trobaugh is an experienced coach and leader in the FIRST LEGO League. In this book, he shares his hard-won knowledge about design principles and techniques that contribute toward success in robotics competitions.

Winning Design!unlocks the secrets of reliable design using LEGO MINDSTORMS EV3. Youll learn proven design patterns that you can employ for common tasks such as turning, pushing, and pulling. Youll reduce and compensate for variation in performance from battery charge levels and motor calibration differences. Youll produce designs that wont frustrate you by not working, but that will delight you with their reliable performance in the heat of competition. 

Good design is about more than just the hardware. Software counts for a lot, andWinning Design! has you covered. Youll find chapters on program design and organization with tips on effective coding and documentation practices. Youll learn about master programs and the needed flexibility they provide. Theres even a section on presenting your robot and software designs to the judges.

Winning Design! is the book you need if you're involved in competitions such as FIRST LEGO League events. Whether coach, parent, or student, youll find much in this book to make your design and competition experience fun and memorable, and educational. Don't be without this book if you're leading a team of young people as they build skills toward a future in technology.

What You Will Learn

• Build winning robots on a foundation of good chassis design
  
• Reduce variability in robot mechanical movements
  
• Design modular attachments for quick change during competition
  
• Solve navigation problems such as steering, squaring up, and collision detection 
  
• Manage software using master programs and other techniques
  
• Power your robot attachments via motors and pneumatics
  

Who This Book Is For

Students, parents, teachers, and coaches involved in LEGO MINDSTORMS EV3 robot design and programming. 

James J. Trobaugh is an experienced coach and leader in the FIRST LEGO League. He is author of the acclaimed book Winning Design!, focusing on the physical aspects of LEGO MINDSTORMS robot design. He has been involved with the FIRST LEGO League since 2004 as coach for Team Super Awesome, and as a technical judge at the LEGO World Festival. He is also the FIRST LEGO League Director of the Forsyth Alliance in Forsyth County, Georgia. James started out as a LEGO hobbyist by founding the North Georgia LEGO Train Club in 1998, and has found in LEGO robotics a natural blending of his LEGO hobby and his day job as a software architect. An added bonus is the joy of sharing his love of technology not only with his own children, but with kids in general. James J. Trobaugh has a degree in Computer Science and has been working as a software architect for 26 years. He lives in the Atlanta, Georgia area with his two children, Ian and Amy.James has been involved with FIRST LEGO League since 2004 as a coach for TeamSuper Awesome and as a technical judge at the LEGO World Festival. He was also the FLL director of the Forsyth Alliance in Forsyth County Georgia. James started out as a LEGO hobbyist by founding the North Georgia LEGO Train Club in 1998 and has found that LEGO robotics is a natural blending of his LEGO hobby and his day job as a software architect. The added bonus is the joy of getting to share his love of technology not only with his own children but with kids in general.

1. Design Considerations.- 2. Chassis Design.- 3. Going Straight.- 4. Consistent Turning.- 5. Line Following and Detection.- 6. Squaring Up.- 7. Collision Detection.- 8. Passive Attachments.- 9. Power Attachments.- 10. Pneumatics.- 11. Master Programs.- 12. Program Management.- 13. Documentation and Presentation.- 14. Appendix A: Building Demobot.