How to Make a Robot Animal Out of Legos

Creating the Robogator

• 1

  Purchase a LEGO Mindstorms set, which includes the programmable brick that contains a micocomputer chip called the NXT and touch sensors that allow your robot to "feel," a motion detection sensor that allows your robot to "see," and a sensor that detects color. The set also contains servo motors with built-in motion sensors, connector cables and more than 600 building parts and blocks. A Mindstorms set will run well over $200 in 2011, according to Amazon.com.

• 2

  Read the instruction manual. The manual explains how to program your robot using an icon-based computer language called NXT-G. Reading through the instructions first gives you an overview of the steps you need to take to create a robot animal. The animal you can make with the set is an alligator called a robogator, a robot alligator.

• 3

  Connect to your computer through the wireless Bluetooth that comes with the kit or through a USB cable. Using your computer, you can create a program that includes the directions for your robot's movements online before you actually build it. The program will show the available LEGO pieces on one side of the screen. Drag and drop the bricks for the robogator program onto the robogator diagram. All instructions are shown in pictographs.

• 4

  Build the robogator with your LEGO bricks following the online pattern. Download the program to the NXT, which will execute the commands in your program. The robogator will use three servo motors, two for the rear legs and one for the jaw. The robogator jumps forward and snaps when something invades its territory.

Building Your Own Robot Animal

• 5

  Follow the steps in the manual to create the robogator and other programs found in the Mindstorms set before moving on to more complex creations. Each set comes with instructions for creating several different robots. Following the precise instructions for one or two robots helps you understand how the programming works. This will make it easier to create your own animal robots if you want.

• 6

  Design your own robot animal online by modifying other plans, by implementing your own ideas or by following plans found online or in commercially produced books devoted to LEGO robot creations. Place the servo motor LEGOS that connect to the programming brick in specific locations to make your creation move the way you want it to.

• 7

  Modify your LEGO Mindstorms programs to create other types of animals or to change the way your robot animal moves or performs. You can buy extra pieces from LEGO to modify your designs.