Lego Mindstorms EV3 Review - A lack of enthusiasm
Linus Tech Tips
·Linus Tech Tips
·2017-05-06
·
1,650 words · ~8 min read
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With Lego Mindstorms and your computer,
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you can build and program robots that do what you want. Airing on TV in 1998,
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this is the commercial that sparked my interest in robotics and programming.
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It's for the Lego Mindstorms RCX robotics invention kit, which a kid
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could use to build and program almost any kind of robot they could imagine.
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Lego Mindstorms has been an enormous source of learning, fun, and inspiration
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for millions of kids and adults. And if you don't believe me, just search for
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Mindstorms on YouTube to be blown away by some of the incredible things that
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people have built and programmed using these kits. And the LEGO Group has
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continued to update the Mindstorm's platform over the years with RCX, NXT,
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and finally EV3, the kit I'll be reviewing today. I know I'm three years
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late to the party, but this is still their flagship robotics kit, and I
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wanted to see how it stacks up against new competitors like VEX IQ. That and
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Lionus would only buy it if I made a video. So, here we go.
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Corsair's ML fans feature magnetic levitation technology and custom
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engineered rotors to provide a high performance, low-noise experience. Learn
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more at the link in the video description. Opening up the box, we see a bunch of
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disposable bags full of Lego pieces and
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no storage tray. The first generation of Mindstorms came with a storage tray, but
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ever since then only the educational versions have had them, which is a shame
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really. I consider it essential to have something like this for organization.
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How much would that have cost, LEGO Group? Anyway, to complete your first
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mission, all you need to do is follow the characteristically excellent paper
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instruction booklet, which walks you through the first stage of building and
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running your first robot. You can drive it around with the included IR remote,
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and it's preloaded with a demo that autonomously knocks tires around on the
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included testing mat. The paper instructions then prompt you to download
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the free EV3 programmer app, which is
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very easy to install and get started with. Other companies take note. Kids
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and Terren do not have the patience to wrestle with poorly designed software.
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And the EV3 software itself is actually
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fantastic. There's been a lot of development since generations 1 and two.
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Each of the five featured robots and the 12 additional robots come with
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instructions for building and programming. This involves the placing
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and modifying of programming blocks onto
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the programming canvas. You're introduced to motor control first, then
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loops, switches, variables, multitasking, and functions, which are
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called myblocks. Following along with these step-by-step programming
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instructions is easy, and the complexity of both the robot and the programming
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increases from one mission to the next. You are also given the option to load
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the finished programs for each mission. I'm glad that they did this, but it's a
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bit of a double-edged sword. On the one hand, it's good if you want to doublech
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checkck your own solution, but on the other hand, like answers at the bottom
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of a crossword, it makes cheating easy, potentially taking out a lot of the fun
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and learning. Again, though, it's clear that a ton of research and development
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has gone into the EV3 software. When you modify variables, the icons change to
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match. When you add a sound or an on-screen image to your program, you get
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to hear or see a preview on your computer, which helps a lot if you need
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to debug a script. And each mission comes with a short video that shows you
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exactly what your robot will do if programmed successfully. This process
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can feel a little slow sometimes, but you're probably learning more than you
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think. The method of programming is quite simplistic. This is important to
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keep the barrier of entry low enough for kids, but it also results in a lower
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learning ceiling. Fortunately, there are several third-party options for
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programming the EV3 brick if you want more control and complexity. There are a
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few things I did not like about the EV3 software. Worst of which was how it
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inexplicably crashed about five times during normal operation. They might want
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to look into that. So, I'd give it a solid A minus. Let's move on to the
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hardware. I was not impressed. In fact,
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I was pretty disappointed. The EV3 is in
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many ways a step backwards from the
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previous generation NXT 2.0. First of
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all, the EV3 brain brick, which requires six AA batteries, takes at least 20
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seconds to turn off and even longer to turn on. That's as long as my work
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computer. And Linus built that. Turns out the EV3 brain is literally booting a
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complete Linux OS. And this software
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bloat means that it needs more RAM and a better CPU than it otherwise would,
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which just drives up the price. Now, there are many features on the EV3 brain
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that I do like, such as the SD card slot, the Bluetooth and wireless
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connectivity, and the RGB LED behind the buttons, but the EV3 actually comes with
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fewer sensors than the NXT 2.0. It's got
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a color sensor, just one touch sensor instead of two. And the ultrasonic
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sensor is replaced by the infrared sensor that pulls double duty as
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distance sensor and as receiver for the beacon. The infrared beacon or remote
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control has five buttons and a switch that can select one of four channels.
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The problem here is that there are only 11 possible ways to use these buttons.
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And the lack of joysticks means that there's no proportional control. And
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with the standard control scheme, if you want to control a third or fourth motor,
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you'll have to switch to another channel. But with only four total
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channels, you'd better hope that there are no other LEGO enthusiasts nearby
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with beacons of their own. Compared to radio control, infrared is awful anyway
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with short range and frequent disconnections. The large EV3 motors,
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however, feature several welcome improvements with attachment holes in
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positions that offer more build flexibility. They're even backwards
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compatible with NXT, which is pretty cool. EV3 also comes with a new medium
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motor. It's weaker, so you won't use it to power a drive shaft, but its shape
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makes it better for attachments like arms and claws. I just wish that there
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were two of these included for the price. Let's talk about the rest of the
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pieces. Now, the most iconic Lego piece is probably the 2x4 studded brick. This
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is classic LEGO, and it's easy and quick for kids to attach and detach while
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still ensuring a strong connection. So, it may surprise you to learn that all
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the Lego pieces in the EV3 kit are studless. They've been designed to be
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attached using pins and axles instead.
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It's great in theory because it allows for a predictable 8 millimeter
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three-dimensional grid system. But here's the problem. When they removed
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the studs, they removed half the attachment points on a typical beam. So,
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studless beams cannot be stacked on top of each other without extensive
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additional support. One solution would be a double or triple wide beam, but the
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LEGO Group doesn't make any pieces like that. So, they've effectively removed
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functionality that we used to have and never bothered to replace it. There's
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actually a lot of Lego Technic pieces that really should exist but don't. I
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even 3D modeled a bunch of them and I sell them at cost on Shapeways where
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people are still willing to pay unreasonable amounts of money to get
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them. Despite all of that, Lego Mindstorms is still great and it still
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plays an important role in getting kids interested in STEM fields. I just don't
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see the same enthusiasm as I do from the Technic and Power Functions teams who
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continue to push the boundaries by releasing interesting and even insane
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sets like this one. But Mindstorms has
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just stagnated. And it's especially
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apparent when you look at the competition. Vex IQ came out several
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months before LEGO Mindstorms EV3 and
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the electronic hardware is objectively better in almost every single way
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without compromising quality. Check out that video review over here. So, here's
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the conclusion. People still ask me all the time if they should buy VEX IQ or
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Mindstorms, and I tell them, if you're more interested in robotics and
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programming, get VEX IQ. But if you're
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more interested in building and engineering and you already have Lego
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Technic pieces, Mindstorms or Power
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Functions is the better option. Ultimately though, the best robotics kit
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would be some miraculous fusion of VEX IQ inspired electronics and Lego Technic
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pieces. I certainly hope that the LEGO group will step up their game for
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Mindstorms Generation 4. I guess we'll just have to wait and see. Thanks a lot
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for watching everyone. Give the video a like or a dislike and get subscribed if
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you aren't already. Also, you can buy some LT merch or shop at Amazon using
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our affiliate link. And please let us know in the comments below what your
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Mindstorm's experience has been like, and have you tried the EV3? What did you
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think of it? And if you're looking for something else to watch, check out the aforementioned VEX IQ review for one of
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the best robotics kits on the market. or check out my Mechenoid review for the
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absolute worst robotics kit on the market. And I'll see you next time.