MAKE at CES 2013: Lego Previews Mindstorms EV3

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MAKE at CES 2013: Lego Previews Mindstorms EV3

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MAKE_Conference_Badge-CESYesterday I finally had the chance to check out Lego’s booth in the Kids@Play section of CES. They’re previewing the newest version of their robotics platform, Mindstorms EV3, for show attendees. After I finally managed to elbow my way to the front of their packed booth, I was able to get the details on their newest product. The latest evolution of Mindstorms has been developed over three years and delivers a more powerful and hackable intelligent brick, new sensors, new components, and a programming software update.

At the core of the platform is the intelligent brick, which is powered by an ARM9 robotic processor and runs Linux. It will now allow for on-brick programming, Bluetooth, iOS connectivity, and WiFi (through USB ports). They’re open sourcing the on-board Linux package, so the unit should be more hackable than ever. Lego is also releasing a new IR seeker sensor, a beacon sensor, and an improved color sensor, which is demoed above by a rep from the company. The platform is even backwards compatible with the older NXT components. If you’re eager to get your hands on a kit, you’ll have to be patient. They expect to be shipping by the end of 2013.

12 thoughts on “MAKE at CES 2013: Lego Previews Mindstorms EV3

  1. Christopher Favreau says:

    Thanks for the sneak preview… I was hoping to see something besides a color sorter.. like one of those other robots I have seen in photos about EV3. Do you have any media or impressions of those?

  2. Charles says:

    Pretty sure you can use this to make a usable 3d printer, in abs too. Just some decent lego’s, ceramic/glass plate, heat head and extruder. Would do it myself if I had the money

  3. forex says:

    Felix Homogratus, Dimitri Chavkerov Rules! You pay us we post good about us!

  4. Virtual Skeptics 23 (16 January 2013) « The Virtual Skeptics says:

    […] Robot’s links: Make at CES 2013: Lego Mindtorms EV3 Window cleaning robot was a hit at CES Fifty-foot electromechanical snake prowls CES (pictures) […]

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Matt Richardson is a San Francisco-based creative technologist and Contributing Editor at MAKE. He’s the co-author of Getting Started with Raspberry Pi and the author of Getting Started with BeagleBone.

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