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This book is on two topics that at first glance may appear rather disconnected: Leonardo da Vinci and LEGO MINDSTORMS NXT. Yet, on reconsideration you might notice that not only do the stupendous mechanical designs of Leonardo have much in common with NXT robots, but so do Leonardo—the inventor and engineer—and modern NXT robot builders.

Building a NXT robot is fun and the result is commonly pleasant to behold. Yet, a robot that does not actually do anything is not a real robot; a is defined as “an electromechanical device that can perform autonomous or preprogrammed tasks.” The fun of looking at a newly built robot is nothing next to the pleasure of watching your own creation walking, driving, grabbing, avoiding, recognizing—in a nutshell, behaving—even if its behavior is sometimes (some might say ) different from the one you originally intended.

In this chapter, you will have a closer look at the first of Leonardo’s prominent inventions covered in this book. You will create an NXT-driven LEGO robot and program it with the environments introduced in Chapter 2.

In this chapter, you will build Leonardo’s catapult. Although it may seem to be a rather traditional military weapon, you will see that Leonardo didn’t deal in vain with it and added some ingenious and unique details. You will learn how to use the motors, the touch sensor, and the different programming environments.

In this chapter, you will build Leonardo’s revolving bridge. This robot makes use of the ultrasonic sensor, and you will learn how to access it in five different NXT programming languages. This chapter also covers how to synchronize motors and how to use strings to transfer motor control to remote hardware components.

In this chapter you will build the first of Leonardo’s two flying machines. You will learn how to make curved structures with LEGO parts and use turntables, gear wheels, and axles for creating a stable hub. The light sensor is also introduced in this chapter.

In this chapter you will build another one of Leonardo’s inventions intended for lifting man into the air: the flying machine. The subject of controlling a LEGO NXT robot with strings is revisited and you will learn about integrating the Brick with a rather fragile structure. Last but not least, this chapter deals with one of the most intriguing NXT topics: remote communication via Bluetooth.

Now that you have completed this tour through some of Leonardo’s most impressive inventions, built them with LEGO parts, and programmed them using five different environments, you might want to take a break, step back, and admire Leonardo’s genius—and perhaps feel some satisfaction for your own creations. However, since you are a member of a community bustling with creative spirit, you may also want to look toward the future and ask yourself “what NXT?” With the robots you’ve already made, where can you go from here?