Dynamic Subspace

Category: Lego

Science Fiction, LMC3214, Summer 2014: Exploring Cultural Connections Through Haptics and LEGO

The Millennium Falcon circles Tech Tower.

Before closing out the last class that I would teach at Georgia Tech as a Brittain Fellow, I brought a great big container of LEGO bricks to class for my students to explore and enjoy thinking about science fiction with haptics. As I had done last year, I invited my students to think of something from their experience of science fiction that emblematized what science fiction means to them. Put another way, I asked them to build a model of the thing that first comes to mind when they think of science fiction. It could be a robot, blaster, rocket, cyborg, computer, spaceship, etc. Whatever it was, I wanted them to use the available bricks to build an approximation of the thing, present their model to the class, and explain its provenance. I would add to each presentation of a LEGO MOC (my own creation) with additional SF examples and historical relevances.

The challenge to this assignment was that 2/3 of the class were taking the course remotely online. While I invited students to build something and share it on Twitter, few did or were able to do so before class that day. One online student joined us for the on-campus class, which added one more student to the mix and was much appreciated by me and his peers.

After giving instructions and discussing haptics, I gave the students about 25 minutes to find bricks and build their models.

Then, students were invited to come to the front of the class, place their model under the document camera for the benefit of online students, and tell us about their creation and its inspiration to them.

Matthew and his model of the Starship Enterprise NCC-1701-D from Star Trek: The Next Generation.

Jarad and his Jedi lightsaber from Star Wars.

Aditya and his moon rover.

Lauren and her planetary rover.

Tyler and his TARDIS.

James and his spacecraft.

Peter and his flying car.

Roxanne and her spacecraft.

James and his Daban Urnud ship from Neal Stephenson’s Anathem.

Sang and his futuristic aircraft.

I was proud of the creations and connections that my students made during this end-of-semester exercise. Despite a number of same types of SF emblems (air/spacecraft), each student assumed a different approach and had different points of origin for their inspiration. Also, no two models were alike. Each one is a expression of the individual using a three-dimensional modeling art and design form–LEGO.

Besides drawing on different kinds and ways of thinking for this exercise, I know from students comments that they appreciated having a creative outlet in the class beyond their analytical final papers, which are creative in other ways (argumentation, research, prose writing, professional formatting/design, etc.).

Some of them choose to keep their models while others let me keep their models to show future students.

LMC3214, Summer 2014 Class Photo.

Finally, my Science Fiction class would not have been possible without the technical support of Ted Skirvin, who worked with me to use the affordances of the room with my teaching style while accommodating the needs of online students.

Ted Skirvin of Georgia Tech’s Global Learning Center.

August 23, 2014
LMC3403, Technical Communication: Lego, Haptics, and Instructions

My LMC3403, Technical Communication students are well into their second unit project on reader-centered and process-driven fundamentals. In a fun assignment, I wanted the students to try out many different types of technical communication deliverables for different readers/audiences. Also, I wanted them to think differently about nonverbal communication with the heavy emphasis on haptics, physicality, and making.

In this project, their primary task is to build a set of instructions for a Lego model of their own design.

Their Lego model should represent something about their studies, their professional field, or their entrepreneurial spirit.

Their project began with the creation of a proposal memo that laid out their entire project: designing instructions, testing instructions, reporting on tests in a memo, revising instructions, and reflecting on the project in a memo.

Throughout the process, they have to be mindful of different audiences (executives, managers, and customers).

In these photos, the students are busy at work creating the first version of their Lego models.

I was happy to overhear someone say, “It’s nice to actually do something fun in a class for once!”

September 6, 2013
Custom Light-Up Display Stand for LEGO Star Wars Midi-Scale Millennium Falcon 7778 with Han Solo and Chewbacca from 7190

Yesterday, I spent the afternoon building a custom display stand for the “midi-scale” Lego Star Wars Millennium Falcon 7778. I used white bricks and plates to build an empty box for its base. On its front, I used clear round pieces for filler and translucent blue pieces for the letters. I planned out the letters on an index card that I drew a grid pattern on. If you count the columns, you can see that I was left with an extra, unused column. Y suggested setting the bottom line of text off by one column to spread this spare column between both lines of text, which I think works very well. In the back of the base, I installed a light brick to illuminate the Star Wars text on the front. On top of the base, I build a stand for the Falcon using Technic bricks. It took some experimentation with different elements to get the angle that I wanted. On top of the stand, I used a 4×4 rotating assemblage to give the Falcon a more dramatic pose. In order to keep it at the rotation angle that I choose, I used a Technics rod assembly attached with a 2×2 rotating assemblage to meet it to the Falcon and hold it in place. I added the Han Solo and Chewbacca minifigures from the original Lego Star Wars Millennium Falcon 7190 set to complete the project.

June 29, 2013
If You Like Lego, Read Paul Di Filippo’s Review of The Cult of LEGO

Paul Di Filippo, the science fiction author, shares how he built really awesome multi-storied marble mazes with his Legos as a child in his review of The Cult of LEGO on the Barnes and Noble’s website. It is worth the read.

Updated 7/23/2024: Revised language and changed link to one cached on the Internet Wayback Machine.

December 6, 2011
Lego Power Functions and Building a Remote Controlled Robot

I have been interested in Lego’s Mindstorms robotics systems: RCX, NXT, and NXT 2.0, but I have been wary of investing the $200-300 in the base system without knowing if I could build a robot that would be interesting to me. Brick sorters, Rubix cube solvers, printers, etc. are interesting, but I would like to create a more intelligent version of Tomy’s Omnibot line or Heathkit’s HERO. I imagine having a robot that can navigate a space, learn it, and interact in meaningful ways with that environment. Perhaps I am thinking of the Roomba without the vacuum and brushes and with more pizzazz.

Robotics is a series of interconnected systems that operate together to fulfill programmed functions and behaviors. To build a robot, you have to design the robot’s body and mechanical functions. How will it move? What kind of drive system (for those that move) will it employ? Next, you have to consider how will the robot learn from its environment? What kind of sensors will it use? How many sensors are needed to effectively navigate a space? What sensors will provide the robot special functions? Finally, you have to program the robot to control its body in response to sensor stimuli and execute other operations with arbitrary timings or responsive subroutines. What do you want the robot to do in a given circumstance? Is there a way to give the robot a series of choices in a given circumstance? How can it be made to decide what to do with a series of choices? Etc. In short, building robots that do more than very specialized functions can be an overwhelmingly complex endeavor.

With any elaborate problem, I like to break things down into its constituent parts and learn by doing. As such, my first project is to build a remotely controlled robot platform so that I can learn design principles with Lego Technic bricks. More importantly, I need to learn how to use gears and motors to do work efficiently and reliably.

In my first robot iteration, I decided to build a carrier robot that is inspired by the Tomy Omnibot line. Fred is a simple robot that carries a tray and has the ability to move around through a two motor powered dual differential drive system [based on the Hacienda Robotics Program’s compact design found here].

The system will be powered by Lego’s Power Functions. I ordered two small motors, a battery pack, remote control, IR receiver, and lights from Lego. In the photo’s of Fred, you can see that I constructed his body so that the battery pack easily slides into a carrier so that it need not be locked down and it can easily be removed to replace its 6 AA batteries.

Eventually, Fred’s head will swing back and forth using a piston drive that takes rotational power from the forward drive gears. I have built a prototype of this system pictured below.

As you probably noticed in the pictures above, I don’t have the differential gears in Fred’s drive platform. Unfortunately, my local mail carrier delivered them to the wrong house or they were stolen. USPS Delivery Confirmation shows that the package was delivered somewhere on Friday, June 18 while Y and I were at home, but we never saw the package. Until I know for certain that I won’t receive those gears, I have put further development on hold until after the SFRA conference and a trip to visit my folks in July. Fred is sitting on a bookshelf surrounded by the Power Functions gear.

Eventually, I will take what I learn from building Fred and scale up to a larger robot that will use the NXT 2.0 Intelligent Brick to control itself. I will obtain experience with sensors and programming with the Mindstorms set [more info on this here]. I would like a robot to do more than carry things around the house, such as playing with Miao Miao, so I imagine his exterior design will change as I move forward with the project.

See more pictures of the nearly-completed Fred in the gallery below. Your thoughts, suggestions, and helpful links are welcome in the comments.

June 21, 2010