What would you want to have in a “NXT+”, a power-user version of the Mindstorms NXT brick?

Here is my list:

• ARM9 at around 200 MHz
• 32 MB of RAM and 32 of Flash
• Wifi
• Powered by rechargeable battery
• Possible to plug on the main supply (= not running on battery)
• More engine output ports
• Some USB ports, host and self-powered

An ARM9 processor with a MMU would make it easy to run standard Linux. It’s also possible to run Linux on the current NXT ARM7 (if it had more memory) but an ARM9 and a MMU just makes it all much easier.

Of course I would put much more memory than in the current NXT (256 KB of flash and 64 KB of RAM, what were they thinking?). I would put a minimum of 8 MB of RAM and 16 MB flash, but since memory is cheap these days, 32 MB of RAM and Flash should not cost much and would just make it comfortable. The amount of memory is the only thing that prevent us from putting a Linux on the current NXT. In fact the default firmware of the NXT+ would be Linux based.

My NXT+ would have Wifi. A real OS like Linux and Wifi would open a lot of possibilities. You could connect to the NXT+ directly with ssh and execute commands on it. You could run a web server on it and control it from a web browser. Your robots could connect to the Internet and send you emails. You could run Skype on it. And many more…

The NXT+ would be powered by good rechargeable battery, and you could plug it directly to a power supply and not having it running on battery. This would allow for robots that are on for a long time, like some surveillance robot.

I would also try to add one or two motor ports. With a more powerful battery it should be possible.

Having one or two USB port that support USB host would allow to plug all kind of USB devices to it: webcams, mouse, harddrives, etc. Again that opens a lot of possibilities.

I would keep the screen as it is, it’s not very important and it keeps the costs down. I would also keep Bluetooth, it’s cheap and makes it have the same feature set as the NXT. I would change the buttons maybe to make them easier to connect to some bricks and be pressed by the robot itself.

How much would it cost? LEGO sells the NXT alone at $135. This is not its “price” when sold in the kit, because when you add to the NXT the touch sensor ($17), the light Sensor ($17), the sound sensor ($25), the ultrasonic sensor ($32) and 3 motors ($18 each), you get $280, more then the full set with the 500 bricks ($250).

ARM9, memory, wifi and USB don’t cost much, a few dollars each. The battery and the charging part is more expensive, but at the end it should stay under $200 I think, maybe making the full set at $300. Would you buy the NXT+ instead? I would for sure.

Including everything I listed would require a new box for the NXT too, because there are new connectors. But if you remove the additional motor output ports, the USB ports and put the charger in a separate package that plugs to the NXT, I think you could keep the same box as the current NXT. There should be space to fit more memory and wifi in it.

How would your NXT+ look like?

This entry was posted on Friday, January 12th, 2007 at 8:49 pm and is filed under Mindstorms. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.

Linking Blogs