Lego Mindstorms / Raspberry Pi

In working with the latest Lego Mindstorms EV3 kit, after testing the built-in infrared (IR) and Bluetooth connectivity, the next step was enabling wireless (WiFi) communication. Unfortunately the position of the EV3 brick on the base Lego Mindstorms Robot (LMR) model built did not allow connectivity of an external USB wifi dongle. The workaround developed uses a Raspberry Pi to relay instructions received via WiFi to the LMR via Bluetooth. The 'hack' developed is shown:

1. Base Lego Mindstorms robot

2. Components used: L-R mini-bluetooth keyboard, rechargeable battery pack, Raspberry Pi model B,Edimax USB wireless dongle, USB-to-mini charging cable, Bluetooth USB dongle

3. Added velcro to secure the battery pack to the RasPi (shown with Wifi and Bluetooth dongles inserted).

4. Finished product - LMR unit with battery powered Bluetooth/WiFi-enabled Raspberry Pi.

Raspberry Pi B+ case closed

 

Raspi B+ and B models (with Arduino in background)

Finally a suitable and reasonably priced RasPi B+ case, justifying replacement of the prior LEGO version. Shown adjacent to prior B model - virtually the same footprint. Arduino board /accessories shown in background (detached for the photo) did run noticeably faster on the B+.

Raspberry Pi B+ Cluster Custom Casing

Although the new Raspberry Pi B+ did not have as many improvements or enhancements as originally hoped, more memory and more built-in USB ports are always good. The B+ unit uses a MicroSD card vs the regular SD card of it's predecessor, and the RCA video output has been removed. The power supply connection has also been replaced by Micro USB vs Mini. The immediate issue was the incompatibility of the cases made for the preceding model and this one. Furthermore, there were no B+ cases available where I purchased my units - so my new RasPi B+ cluster was treated to a stackable custom LEGO casing as shown.