Design and Development of Control and Communication Systems for Complex Mobile Robot and Manipulator Structure

This paper describes how LEGO kits can be used to teach design and building of the complex robot system composed of the mobile robot platform and the robot arm. Both parts of proposed system are equipped with appropriate microcontrollers, sensors and actuators. All mechanical and electrical components are parts of Lego NXT Mindstroms™ Educational Robotic Kit. The control and communication software supports were building using Java programming language. This system could be controlled in two different modes, direct and Bluetooth controls. The effectiveness of the proposed complex system is demonstrated through several experiments, which provide an innovative use of the LEGO kits in robotics courses.