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E3 Update - Lego Mindstorms
(Electronic Entertainment Expo)
(by CG Strategy Plus - 09/17/99)

The contest of the robotic racers

LEGO MindStorms is an upcoming product from the company. Designed in coordination with engineers from MIT, MindStorms merges the traditional LEGO building blocks with motors and computers. LEGO hopes to get kids and adults into robotics that only a few years ago would have been possible only in MIT's robotics labs.

The four contestants (GameSpot also competed in the tournament) had approximately a week to build two robotic vehicles that would navigate a specially built course. The vehicles have limited senses, thanks to a few onboard sensors. They're programmed through an infrared port that feeds the onboard computer instructions from a PC.

There are generally four ways to navigate a course. Build a line tracker, which follows a black line around the 8' by 8' table; build a bumper vehicle, which runs forward until it hits a wall and executes a pre- programmed turn; build a light reader, which senses embedded lights in the table to maneuver over a shortcut; or build a block pusher, which is programmed to push a three-pound block out of the way for the shortest route to the finish line.

During the two days of preliminary heats, no team attempted the block pusher. Instead, they relied mostly on the line runner method. However, in a surprising final, PC Gamer's Michael Wolf (who sat in for the members of his sister publication Next Generation) unleashed a block pusher against Happy Puppy's line follower. While the block pusher got off to an early lead, the Happy Puppy's vehicle quickly caught up and became entangled with the Next Generation machine. At that point, the human participants became involved, giving their vehicles little nudges in the right direction. Still, the Next Generation machine crossed the finish line first. Thus, the magazine won a LEGO trophy and bragging rights for the year. Meanwhile, the runners up have a year to build a better machine.

In the end, even the best machines needed a helping human hand to get to the finish line. Next Generation won the LEGO MindStorms challenge, beating out Happy Puppy for the honors. Computer Games Strategy Plus, a participant in the contest, finished fourth overall after a promising second place standing after yesterday's competition.

As for gamers, they'll have a chance to play with LEGO MindStorms later this winter, which is when the product is expected to ship.

by CG Strategy Plus
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