Awesome tip, Dylan!

LEGO MINDSTORMS 10 Year Anniversary Exclusive: The Black NXT Limited Edition.

Now you can be the proud owner of one of the Limited Edition Black NXT micro-controllers that we have produced to celebrate the 10 year anniversary of LEGO MINDSTORMS.

The first LEGO MINDSTORMS products came out in the year 1998 and have since then continued to bring fun and active building and programming experiences to millions of robotic builders across the world!

Only 1998 exclusive units will only be available through our online shop www.legoshop.com (or) www.amazon.com

Why a Black NXT? Because it is cool! And looking around in the MINDSTORMS community we noticed that a Black NXT was high on the wish list among users. Also, talking to the MINDSTORMS Community Partners, the closed web forum of adult fans collaborating with the LEGO MINDSTORMS development team, it was very well received and suggested as a must-have!

Once you have bought and received your new Black NXT you will get access to additional materials like a special-made program for the Black NXT, a personal certificate of ownership, wallpapers, building instructions for special models.

Please note that this is an exclusive item in a limited edition: only 1000 1998 produced! – so, if you want to secure yours go online at www.amazon.com (or) www.legoshop.com now!

The LEGO MINDSTORMS Team

I must say, I find this to be pretty cool news. I think that the LEGO Mindstorms Black NXT Brick is quite sharp looking. Maybe our own Nannan will even find a way to work on into one of his black fantasy creations.

I’m not sure why their press release says there will be 1998 made in one spot, and 1000 in another, but I’ll try to get an answer on that.

EDIT (AB): I’ve confirmed with LEGO that it’s 1998.

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LEGO fans don’t normally get an official look at third-quarter LEGO set releases until Toy Fair New York in mid-February. However, CTV technology journalist Kris Abel visited the Canadian Toy & Hobby Fair in Toronto this past weekend, posting a full run-down of the late 2009 LEGO releases.

We’ve confirmed with The LEGO Group that this is official. Although Kris Abel reports that many of the sets and box art are still prototypes, his photos of the sets themselves are pretty good. In keeping with our new policy, then, here goes…

First up, LEGO Space Police!!!

5972 Container Heist opens up to reveal a massive cannon:

If you can’t see the photos, click the links at the bottom of this post.

5974 Galactic Enforcer has classic (dare I say Classic?) lines:

The alien criminals in the LEGO Space Police sets have several new, unique pieces:

In LEGO Star Wars news, Endor gets a bunker (8038), the Y-Wing gets a facelift (8037), the Neimoidians get their own shuttle (with Nute Gunray minifig?), and 7749 Echo Base includes a first-ever LEGO tauntaun:

LEGO Power Miners sport a larger rock monster and a very large drilling platform:

The LEGO Indiana Jones assortment includes a boat chase, a pair of fighters, and a new Elsa Schneider minifig:

On the LEGO Castle front, the trolls get their castle and the undead make their return in 7079 Drawbridge Defense:

Finally, LEGO has announced MINDSTORMS NXT 2.0, with a new color sensor.

You can read all of Kris Abel’s coverage on his blog:

• Star Wars and Indiana Jones
• Space Police, Power Miners, and MINDSTORMS NXT 2.0
• Bionicle and Castle

We’ll expect even more complete coverage at Toy Fair New York in a few weeks from the usual suspects. In the meantime, share your thoughts in the comments.

Check out the Youtube video of both versions of the gun:

I love the movement on Wall-E’s expressive eyes.

Thanks to reader William for the tip!

The light sensor triggers Mario’s jump, while a troll stands in for Donkey Kong up at the top, throwing barrels down the ramp. Even the music is coming from the RCX! Read all about his fantastic creation on Dan Kressin’s Web site.

(Via Forum 0937 and Klocki.)

This amazing photo shows the weather balloon bursting at 99,712 feet:

You can see a whole bunch more photos and videos from Eric (Burdo?), as well as additional photos from the University of Nevada, Reno.

Via BB Gadgets, Gizmodo, and several posts on The NXT STEP.

The Lego Company has announced the upcoming release of a new robotics system, scheduled to be released in January of 2009. Geared towards grade school children, ages 7-11, WeDo is designed to introduce robotics to an age group that has been previously overlooked. By building robots that remain tethered to their computer, kids can write, download and tweak their programs, giving them the opportunity to see what changes occurred immediately. While it appears that, due to its tethered nature, it may have a limited use outside of the classroom, anything that introduces young children to robotics is a good thing in my book.

In a company press release, dated June 30 2008, Jens Maibom, vice president of LEGO Education, said:

“Building upon our successful 10-year history of bringing educational robotics to middle, high school, and university classrooms with the award-winning LEGO MINDSTORMS toolset, we are excited to extend this expertise to benefit an even younger audience. With a progressively competitive global economy, we know it is imperative to provide even younger children and their teachers with curricular-relevant, easy-to-implement educational materials to spark children’s interest in all manner of subjects. After observing classroom tests conducted in Brazil and the United States, we are confident that WeDo Robotics, the first product from LEGO Education designed to serve the classroom needs of emerging markets, will inspire teachers and motivate students in classrooms around the world.”

Check out more WeDo info at the Lego Education site.

Wedo! Can you?

An ultrasonic sensor detects its presence and starts to read the colors of the cube faces using a light sensor. The robot turns and tilts the cube in order to read all the faces of the cube. It then calculates a solution and executes the moves by turning, tilting and twisting the cube.

Check out the video of Hans’ MINDSTORMS Rubik’s Cube solver here:

If you want to build your own Rubik’s Cube solver, you can check out Hans’ instructions, executables, and source code on his Web site.

And don’t miss the MINDSTORMS NXT Rubik’s Cube solver we featured a year ago, by Daniele Benedettelli.

Thanks for the tip, Clay!

Watch the awesome video right here on The Brothers Brick:

You can also check out lots of pictures on Brickshelf.