Getting Started: A Teacher’s Guide to LEGO Engineer

Written by J Kendal Wolf, Dylan Glas, and Ben Erwin

Developed at the Tufts University College of Engineering by the Mechanical Engineering Department and the Center for Engineering Educational Outreach.

Software Design

Chris Rogers, John Osborne, Ben Erwin, Regina Cadillac

Educational Consultants

Brian Bosman

Barbara Bratzel

Regina Cadillac

Brian Cathcart

Martha Cyr

Ben Erwin

Dylan Glas

Kevin Gousse

Merredith Portsmore

J Kendal Wolf

Developed under a NASA grant under the LTP program http://learn.ivv.nasa.gov/ as a part of the LEGO Data Acquisition and Prototyping Systems project http://ldaps.ivv.nasa.gov/ and http://www.ceeo.tufts.edu/ .

Teacher’s Guide

About This Guide

Welcome to the LEGO Engineer. This guide is a general reference that describes the LEGO Engineer Software and the Serial Interface Box. Like the Control Lab Software, LEGO Engineer is intended for use with the Control System Building Sets and the Intelligent House.

Table of Contents

Introduction to LEGO Engineer

· The Control System

· The Process

· Getting Started

Minimum System Requirements
Hardware Installation
Software Installation
Starting LEGO Engineer

· Programming in LEGO Engineer

Description of Programming Environments
Builder
Engineer
LabVIEW, the Program Behind LEGO Engineer

The Builder Environment

· Builder Controls

Select COM Port
Help
Quit

· Changing the Program

Output Commands
Duration (Length) of Task
Run Mode

· Builder Programming Exercises

Exercises
Solutions

The Engineer Environment

· How to Work in Engineer

Tools
Help

The Programming Sequence
Picking & Placing Commands
Arranging Commands
Removing Unwanted Commands
Stringing Commands Together
Running the Program
Troubleshooting
File Access
Saving Your Program
Opening a Previously Saved Program

· Engineer Programming - The Essentials

Introduction: Creating your own Engineer Programs
Command Icons
The Command Menu
Simple Outputs
Wait For Commands
Outputs
Modifiers
The Numeric Constant
Sensors
Exercises
Demos
Examples
Stringing Your Program Together
Connecting Modifiers
String Indicators

· Engineer Programming - Advanced Topics

Programming Structures
Structures Menu
The Sequence Structure
The Case Structure
The "While" Loop
The "For" Loop
The Formula Node
Mathematical Operations
Arrays and Clusters
Templates
Creating a Template
Using a Template
The Front Panel
Controls Menu
Front Panel Example

· Engineer Programming Exercises

Exercises
Solutions

Icon Reference List

Introduction to LEGO Engineer

The Control System
The Serial Interface Box:

The heart of the Building Sets is the Serial Interface Box, a LEGO computer interface that can be programmed using a PC or Mac and is connected to your computer. The Serial Interface Box takes input from the environment using sensors, sends data to the computer by way of a cable, and signals output in the form of turning on and off (or changing the power of) motors, lamps, and sound devices.

The Process

Students first build their invention using the LEGO pieces included in the Building Sets. They then create a program for their invention using LEGO Engineer, an easy to use, powerful programming language. Next, they run their program on the Serial Interface Box using the cable provided. Their creation can now interact with their computer and the environment.