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

1. 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
2. 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

3. 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

4. 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.











Rev. 1	Getting Started: A Teacher's Guide To LEGO Engineer	1