leJOS is a firmware replacement for Lego Mindstorms programmable bricks. Different variants of the software support the original Robotics Invention System, the NXT, and the EV3. It includes a Java virtual machine, which allows Lego Mindstorms robots to be programmed in the Java programming language. It includes also the iCommand.jar that allows you to communicate via bluetooth with the original firmware of the Mindstorm. It is often used for teaching Java to first-year computer science students. The leJOS-based robot Jitter flew around on the International Space Station in December 2001.
FIRST LEGO League (FLL) is an international competition organized by FIRST for elementary and middle school students.
Spybotics is a Mindstorms robotics subseries by Lego. There are four different sets, each of which includes a Spybot, a controller, a cable, and a software disc. The Spybots are color-coded, and each one has a different set of equipment attached. The software disc allows the user to program the robots and set up simulated missions for them.
Microsoft Robotics Developer Studio is a Windows-based environment for robot control and simulation. It is aimed at academic, hobbyist, and commercial developers and handles a wide variety of robot hardware. It requires the Microsoft Windows 7 operating system.
RoboMind is a simple educational programming environment with its own scripting language that allows beginners to learn the basics of computer science by programming a simulated robot. In addition to introducing common programming techniques, it also aims at offering insights in robotics and artificial intelligence. RoboMind is available as stand-alone application for Windows, Linux and Mac OS X. It was first released in 2005 and was originally developed by Arvid Halma, a student of the University of Amsterdam at that time. Since 2011 RoboMind is published by Research Kitchen.
nxtOSEK is a Real-Time Operating System [RTOS] for the Lego Mindstorms programmable NXT controller. nxtOSEK consists of the I/O driver part of leJOS NXJ, TOPPERS OSEK RTOS, and glue code for them. nxtOSEK enables Lego Mindstorms NXT robots to be programmed in ANSI-C/C++.
Dexter Industries is a company that designs robots for education, researchers, and hobbyists. The company makes several products that expand the LEGO Mindstorms system, Raspberry Pi, and Arduino prototyping system. The products range from sensors to switches and may be used for projects outside the scope of Lego Mindstorms.
The Robot Interaction Language (ROILA) is the first spoken language created specifically for talking to robots. ROILA is being developed by the Department of Industrial Design at Eindhoven University of Technology. The major goals of ROILA are that it should be easily learnable by the user, and optimized for efficient recognition by robots. ROILA has a syntax that allows it to be useful for many different kinds of robots, including the Roomba, and Lego Mindstorms NXT. ROILA is free for anybody to use and to contribute to, as the team has released all documentation and tools under a Creative Commons license.
TETRIX Robotics consists of two robotic kits by Pitsco, Inc., intended for educational purposes and competitions such as the FIRST Tech Challenge. The sets are TETRIX MAX for high school and TETRIX PRIME for middle school.
Lego Mindstorms EV3 is the third generation robotics kit in Lego's Mindstorms line. It is the successor to the second generation Lego Mindstorms NXT 2.0 kit. The "EV" designation refers to the "evolution" of the Mindstorms product line. "3" refers to the fact that it is the third generation of computer modules - first was the RCX and the second is the NXT. It was officially announced on January 4, 2013 and was released in stores on September 1, 2013. The education edition was released on August 1, 2013. There are many competitions using this set. Among them are the First Lego League and the World Robot Olympiad.
Open Roberta is the name of a project within the German education initiative "Roberta—Learning with robots", initiated by Fraunhofer IAIS, which is an institute belonging to the Fraunhofer Society. With Open Roberta Fraunhofer IAIS is looking to encourage kids to code by using robots e.g. Lego Mindstorms, and other programmable hardware systems e.g. Arduino, BBC micro:bit, Calliope mini. The Cloud-approach of the Open Roberta Lab makes programming easier and minimizes the hurdles for teachers and schools to teach how to code. Open Roberta is free and does not require any installation. The project was initially founded with €1Mio by Google.org
RoboBlockly is a web-based robot simulation environment for learning coding and math. Based on Blockly, it uses a simple puzzle-piece interface to program virtual Linkbot, Lego Mindstorms NXT and EV3, as well as to draw and animate for beginners to learn robotics, coding, math, science, and art. Blocks in RoboBlockly can be executed in debug mode step-by-step. All math activities in RoboBlockly are Common Core State Standards Mathematics compliant.
