Key to this project is a means for the robot to communicate with the outside world on its own without the aid of a PC or MAC. Lego Mindstorms robots support Bluetooth and USB connections with a PC or Mac but lack the ability to use a Wifi network.

Enter the HumaRobotics Wifi Block! This plugs into an available sensor port on the NXT. HumaRobotics developers have also done an excellent job of integrating with the Mindstorms drag and drop programming tool, so I was able to get the Wifi Block configured to my Wifi network and thus to the internet pretty easily *.

There are 4 programming blocks provided in this environment, the WifiBlock Utils block allows the NXT to communicate with the Wifi Block. By dragging this onto the programming surface you can give it the usual Wifi connectivity details.

Once the indicator light on the block is a steady green, I was able to confirm the connection by pinging it!

Now that I had made a connection, I was keen to start building. There are many robots that can be built with the kit. I am starting with one of the advanced ones, the Alpha Rex robot. I’ll be giving him a more appropriate name later!

* A lot easier in fact, than getting the Mindstorms software running on Mac OS 10.7. I was pleased to find a great Lego resource on the net, linked with another favourite pastime of mine, StackExchange! Lego Answers Beta.