At the Medina Robofest today, I stumbled upon Nate and Jack using their Android device as a remote control for their LEGO Mindstorms NXT robot. They were controlling the robot’s movements with a Samsung Galaxy Tablet running Android. I thought this was the coolest thing, so I asked them how they configured this. To my surprise, they used the built-in Bluetooth module on the NXT brick and a FREE app called NXT Remote Control from the Android Market.
How Android Remote Control for LEGO Mindstorms Works
Inside the white intelligent NXT brick is a Bluetooth wireless chip. This chip is standard, so you don’t have to buy anything extra to get it. To wirelessly control the motors, which are connected to ports A, B, and C on the white intelligent NXT brick, you need to have a software program transmit signals via Bluetooth to the NXT brick.
To send the Bluetooth signals, Nate and Jack used the NXT Remote Control app on their Samsung Galaxy tablet that runs Android. The app is available to any device that runs Android, and it’s free from the Android Market.
The Ever-So-Simple Instructions
It’s so simple! to convert your Android phone into a remote control for LEGO Mindstorms. Nothing extra to buy. Not much to configure.
- Download the NXT Remote Control app
- Turn on Bluetooth on the NXT brick
- Launch the Android NXT Remote Control app
- And click the Connect button in the app.
Simply amazing. If you have any other cool things you are able to do with LEGO Mindstorms then please share with us via the contact us form so we can share with other LEGO robotics enthusiasts.
