Competitive MINDSTORMS

David J. Perdue, like many others, played with LEGO sets as a young child. However, LEGO MINDSTORMS became David's main hobby when he picked up a LEGO MINDSTORMS Robotics Invention System. Immediately, he saw that he had a natural talent with the set. He purchased thousands of pieces, spent countless hours building and programming, and devoured thousands of pages of documentation to learn as much as he could. After passing the beginner stage, David let loose his imagination and won three Special Mention awards for his creations, from the LEGO MINDSTORMS web site within a period of less than six months. He then went on to become a devout LEGO computer-aided design (CAD) fan, and uses the system to document his creations. David currently resides in the Austin, Texas area, where he builds, writes, programs, and updates his web site at www.davidjperdue.com.

One The Concept of LEGO MINDSTORMS Robotic Sumo.- 1 Introduction to LEGO MINDSTORMS Robotic Sumo.- 2 The Importance of a Battle Plan.- Two The First Approach: The Small-and-Fast Strategy.- 3 The Zip-Bam-Bot Chassis.- 4 Zip-Bam-Bot Version XK1I.- 5 Zip-Bam-Bot Version XK2.- Three The Second Approach: The M-Class Strategy.- 6 The Brain-Bot Chassis.- 7 Brain-Bot Version ZR2.- Four The Third Approach: The Big-Sumo Strategy.- 8 The Gargantuan-Bot Chassis.- 9 Gargantuan-Bot Version BL58.- Five Getting Involved in a Robotic Sumo Event.- 10 Participating in a LEGO MINDSTORMS Robotic Sumo Event.- 11 Organizing a LEGO MINDSTORMS Robotic Sumo Event.