Author: Michael Gasperi and Philippe and Isabelle Hurbain
Publisher: Apress,2007
Pages: 312
ISBN: 978-1590598184
Aimed at: Practical programmers
Rating: 5
Pros: Motivating, informative and clearly explained
Cons: Emphasis on hardware not software
Reviewed by: Mike James

This is a really good book. If you are interested in robotics or just using computer technology to do clever things then Michael Gasperi and Philippe and Isabelle Hurbain have written a book that explains what you need to know. If you think of Lego as just plastic bricks then think again. The NXT is a microcontroller with a range of sensors and motors that allow you to build robots and many types of computer controlled gadgets. The book explains the system and all its sensors and goes on to describe how to build new sensors. There are lots of helpful pictures of how to solder the leads to sensors plus many useful circuit diagrams. This book is strong on hardware and for this reason it’s aimed at the programmer who wants to get involved in soldering and building things as well as just the software. In short it’s not going to teach you how to program but it might inspire you to burn your fingers.