LEGO Mindstorms EV3 31313

Product Description

---

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #435 in Toys & Games
• Brand: LEGO
• Model: 6029291
• Released on: 2013-09-01
• Dimensions: 2.78" h x 14.88" w x 18.90" l, 3.99 pounds

Features

• Intelligent EV3 Brick with powerful ARM9 processor, Wi-Fi USB port and Internet connectivity, Micro SD card reader, back-lit buttons and 4 motor ports
• 3 interactive servo motors, remote control, imp. and redesigned color sensor, redesigned touch sensor, infrared sensor, 550+ LEGO Technic elements
• Control your robot via the infrared sensor system; intuitive software (PC and Mac) with icon-based drag-and-drop programming interface
• Building instructions for 5 robots included; Download bonus building instructions developed by real fans and endorsed by LEGO at LEGO.com/mindstorms
• Control and command your robot with the enclosed remote control or download the free app for your smart device

Customer Reviews

Most helpful customer reviews

48 of 48 people found the following review helpful.
Amazing product that sparks the imagination
By H. Chan
The LEGO Mindstorms EV3 (31313) is my first mindstorms product that I have ever owned so I can't compare it with the previous generations. After playing with it for 6 days and building 4 of 5 the default models, I am simply left amazed, inspired and smiling from ear to ear.

The set comes in a large flat box with a removable outer sleeve that you can cut out to use as an obstacle course (the 1st basic EV3 model you build utilizes this). When you open the box, the contents are contained in several plastic bags with the main computer brick (P-Brick) in a white cardboard box and instruction booklet and stickers in another plastic bag with cardboard backing.

Unfortunately, it doesn't come with any bins or boxes to store/organize the pieces. So I suggest buying some storage organizer or if you happen to have the LEGO Mindstorms Education EV3 Core Set (45544) you can combine BOTH sets into the Education Core Set storage bin for one beefy development kit!! (more on that later)

The instruction booklet gives you instructions on building the basic robot model and instructions for writing the program directly into the P-Brick to get you started. The instruction booklet will point you to LEGO website to download the FREE "EV3 Software" which will comes with detailed instructions to build and program the other 4 standard models as well as 12 more models from the Mindstorms community. The download is rather large (about 603MB download for the windows version) so you can download and try it out now and experiment before deciding to put down your money.

Once you download and install the EV3 software, you'll be guided through an intuitive interface that guides you to building the selected models. Once you select the model, you will go over a series of missions that goes over building the Lego Model and Programming. You can scan the QR code with your Android or iOS Tablet to download the free android/iOs app (Large 142 MB, so download it over wifi!!) called "LEGO Mindstorms 3D Builder" for your Android Tablet or iPad that gives you the build instructions in 3D (i.e. pan and rotate the LEGO pieces on a Tablet) or you can also view it through your web browser.

In each mission, you go through the build instructions and then the step-by-step programming instructions (or you load the completed program) and download it to the P-Brick over USB. So far each model has taken me on average 1 - 3 hours to build (not counting programming) and about 1/2 hour to take apart. As you build each model, you will learn the various design techniques and patterns in building your robot model.

After you program you robot model, the robot will either interact with you through the various sensors, running a simple loop or control it thorough the included IR Beacon/Remote. You can also enabled the Bluetooth on the P-Brick and download the Android/iOS app called "Lego Mindstorms Robot Commander" and control the 5 basic models or custom model over bluetooth. My 4 year-old son loves interacting with R3PTAR model.

For the more advance user:
This is a great platform for learning linux (which is the main reason why I got it). The P-Brick runs Linux on a ARM9 processor with 64MB RAM and 16MB Flash + up to 32GB of external storage via microSD. You can communicate with it over wifi dongle via telnet (only supports Netgear WNA 1100) and the Linux source code is available and well documented.

As I have previously hinted, I have also purchased the "LEGO Mindstorms Education EV3 Core Set 45544" when it came out in Sept 1, 2013. However it was designed to go with the Education EV3 software which costs extra ($99). Fortunately the P-Bricks are the same in both kits and thus works with the Free EV3 software. The education kit does contain some different sensors (e.g. ultrasonic and gyro sensor) and technic parts as well as a rechargeable DC battery and storage tray/bin which is large enough to contain both "Retail" and "Education" Sets in one box. The Retail EV3 Software can support the ultrasonic and gyro sensors from the Education set if you enable a trick that you can find off of "google".

With these 2 sets you can daisy chain the 2 P-Bricks which will allow you to build more complex achines.

In summary, I'm am really happy that I got this fabulous and amazing EV3 mindstorms set. It is easy to use, has a large community of users and has a large eco system (i.e compatible with the older NXT parts and 3rd party devices). Its a bit pricey but for all the things that you can do with it, so its easy to justify its value. Its a great way to introduce your kids to programming while having FUN!!

38 of 39 people found the following review helpful.
Very good upgrade to the Mindstorms line
By Megan
My kids and I have played with the new EV3 for a whole weekend. We've only built two robots and have otherwise experimented with the set.

Pros:
- Android interface is very good. Not only can you control any of the five stock robots out of the box there is a nice interface for building controls for your own creations. This means no figuring out how to control things! It just works.
- Easy to build with a good selection of parts
- Nice techy look. My kids built some spaceships while I built one of the harder, non-stock robots.
- Easy to program. We used one of the downloadable extra robots and its code, but then used that to make our own modifications. That makes it easy to start off with someone else's code and then later try to do all your own.
- Bluetooth works relatively easily. I had troubles at first but now it works fine. Don't mistakenly tick the box for iPhone thinking they mean any phone. Leave that unticked if you're using Android.
- After your initial five robots there are several great downloadable robot instruction sets.

Cons:
- No built-in wifi. This really should have been built in.
- Cable is mini USB instead of micro USB.
- Long bootup and shutdown time. This is likely because the brick runs a full Linux build running on a slower chipset. Takes time.

I have a five year old who likes to play with the original Mindstorms and an eight year old who prefers normal lego. They were both interested in the look and style of the new set. The younger one built something with interlocking gears and the older one used the new wing shapes to make some cool ships.

Once you get the lay of the land you'll find that this is very easy to use. You have to download the software from the website - there is no CD. However I tend to throw away CDs and do that anyway. The book only covers the first basic tracked robot but that is fine. All the rest of the builds require a computer. You'll likely have a computer anyway to use this so that is fine. However I find that it excels if you use a phone. The EV3 app makes control a snap.

I've not tried to program from the brick yet. It looks difficult and a bit confusing. To program from a PC, if you've not done it before, you may want to purchase a book to learn what to do. There are some videos online to help learn how to program too.

28 of 32 people found the following review helpful.
Father-Son awesome-ness
By Hubitron
My son just turned 6, and he's been completely crazy about robots (and rocket-ships too, but that's another review) for the last 6 months. I spent the summer researching what the best thing to get would be that would not be a let-down (either too difficult, or too content-free). I settled on this, and waited impatiently for the release on Sept. 1.

This "toy" is amazing. I can't think of any toy I've ever purchased that lived up to and then beyond my expectations. We've only built one robot so far (the track3r), but after we figured out some of the basic programming, we performed our own mod - attaching all the sensors on it, and writing a very simple screen-wide program to make a more functional robot. Our creation rolls until it is near a wall, then turns to avoid it. It senses the color of the floor it's rolling over, and spins it's "blade of doom" with anger if the floor is red. It plays a silly sound file we made if you sneak up behind it and touch its "behind." The first robot took only 1.5 hours to build (and he did the whole thing while I just supervised). Our modifications took another 40 mins or so. I spent a small amount of time on my own figuring out the programming syntax so we wouldn't have too much dead time while working on it together - it ended up being clear enough so that I didn't need to turn to the documentation.

End of story: this kit allows you to do some real robotics and real programming in a way that's deliriously fun and easy. In only a few hours, we've been able to learn enough to create a device with pretty incredible functionality. Being built on an open source linux platform, it seems the sky is the limit so far as future customization is concerned. We've got a raspberry pi we hope to someday couple with the brick when we feel we've exhausted the capabilities that lego provides in its hardware and software - lots of room to grow into this product. For now we're more than happy with what we've got.

Is it pricey? Sure. However, for the functionality it provides it's an enormous bargain compared with other similar products I came across in my research.

See all 41 customer reviews...