LEGO MINDSTORMS NXT Thinking Robots
—New from No Starch Press
New book shows how to build robots that solve a Rubik's Cube and play tic-tac-toe

San Francisco, CA, December 15, 2009—For years No Starch Press has led the market with the best-selling titles on the LEGO® MINDSTORMS® NXT sets, most recently with The Unofficial LEGO MINDSTORMS NXT Inventor's Guide.

Next up is their latest offering, LEGO MINDSTORMS NXT Thinking Robots (No Starch Press, Dec 09, 224 pp., $29.95, ISBN 9781593272166), an intriguing new title that shows how to build a tic-tac-toe playing robot and one that actually solves a Rubik's Cube®. Readers will find detailed, step-by-step instructions for building each model with either the original NXT or the NXT 2.0 set, as well as a discussion of how each robot works, how they "think," and how to play with them.

While these robots play games, they're not child's play. "LEGO can be pretty serious," said No Starch Press Founder Bill Pollock. "The two robots in this book are captivating, complex, and challenging, but I'm sure that any effort expended will be amply rewarded."

In addition to the book's step-by-step building instructions, readers learn how to:

• Control, calibrate, and troubleshoot their robots for best performance
• Understand the game theory behind tic-tac-toe
• Solve a Rubik's Cube with the book's One-Armed Wonder
• Better understand artificial intelligence as it relates to robotics, problem solving, and game theory

LEGO MINDSTORMS NXT Thinking Robots is serious fun that promises hours of intrigue and challenge. Whether readers are casual builders or serious robotics hobbyists, they're sure to find excitement in LEGO MINDSTORMS NXT Thinking Robots.

For more information or to request a review copy of LEGO MINDSTORMS NXT Thinking Robots, contact Travis Peterson at No Starch Press ([email protected], +1.415.863.9900, x300), or visit www.nostarch.com.

About the Authors
Daniele Benedettelli is known worldwide for his original LEGO robots, including the LEGO Rubik Utopia (a Rubik's Cube solver) and JohnNXT 5 (based on the robot in the movie Short Circuit). He is a member of the MINDSTORMS Developer Program (MDP) and the MINDSTORMS Community Partners (MCP), groups that help the LEGO Company test and develop new NXT products. He holds a master's degree in Robotics and Automation from the University of Siena (Italy) and is the author of Creating Cool MINDSTORMS NXT Robots (Apress, 2008). In his spare time, Benedettelli enjoys composing music.

Additional Resources

• Chapter 2, "The TTT Tickler: A Tic-Tac-Toe Player" and an excerpt from Chapter 3, "Building the TTT Tickler with the Original NXT Set" (PDF)
• Table of contents overview
• Detailed table of contents (PDF)
• Index (PDF)
• Large cover image

Available in fine bookstores everywhere, from www.oreilly.com/nostarch, or directly from No Starch Press (http://www.nostarch.com, [email protected], 1-800-420-7240).

About No Starch Press
Founded in 1994, No Starch Press is one of the few remaining independent computer book publishers. We publish the finest in geek entertainment—unique books on technology, with a focus on open source, security, hacking, programming, alternative operating systems, and LEGO. Our titles have personality, our authors are passionate, and our books tackle topics that people care about. Visit http://www.nostarch.com for a complete catalog.

About O'Reilly
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