Microcontroller to put Lego robot in space

A Hitachi product story

Edited by the Electronicstalk editorial team Oct 2, 2001

Hitachi's H8 microcontroller is powering a Lego Company design competition to develop a working robot that can be used in space.

Hitachi's H8 microcontroller is powering a Lego Company design competition to develop a working robot that can be used in space.

The robot will be built using the Lego Mindstorms Robotics Invention System, which is based on the Hitachi microcontroller, and will be expected to undertake useful tasks in a weightless environment.

The winning inventor will watch the robot being sent into space and actually operating onboard the International Space Station.

The Lego Company Ultimate Builder Competition is open to challengers from Germany, Austria and Switzerland.

The top 10 designs will be nominated and built in September and the winner chosen from these on 11th October.

The winning robot will be launched into space from Russia on 15th November.

Hitachi's H8 microcontroller is incorporated in the Lego RCX microcomputer, providing the brains for the Lego Mindstorms Robotics Invention System.

With a high performance H8 CPU core, the microcontroller enables the developer to create a wide range of machines.

Past winners of the Lego Mindstorms contest have created robots as diverse as a mechanical arm, a black jack player and a toilet scrubber.

"We're delighted to be working with Lego Company to inspire the next generation of electronics engineers", said Graeme Clark, Product Marketing Engineer at Hitachi.

"With our H8 microcontroller at its heart, the Lego Mindstorms product will enable the creation of robots that are able to master a multitude of tasks in space".

As well as the RCX, over 700 elements are included in the Lego Mindstorms Robotics Invention System, such as light and touch sensors, motors, gears and bricks.

The RCX can be programmed using a PC and processes data about the robot's environment, taken using the sensors, as well as signalling output motors to turn on and off.

This allows the robot to interact with its environment independently from the computer.