NXT Golf
Project Summary
We wanted to show the science behind the popular computer games which use wireless sensors to sense motion. We used a Vernier Low-g Accelerometer and a LEGO® MINDSTORMS® NXT connected over Bluetooth to a computer running LabVIEW.
Project Description
Students love using computer games that sense motion and simulate sports on the computer screen. We can show students some of the science behind these fascinating games and perhaps motivate them to learn more about science and engineering.
We used a LEGO NXT and a computer with LabVIEW and a wireless Bluetooth connection. Using a Vernier Low-g Accelerometer, we collected acceleration data during a golf swing and then quickly integrated the data to produce a velocity-versus-time graph. We used peak-finding algorithms to find the maximum club speed to simulate the ball's motion. With a little practice, you can score a hole-in-one on the LabVIEW Golf Simulator.
Demo Movie
Project Downloads
- NXT Sensor Adapter LabVIEW Toolkit »
- Download the NXT Golf LabVIEW VI »
- Download the NXT Golf MINDSTORMS NXT program and Windows stand alone application »
- Download the NXT Golf building instructions (HTML format) »
- Download the NXT Golf building instructions (LEGO digital designer format) »
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