Brick Sorter #5

The original NXT set didn't have a color sensor, which is a limiting factor for building brick sorters. The sorter #4 approach did work, but a real color sensor would be more reliable. The "Extreme NXT: Extending the LEGO MINDSTORMS NXT to the Next Level" book had instructions to create your own color sensor for the NXT. Not being very used to electronics, I thought it would be a fun challenge to create my own color sensor. The descriptions and diagram in the book were clear and easy to follow. The result of my color sensor can be seen below. The robot was designed in May 2008.

Other than the color sensor, there isn't much special in this sorter. It is slightly different than the other sorters due to its way for sorting bricks. One arm picks a brick up, scans the color, turns around and drops the brick somewhere, depending on its color.

Other brick sorters in this series:

Every time I created a new brick sorter, I tried to tackle a new design challenge, for example by adding a new functionality, or to make the robot more reliable. Follow the links below, and read the pages in order to learn about my findings in the design process.

• Brick sorter #1: July 2006 (original design; 3 colors, 1 size)
• Brick sorter #2: December 2006 (3 colors, 2 sizes)
• Brick sorter 8527 (#3): March 2007 (NXT 1.0 only, 3 colors, 1 size)
• Brick sorter #4: July 2007 (5 colors, 2 size)
• Brick sorter #5: May 2008 (Custom color sensor, 6 colors, 1 size)
• Hybrid Brick Sorter (#6): June 2009 (NXT 2.0 Only, up to 6 colors, 1 size)

The color sensor

Video