New App for LEGO MINDSTORMS! Real programming from an iPad!

[Maureen Reilly]

There is a new app out (maybe two weeks old?) for LEGO MINDSTORMS EV3

https://education.lego.com/en-us/learn/middle-school/mindstorms-ev3/teaching-resources/software/tablet-app

You can program the EV3 from an iPad - great news for schools with 1:1 iPads.

The app has a limited programming palette: motor blocks, full sensor palette, loops, switches, sounds, displays, and lights. It connects to the EV3 brick via bluetooth and displays which block you are on for easy debugging. 

I tested the app with novice and expert MINDSTORMS users at the FIRST World Festival last week. I had children as young as kindergarten programming and iterating with move blocks on a pre-built robot, and FLL teams programming bots with sensors to work their way autonomously through a maze. The app is very sticky, with many kids iterating for nearly and hour before handing the iPad off for other kids to use it. 

You can get the app if you currently own or purchase the LEGO MINDSTORMS Education version of the EV3 Programming software (there is a code you can get off the LEGO Education website). 

There is a retail iPad and Android version of the app in development that will be FREE (launch date unknown).

This is a real game changer for programming with LEGO MINDSTORMS - it allows for a lower entry point, going deeper with fewer blocks and options, and opportunities for layering on complexities with the desktop version of the software.

- Maureen

[Michael Fricano II]

Awesome! Thanks for sharing!