[Eric Steenstra], from the Netherlands, decided to build a GoKart entirely from LEGO Mindstorm parts. Tested at being able to carry just over 100Kg in weight, a 16 stone man(224 lbs). This GoKart can easily carry a child and propel him along. Eric used 48 stock Mindstorm motors, geared down, and 16 battery packs to provide a balance between torque and speed.
This vehicle doesn’t expect to win any races in the speed department. From the point of view of being something different this wins hands down. The Karts first test drive was only two weeks ago so drivability and durability are still under development at this stage. See the video after the break on this monstrous Mindstorms creation.
via[Make]
Way cool!
Probably costs a small fortune to build such a device.
Woah! That’s awesome! Any chance we can have a look at the transmission?
This is seriously beautiful work. I hope it shows many people just how powerful modular design can be. I envision homes, cars, and other large objects being made by truly modular techniques to cut manufacturing waste and expense and make a more dependable summary part.
That kid in the video doesn’t look happy at all.
He doesn’t have any Legos left!
OR… that kid is old enough not to enjoy Lego. It shows that he quickly ran when his Dad turned off the motors.
“OR… that kid is not old enough to enjoy Lego”
Here, fixed it for you
I love how the gears start slipping and pieces start falling off when it hits the carpet ;-)
Quite the creation!
Meh.
Legos are to real engineering/design/fabrication/construction, as paint by numbers is to real art.
Fine for little kids to learn with, but just plain embarrassing that adults wet themselves over a glorified puzzle set.
he is NOT trying to re-engineer the car, or even a new kind of car. DUHHH
he just wanted to see if a car could be made with lego and made to actually WORK, kudos to him.
you have some serious problems if you think he is comparing real engineer work to playing at home and doing DIY. he had fun and prouved it COULD be done.
we all already know its not cheaper, or faster, or better, or any some *((%^*& you can come up with.
HE HAD FUN! and so do most of us reading about it.
if you despise reading about hack-y projects, then GTFO off of OUR site and go read some mainstream BS
PS: only being able to “paint by numbers” can be fun for the people that cant do real art. it means they are non-artistic. which is NOT a bad thing. YOU, on the other hand, are a jackass for pointing it out.
PPS: some people resort to kid’s toys to fight boredom, and thats okay. some people resort to trolling, and that is called being a bully
nobody likes bullies
I love how opinions that don’t match your own are now called trolls.
If you can’t discuss your opinions, what reason is there to have comments?
By your logic, assembling a puzzle would be called “building something” and worthy of HAD coverage.
This guy snapped together a bunch of overpriced plastic parts that kind of resembled a semi-working gokart. Big freaking deal. Next time build a REAL gokart and then maybe you’ll impress people with your skills. Even the kid in the video knew it was just some lame ass lego thing.
We thought it was cool. Hadn’t seen a goKart built from lego. This is just as real as just plopping electronic components together to make a circuit.
No kidding. Some people just can’t enjoy whats in front of them. No matter what you will always have the one person that has to whine and bitch about something they don’t like. This is his opinion though no matter how you look at it and I don’t see a problem with writing ones opinion…but lets keep it civil at least.
>Next time build a REAL gokart…
Funny, he did that THIS time, using Legos. So it has its problems, it’s amazing that he was able to make it at all.
And to extend Vonskippy’s analogy, this is a bit more like buying several hundred puzzles and combining them all into a self portrait. That would be cool to look at too.
Just a handy tip: you make yourself sound like you have no idea what you’re talking about when you use “legos” as a plural form of Lego.
I think it is an interesting engineering challenge to make this work with lego mindstorm parts.
It’s like the concrete canoe races. They are impractical but it forces engineers to be creative.
Building with Lego like painting by numbers? Only if you follow pre-made instructions. Did this guy buy LEGO 666 GoKART kit? No, he built it from scrath. And how different would it be if he bought ready made wheels, motors, gears, tubing for chassi? It would (by your standards) still be just putting a puzzle together. Going back to your painting by numbers analogy – true, Lego can be like it. Only most of the time you have to design the numbered drawing. And that takes skill.
Nice work. Let’s hope Lego uses it for PR and refunds some of the $3200 parts.
1. It’s already losing pieces in the living room, where is it expected to hold up?
2. Damn, that thing flies! I could make it down the block in just under a week!
It’s really not a go kart. It’s the LASA (Lego aeronautics and space administration) crawler transporter.
The poor guitars and bass, thrown into the edge of the room…
Even Spirit or Curiosity run faster than that thing. No wonder the kid looks unhappy. @ 0:18, it sounds like as if some plastic gearwheel is shearing its teeth off, soon later the cart stops. I bet that kid would be happier if dad had bought a welder for his workshop and built him a real cart., would have been cheaper, too.
Amazing. But I would guess it costs more than a brand new car?