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LEGO MINDSTORMS Robot Inventor

Mini Loader

This little Mini Loader robot has a lift with a scoop on it that can scoop up balls, lift and carry them, and dump them. You can scoop up the large ball, or the small ball and black skid wheels, directly from the ground with the help of two backstops that keep the balls from rolling away. The lift can carry and dump the parts at two different heights. 


You can drive the robot and operate the lift and scoop by remote control, or try one of the two autonomous programs, which uses the distance sensor to find the backstops and the goal.

Building Instructions

Mini Loader

Small Parts Backstop

Large Ball Backstop

High Goal

Programming

There is a remote control (RC) program and two autonomous programs. See the set up images for each autonomous program. 

A Problem to Solve

A weakness with this robot is that the scoop is only able to pick up parts from the center of the scoop  where there is a thin leading edge. Parts can also get stuck between the sides of the scoop and the backstop, preventing it from picking up any parts. There may not be any LEGO parts in the kit that can solve this, but can you modify the scoop or make a different one, using thin cardboard or something that will work better, especially on small parts?

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