PriNXT is a clever name given to the NXT printer that is ready to amaze the world after its long wait. The most amazing fact is that it has been crafted by a 14 years old Lego hacker Leon Overweel. The basic working of the printer is managed by three motors, out of which two are used to control the X and Y motion and third helps in lifting its pen for printing.
The printer also features four types of sensors, two touch, one light and one color. The touch sensor tells printer to start the drawing by calibrating the robot. The light sensor moves pen up and down with the beam of light and color sensors are used for the designing part. The image processing of the printer is quite efficient as it could be used to draw complex pictures as well. Overweel converted source image file to binary file of 0’s and 1’s using Paint.NET. This code is then imported into RobotC, a developed environment based on C programming language that controls Lego Mindstrom NXT robots. This is how the printer works.
PriNXT is a hi-tech blend of innovative designing and creative image processing with complex programming code trying to create commendable image quality. Creating this project was quite challenging as using light and touch sensors for moving pen up and down wasn’t an easy task, but Overweel’s dedication and enthusiasm made it possible and practical.
Via: World of Mindstorms