LEGO Mindstorms: EV3 versus NXT 2.0 A Laboratory Study in an Introduction to Engineering Course

The LEGO Mindstorms NXT programmable robotics kit has been a successful tool for enriching K-12 math and science education and for improving recruitment and retention in college-level engineering programs since it was released in late July 2006.Many educational research papers have shown positive results from integrating the LEGO Mindstorms NXT robotics kits into appropriate engineering courses.At our university, the LEGO Mindstorms NXT robotics kits were first introduced to the Introduction to Robotics course in 2006 and since then have played a key role in the first-year Introduction to Engineering course through a robotics mini-lab.They also helped to engage local K-12 students through various outreach programs.In addition, the Mindstorms NXT kits were used in some higher level undergraduate engineering courses like Industrial Robotics and Senior Design Projects.There, students used LabVIEW to program the robots.Complex tasks, however, were not achievable due to the NXTs" memory size limitations.Also, since last year, more frequent hardware failures have occurred in these robotic kits and some of the programmable bricks need to be replaced.The September 2013 release of the new LEGO Mindstorms EV3 robotics kits overcame these issues.It includes a new programmable brick with improved technology (e.g., a faster processor, more memory, a new programming environment, etc.).Consequently, the new LEGO Mindstorms EV3 became a possible choice for upgrading the current lab to a new platform.According to ABET Criterion 3, Student Outcomes k, engineering graduates should be able to "use the techniques, skills, and modern engineering tools necessary for engineering practice."We therefore decided to evaluate students' acceptance of this new, latest technology, engineering tool.In the Fall 2013 semester, three new LEGO Mindstorms EV3s were used in the Introduction to Engineering course.The same mini-lab tasks on robotics were given to students, some using the NXTs and others using the EV3s.An end-oflab survey was developed, administered, and assessed.The survey results were quite positive and the students preferred to have the more powerful EV3s in the lab.