1 NXT, 5 Motors

Mindsensors is developing a new multiplexer which allows to connect 2 extra engines to the NXT. It is a complex device that has its own built-in controller and needs a seperate power supply. How does it work ? You connect it to any of the NXT sensor ports for the communication, connect 1 or 2 engines to the multipler and hook up the batterypack with 6AA batteries. To control the engines you need software that can be downloaded from the Mindsensors website, including some test programs. Controlling the engines is pretty similar to controlling the standard engines because the microcontroller on the multiplexer handles the intelligent part. It reads the motor encoders and therefore allows you to accurately control the number of rotations, time, speed of any of the engines. Furthermore you can still connect a sensor to the port, since the multiplexer has a pass-through connector that allows you to add an I²C connector to that same port. Pretty neat !

Here is a little video that was meant as a teaser