There are a few steps you will need to follow in order to make a fresh, out of the box EV3 'ROBOTC-Ready'. This guide will walk you through the process of configuring your EV3 for use with ROBOTC.
Download ROBOTC for LEGO MINDSTORMS 4.56.0.9134 from our software library for free. The following versions: 4.1, 3.0 and 2.0 are the most frequently downloaded ones by the program users. Download software for LEGO® MINDSTORMS® NXT 2.0 right here. Shop Products Support Games LEGO® Life. MINDSTORMS NXT 2.0 – Mac. Instructions for Windows Users. Extract the downloaded.ZIP file into a folder on your computer.
Switch Platform Type to EV3
ROBOTC will launch by default in “NXT” mode. Switching the platform type to “EV3” mode will allow you to program your EV3 brain.
1) To switch platform type, go to the Robot menu and select Platform Type. From there, select LEGO Mindstorms and then choose the LEGO Mindstorms EV3.
Updating EV3 Kernel (Operating System)
Before you can use your EV3 with ROBOTC, you’ll need to upgrade your EV3’s Firmware Image. This Firmware Image (1.05X) will be compatible with ROBOTC, LabVIEW and the EV3 Programming Language from LEGO. Firmware downloading takes about 5-6 minutes to complete.
Note:
Your EV3 brick must be connected to the computer via USB. This operation is not supported over WiFi or Bluetooth.
1) Under the Robot menu, select the Download EV3 Linux Kernel option. Choose the Standard File option to being the firmware upgrade process.
2) The “Entering Kernel Firmware Download Mode” is when the EV3 is switching from “run” mode to “bootload” mode. This may take 5-10 seconds to switch. If you get an error message from this point, simply try the upgrade again and it should be successful.
3) The next step is to erase the EV3. This takes about 2-3 minutes.
4) Once the EV3 is erased, the new firmware/kernel is downloaded. This also takes 2-3 minutes.
5) Once the firmware is updated, the EV3 will reboot and be ready for use. ROBOTC will report to you when the EV3 has finished booting up.
Install ROBOTC Firmware
Labview For Lego Mindstorms Download
Once the EV3 Firmware/Kernel has been updated, you’re ready to install the ROBOTC Virtual Machine (VM) to enable you to program your EV3 with ROBOTC.
1) To install the ROBOTC VM, open the Robot menu and select Download Firmware. From here, select Standard File and the firmware download process will begin.
2) Unlike the Firmware/Kernel, the ROBOTC VM only takes about 5 seconds to install.
Lego Mindstorms Programming
I found one of the original Lego Mindstorms kits at a garage sale and I had to buy it. I have wanted one of these for a while, but I never got around to buying one. Now that they are somewhat antiquated, you can usually pick them up pretty cheaply. Because these sets are nearly 20 years old, there are usually some problems, so once I got my set working I thought I would document the process for others to follow.
The main problem with Mindstorms RCX is the lack of support from Lego for these old sets. According to what I have read and some experience, the sets only really work well under Windows 98. People found ways to make them work under heavily patched copies of Windows XP, but since Microsoft no longer supports XP and the patches from Lego aren't available anymore, I had to find an alternative to the Lego software.
There are still a few sites around that support the original Mindstorms RCX sets, but they are disappearing and the information on them is less valuable as we move away from the versions of Windows that were supported. There are still a handful of good sites out there and they may not be maintained, but you can use the Wayback Machine to read the pages they used to link to.