[Gdeaver]

On the LEGO NXT web site there is a link to some downloads for the schematics and some low level docs on the interface.

I believe that a graphical programming environment is an excellent way to bring a larger population of students in to programming. My experience over the years has led me to believe that only 10 to 20 percent of the general population have brains wired that allow them to be natural programmers. A larger percent can learn to program, but they really struggle to master the basic abilities. I've noticed that the more visual and graphical the programming environment the easier it is to get the "programming challenged" going. This is especially true when the graphical objects refer to real world objects. The NI cRio and Labview system at the low level are much more complex than our previous controller. I worry that if you EE and professional programmers attack the programming of our new system in c-c++ you will alienate a large percentage of our students. I submit that First and our society in general would be better served if you elite programmers focus your immense skill base on abstracting our new system to a high level graphical object system where we concentrate on robot behavior and algorithms instead of low level constructs. If it is done right there will be layers that that students can peel back and expose the complexity as they become more proficient. Automation and connectivity are rapidly permeating our society. In the future we will need a very large work force to service all the automation. This will never happen unless you professionals start designing system the Rest of society can deal with.