If you wait long enough dreams can come true. Last week I had a beer with a gentleman from Denmark. It turned into a great conversation about the use of Mindstorms with M2M technologies.

Mindstorms is part of Legos, which is a privately held company. 

While completing our Master’s at NYU Poly I would always be on the elevator with the kids that were using Mindstorms in the lab. While some of the kids were making beer pong robots, the majority had some interesting prototypes they were building. 

While this is a hobbyist experience for many these systems are a great prototyping tool.

M2M is always a diverse group. We have sessions about asset management, agriculture and health. And now we have a robotics session where we will raffle to our delegates a Mindstorm kit. We might even have some adjunct gear.

It turns out that Mindstorms has a lot of community members that are expanding the sensor list beyond the basic five that come with the kit. Additionally the system is being used to help kids learn about green technology and other opportunities. The inventor of the Segway, Dean Kamen started the First Lego League. First Lego League celebrates robotics being built in middle and high schools around the world.

If you go on YouTube (News - Alert) you will find some interesting solutions that are prototypes for a lot of our focus at M2M. For example there is a robotic forklift, a ball sorter, a soduku solver. . 

At the M2M Conference, Mindstorms community will be represented by Steve Barker of Hitechnic. Hitechnic provides additional sensors for the Mindstorms systems that include solutions such as gyroscopes and infrared.  

Here is an offer. If you bring your prototype to the Wireless Robotics session at the M2M Conference, you can come in for free.

I am looking forward to this session and hope you come and join us. 

Want to learn more about M2M technologies? Then be sure to check out the M2M Evolution conference, collocated with TMC’s (News - Alert) ITEXPO East, taking place Feb 2-4, 2011, in Miami. The M2M Evolution Conference is for those industry professionals interested in capitalizing on a rapidly growing segment of the telecom industry. The M2M Evolution Conference embraces the any-to-any strategy of the Internet today. Co-sponsored by TMC Partner Crossfire Media, it showcases the solutions, and examines the data strategies and technological requirements that enterprises and carriers need to capitalize on a market segment that is estimated to grow to $300 Billion in the year ahead. To register, click here.