[#LEGO] Update, setup and connect Lego #Mindstorms EV3 in #Windows8.1

Hi!

While I’m finishing some materials for the ~~cancelled~~ Kinect webcast for Windows SDK V2 Developer Preview of this afternoon, and other things for the mega event of GuseNet in 2 weeks, I’m playing around with one of my birthday gifts the Lego Mindstorms EV3.

This new version is awesome, has several options for the connection, including a completely autonomous Wi-Fi; in my case I’ll go for the classic and popular connection using Bluetooth. (In this post I explain How to do the same with Lego Mindstorms NXT).

First things first, I’ve to update the Firmware of my Lego Mindstorms EV3. On the home page of Lego Mindstorms I was able to find the firmware versions that Lego releases for the EV3.

From the same location, I downloaded the software to connect and control my EV3 (tip: Silverlight 5 app). So I opened the app “LEGO MINDSTORMS EV3 Home Edition” and in control of the Brick option selected “Firmware Update”. From this same app I can check if my brick has the latest version. In this example, I selected the V1.03H version and updated the brick.

After a few minutes, my brick was updated.

The next thing in the list was try to connect the Lego to my PC via Bluetooth. I updated the default options which in the EV3 and enable the Bluetooth in it. Once enabled, I was able to find the device from Bluetooth in Windows 8.1

At the time of matching the devices, I was requested to pair the using a password.

In the Lego EV3, for I saw the connected computer and also the PassKey for pairing.

Once I’ve paired the devices, the installation of the appropriate drivers for the Lego EV3 was started. In a few minutes I’ve got connected my LEGO and my laptop by Bluetooth.

And finally, in this scenario you need to know which COM port is used for the Bluetooth connection. Here we have to leave the Window Store apps and return to the classics. In the option “Control Panel > Hardware and Sound > Devices and Printers ‘ will find our Lego. In the same properties you will see the port used. In the following picture the example points to the COM3.