The LEGO MINDSTORMS EV3 system makes it easy for anyone to build and control robots. LEGO's block-based, colorful EV3 programming language is fine for first-timers, but it has more powerful features than you might think.

In the new book, "The Art of LEGO MINDSTORMS EV3 Programming" ((No Starch Press, $34.95, 276 pages), software engineer Terry Griffin offers an in-depth guide to the EV3 language. The book teaches readers the basic building blocks and then launches into more sophisticated programs. Readers begin by writing functions that control their robots' movement, sensors, and sounds and then move on to programming more complex behaviors that allow their robots to follow lines, detect objects, and navigate mazes.

In "The Art of LEGO MINDSTORMS EV3 Programming,"readers learn how to: make robots react to different environments; program robots to navigate through a maze by following its walls; control robots with dials and sensors; create devices like a sound generator and a sketchpad; and use arrays to program a Simon Says–style game.

Griffin has been a software engineer for over 20 years and has spent most of that time creating software to control various types of machines. He works for Carl Zeiss SMT on the ORION Helium Ion Microscope, programming the user interface and high-level control software.

For more information about the book, including table of contents, author bios, and cover graphic, go to http://tinyurl.com/knemkzl .