Hacking Roomba

Title:

Hacking Roomba

Personal Author:

Kurt, Tod E., 1969-

Publication Information:

Indianapolis, IN : Wiley Technology Pub., 2007

ISBN:

9780470072714

Subject Term:

Robots -- Programming

Roomba vacuum cleaner

Autonomous robots

Mobile robots

Available:*

Library	Item Barcode	Call Number	Material Type	Item Category 1	Status
Searching... PSZ JB	30000010128021	TJ211.45 K87 2007	Open Access Book	Book	Searching... Unknown
Searching... PSZ KL	30000010128022	TJ211.45 K87 2007	Open Access Book	Book	Searching... Unknown

A gizmo as cool as Roomba just begs to be hacked. Now, with this book and the official ROI specification furnished by iRobot®, you can become the robotic engineer you've always dreamed of being. Build a Bluetooth interface for your Roomba. Turn it into an artist. Install Linux on it and give it a new brain. Some hacks are functional, others are purely fun. All of them let you play with robotics, and not one will void your warranty.

Build a serial interface tether. Set up a Bluetooth® interface. Drive Roomba. Play with sensors. Make it sing. Create a Roomba artist. Use your Roomba as a mouse. Connect Roomba to the Net. Wi-Fi your Roomba. Replace Roomba's brain. Install Roomba-cam. Put Linux® on Roomba. Features a companion Web site.

All this ? and it will still clean your floor!

Get the official iRobot Roomba Open Interface (ROI) specification and all code presented in the book in ready-to-run form at wiley.com/go/extremetech .

Author Notes

Tod E. Kurt has engineered hardware and software for robotic camera systems that went to Mars. Although he has degrees in electrical engineering and physics, Tod's career as a robotics hacker really began when he took apart his BigTrak, radio-controlled car, and chemistry set box to build an upright programmable robot when he was 12.

Acknowledgments	p. xi
Introduction	p. xiii
Part 1 Interfacing
Chapter 1 Getting Started with Roomba	p. 3
Quick Start	p. 3
What Is Roomba?	p. 3
Which Roomba Cleaners Are Hackable?	p. 5
Internal and External Components	p. 13
OSMO//hacker: Hope for Older Third Generation Roombas	p. 16
Summary	p. 17
Chapter 2 Interfacing Basics	p. 19
What Can Be Done with the ROI?	p. 19
The ROI Connector	p. 21
The ROI Protocol	p. 24
Introducing the RoombaComm API	p. 39
Summary	p. 40
Chapter 3 Building a Roomba Serial Interface Tether	p. 41
Alternatives	p. 41
Parts and Tools	p. 43
The Circuit	p. 44
Building the Serial Tether	p. 48
Connecting to a Computer	p. 56
Commanding Roomba	p. 62
Summary	p. 63
Chapter 4 Building a Roomba Bluetooth Interface	p. 65
Alternatives	p. 65
Why Bluetooth?	p. 66
How Bluetooth Works	p. 67
Parts and Tools	p. 68
The Circuit	p. 70
Building the Bluetooth Adapter	p. 71
Setting Up Bluetooth	p. 78
Testing Bluetooth	p. 83
Using the Adapter	p. 83
Making RoombaComm	p. 84
Summary	p. 88
Chapter 5 Driving Roomba	p. 89
The Roomba Motors and Drive Train	p. 89
The ROI Drive Command	p. 92
Simple Tank-Like Motion	p. 98
Moving in Curves	p. 102
Real-Time Driving	p. 104
Writing Logo-Like Programs	p. 107
Summary	p. 108
Chapter 6 Reading the Roomba Sensors	p. 109
Roomba Sensors	p. 109
ROI Sensors Command	p. 115
Parsing Sensor Data	p. 118
Using Sensor Data	p. 121
BumpTurn: Making an Autonomous Roomba	p. 122
Measuring Distance and Angle	p. 124
Spying on Roomba	p. 126
Summary	p. 127
Part II Fun Things to Do
Chapter 7 Making RoombaView	p. 131
About Processing	p. 131
Using RoombaComm in Processing	p. 136
Designing RoombaView	p. 140
Summary	p. 150
Chapter 8 Making Roomba Sing	p. 151
Sonic Capabilities of Roomba	p. 151
ROI Song and Play Commands	p. 154
Playing Roomba as a Live Instrument	p. 157
Roomba Ringtones	p. 159
RoombaMidi: Roomba as MIDI Instrument	p. 161
Summary	p. 166
Chapter 9 Creating Art with Roomba	p. 167
Can Robots Create Art?	p. 168
Parts and Tools	p. 168
Adding a Paintbrush to Roomba	p. 170
What Are Spiral Equations?	p. 178
Drawing Spirals with RoombaSpiro	p. 184
Summary	p. 187
Chapter 10 Using Roomba as an Input Device	p. 189
Ways to Use the Roomba's Sensors	p. 189
Using Roomba as a Mouse	p. 190
Using Roomba as a Theremin	p. 194
Turning Roomba into an Alarm Clock	p. 200
Summary	p. 202
Part III More Complex Interfacing
Chapter 11 Connecting Roomba to the Internet	p. 205
Why Ethernet?	p. 205
What Is Ethernet?	p. 206
Parts and Tools	p. 207
SitePlayer Telnet	p. 208
Lantronix XPort	p. 222
Modifying RoombaComm for the Net	p. 225
Summary	p. 228
Chapter 12 Going Wireless with Wi-Fi	p. 231
Understanding Wi-Fi	p. 232
Parts and Tools	p. 236
Building the Roomba Wi-Fi Adapter	p. 241
Controlling Roomba through a Web Page	p. 248
Putting It All Together	p. 253
Going Further with Lamp	p. 255
Summary	p. 255
Chapter 13 Giving Roomba a New Brain and Senses	p. 257
Microcontroller vs. Microprocessor	p. 257
Parts and Tools	p. 258
Adding a New Brain with the Basic Stamp	p. 261
Adding a New Roomba Brain with Arduino	p. 276
Summary	p. 294
Chapter 14 Putting Linux on Roomba	p. 297
Linux on Roomba?	p. 298
Parts and Tools	p. 303
Installing OpenWrt	p. 305
Controlling Roomba in OpenWrt	p. 316
Making It All Truly Wireless	p. 325
Summary	p. 331
Chapter 15 RoombaCam: Adding Eyes to Roomba	p. 333
Parts and Tools	p. 334
Upgrading the Brain	p. 334
Controlling Roomba from C	p. 346
Putting It All Together	p. 352
Summary	p. 363
Chapter 16 Other Projects	p. 365
Autonomous Roombas	p. 365
Roomba Costumes and Personalities	p. 370
Roomba APIs and Applications	p. 372
Warranty-Voiding Hacks	p. 375
Summary	p. 381
Appendix A Soldering and Safety Basics	p. 383
Appendix B Electrical Diagram Schematics	p. 405
Appendix C iRobot Roomba Open Interface (ROI) Specification	p. 415
Index	p. 427

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Summary

Summary

Author Notes

Table of Contents