How to control Roomba via USB or Bluetooth

MAKE blog has a double-dose of infotainment for Roomba owners/lovers: first they show you how to take advantage of the robovac's recently updated firmware to control it and monitor its sensors on a PC via USB, and then they kick it up a notch and mod the rig for wireless control courtesy of Bluetooth. Be forewarned that neither of these builds is for the inexperienced hax0r- you'll need to be pretty handy with a soldering iron, multimeter, and circuit board if you expect to finish successfully. Luckily both mods use the same software, so after you've mastered the tethered connection you can cut up your serial cable and repurpose it for some sweet cellphone control. Props be to SXSW nominee and Engadget main man Phil Torrone for putting this Flickr-annotated project together, and also to iRobot for allowing creative folks to tinker with and improve their products- no doubt we'll be seeing some absolutely sick Roomba-based creations in the near future. Keep on clickin' for a pic of the Bluetooth version...

Read: Wired Control
Read: Wireless Control

[Gem Spa @ Feb 15th 2006 10:22PM]

Um, that's great, really it is, the bluetooth thing. But, uh, the Roomba already comes with a remote.

[AJ @ Feb 15th 2006 10:51PM]

Bluetooth is all well and great but it doesnt have a huge range, if I get the time I might expeiment with getting this working on Wifi, then you could controll your Roomba from anywhere.

[Deluxe @ Feb 16th 2006 1:15AM]

Does anyone else see the pointlessness in controlling something like this from anywhere?

If you need to clean while you're not home, or not going to be home, for some kindof event, chances are there's going to be someone there to switch it on or off.

If no-one's home, and you're gone out, then wouldnt it make more sense to just turn it on before you leave?

And how is your floor going to get dirty while your out, and how would you know if it did?

I'm so confused.

[tcc3 @ Feb 16th 2006 2:32AM]

You guys arent really thinking outside the box. If it can be remote controlled, it can be remote controlled via program. Ive always thought the original roomba was lacking in that it couldnt charge itself and you couldnt program the room into it. The charging thing has been somewhat addressed (though not completly)but being able to program it via pc is a step in the right direction.

[Yugioh @ Feb 16th 2006 3:41AM]

May be this idea is good. But it seem useless.

[Chris McDowell @ Feb 16th 2006 5:06AM]

Yeah I have used my controler once when I pulled it out of the box to play around with it. Not home why care? Unless you have a dog or something and would like to be able to hit the clean button from Hong Kong. But the scheduler will do that....I dont see the reason....Expensive robot that youll need to buy more parts for anyways with a vacuum attatched to the bottom? Just buy a robot kit. I guess this goes under the hacks (Because I can) area.

[Mike K @ Feb 16th 2006 10:03AM]

Reminds me of the old LOGO/Turtle programs. (Did I just date myself?) But like everything else, someone needs this, it's fun to do, and why the hell not?

Forward 50
Right 90
Forward 10

http://el.media.mit.edu/logo-foundation/logo/turtle.html

[Roomba Review @ Feb 16th 2006 11:08AM]

There are many uses for this technology. We have several projects in the works for reprogramming the Roomba in our hacking section:

http://www.roombareview.com/chat

[ryoshi22 @ Feb 16th 2006 11:12PM]

Regarding the 'why', in our project we are attempting to automate and create a computer AI-based home control system at my friend's house. This hack would be interesting to tie into the sensors and systems we are designing into the entire home. And, as #8 mentioned, control it from long-distances, and yes they do have a dog. Wanted to give an example of where this might be useful.

[Tod E. Kurt @ Feb 17th 2006 1:24PM]

#2 (AJ) : The range of these Bluetooth modules is several hundred feet. They have a Class 1 power rating, which means they transmit at 100mW. I've easily managed >50ft.

[robot design @ Feb 27th 2006 7:18PM]

use to bluetooth technology is very cleverly. because is so secure and speed. Bluetooh v2.0 technology is support to speed up to 2.1 Mbps