Roomba + Tablet PC = ?

ptorrone writes "Using "off the shelf parts" I have constructed another pretty good mobile robot for my home. A Tablet PC is the brain and the Roomba robot vac is the locomotion. I'm currently working on sending the IR commands from the pc to the Roomba and having the robot "do a tour" and post photos / video automatically to the "roblog" (my robot photo blog). So yah, the Tablet PC sucks ;-]"

Comments

cost

[Anonymous Coward]

this is all great if you're rich, but people like me just don't have $2000 dollars (and let's face it, a tablet pc costs significantly more than a desktop) to more or less throw away (and if you do I have some land in florida to sell you), this is useless. this is one of those rare moments where you're better off buying stuff in the store instead of assembling it yourself.

Re:cost

[toesate]

On a similar note on cost..

Maybe I am thick here, but why use a tablet?

Wouldn't a cheaper notebook, or trashware with LCD panel serve similar purpose?

The upfront economics do not make sense. If someone could elaborate..

Re:cost

[Anonymous Coward]

Why use a tablet? Maybe because he had one lying around. Seems pretty obvious to me. Anybody smart enough to put together a simple robot like this would know that a tablet PC is really overkill for this and wouldn't go and buy one specifically for the purpose. I'm sure that if he had an old laptop he wasn't using he'd have used that instead.

Re:cost

[ericspinder]

The upfront economics do not make sense. If someone could elaborate.

You must be new here...
because it's cool. Many "hack" projects are created not to save money, but to do something orginal, or difficult. If you want to do your "roombot" a little cheaper with an old notebook, more power to you, it might even be a better hack.

I also doubt if he purchased the tablet with this application in mind. He probally just got "tired" of each of those toys. The Roomba, itself isn't all that practical. My Mother has one, and it doesn't suck well, is a tripping hazard when operating, and can't get dirt next to item (like couches, walls, etc.). Also, most people here seem to have little respect for the tablet as well.

Function?

[KingDaveRa]

Just wondering quite what it's meant to do? Its got a tablet PC stuck on top, with a webcam. So where's the story behind it?

Infa-Red?

[Ianoo]

...IR commands from the pc to the Roomba...

Doesn't the tablet have Wi-Fi? Why not use this as your communication medium instead? You wouldn't need to have a line of sight or even write special software (just ssh into the robot and type commands at the console ;)).

Using a suitable video application (streaming server?) it would be possible to look through the webcam and steer around the house. The advantage of using a standard x86 tablet PC are that all of the things you need are already available, and there's very little to "work on".

Very nice idea, though.

Re:Infa-Red?

[Anonymous Coward]

I think they might mean from the tablet to the Roomba, as the Roomba uses IR to tell where walls are and the like (at least thats what the brochure for it seems to say). Although from the pictures it looks like it doesn't have the top on and they might be controlling some of the internals directly.

Re:Infa-Red?

[koreth]

but its just plain easier and quicker to use a real vacuum.

I suppose if you're doing your vacuuming on a tight schedule, but otherwise how is a real vacuum easier than "press a button, leave the room and go do something else"?

Having a Roomba means my floor gets vacuumed every couple of days, rather than every few weeks (and that's when I was feeling especially motivated.) I usually start it going right before I leave for work, so I really don't care how long it takes to cover the entire room.

The only extra work is having to pick stuff up off the floor first, but you have to do that with a regular vacuum too.

Re:Infa-Red?

[jspraul]

maybe because the actual roomba is the one receiving ir commands from the tablet pc? (not that i read the article either)

What is significant about it?

[xanthines-R-yummy]

I'll be the first to admit I'm not an engineer or know anything about robotics, but how is this a significant robot again? I used to build RC cars/trucks and those were controlled by simple electronics which I'm sure could easily be controlled by a computer like a Palm pilot. The tablet PC is pretty cool-looking, but beyond that it doesn't seem to actually do very much. Why does the robot need a big diplay itself? Since it's on a vacuum you'd have to bend over pretty far to see anything on the screen. Or at least I would, because I'm over 6ft tall (183cm)!

Still, it has a pretty high geek-cool factor!

Re:What is significant about it?

[Kierthos]

What I want to know is how is this so different from doing the same thing with Lego Mindstorms? I mean, for the price of the tablet PC and the Roomba, I can buy a lot of Mindstorms kits, and make a Lego-bot that can traverse a house... heck, Lego even had a cheap web cam with one of the kits...

Oh wait, it can't vacuum. That must be it.

Kierthos

Great project for old Palm Pilot?

[vjlen]

I seem to remember a number of Palm robot projects out there. Add a Palm to a Roomba? Could be fun AND cheap.

magnetic fields?

[NSash]

I don't know about this Roomba, but IIRC most vacuum cleaners generate a pretty powerful magnetic field. Might not be the best thing to strap a Tablet PC to...