Roomba + Tablet PC = ?

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Posted by ryuzaki0 on Sunday February 29, 2004 @04:52AM from the because-you-can dept.

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 ;-]"

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cost by Anonymous Coward · 2004-02-29 04:55 · Score: 4, Insightful

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.
1. Re:cost by toesate · 2004-02-29 05:16 · Score: 5, Insightful
  
  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..
  
  --
  Hey, that's my password you are typing
Function? by KingDaveRa · 2004-02-29 04:55 · Score: 4, Insightful

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? by Ianoo · 2004-02-29 04:58 · Score: 5, Insightful

...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.
What is significant about it? by xanthines-R-yummy · 2004-02-29 05:05 · Score: 5, Insightful

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!
1. Re:What is significant about it? by Kierthos · 2004-02-29 05:13 · Score: 4, Insightful
  
  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
  
  --
  Mr. Hu is not a ninja.
Great project for old Palm Pilot? by vjlen · 2004-02-29 05:25 · Score: 5, Insightful

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? by NSash · 2004-02-29 05:35 · Score: 4, Insightful

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...