Mac Book Pro as Roomba Remote

adelord writes "Alpha Geeks have a new do-it-yourself project to terrorize the cat with: use Perl with a MacBook Pro's Sudden Motion Sensor to control a Roomba. Wired's Cult of Mac cites the original site which has other fun ways to pimp your Roomba . This gets my award for most inefficient use of tech, time, and training for the week. It won't freak out her cat nearly as much as a RoboRaptor on Roam mode. "

Comments

It's a Mac article

[BadAnalogyGuy]

It's a Mac article, but there's so much text-based scripting my head asplode.

Re:It's a Mac article

[prencher]

However many times I read this comment it refuses to make any sense to me.

Re:It's a Mac article

[adelord]

However many times I read this comment it refuses to make any sense to me.

Try to type a first post after your head has "asploded"- it can't be easy.

I had to check it out ...

[joe 155]

A roomba is an automatic hoover,

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roomba

Re:I had to check it out ...

[kelzer]

To me, a vacuum is not a cleaning appliance, but the reason people would explode if they were in space without a spacesuit.

You spelled "asplode" wrong.

I can see this

[joshetc]

As a viable, inexpensive alternative for the general public to control their Roombas

Re:I can see this

[pimpimpim]

Alternative to what? kicking your roomba in the right direction? Really, what do you mean, are there any other roomba remote control options that cost even more than a $2000 Macbook? :)

Re:I can see this

[I Like Pudding]

Yes. A 3000$ MacBook Pro.

Palm Pilots are Great Roomba Pilots, too!

[FunkeyMonk]

This isn't my own work, but I use my Palm Pilot to control my Roomba!

Download codes here: http://www.remotecentral.com/cgi-bin/search/search .cgi?Match=1&Terms=roomba

Robotic Cat Toy

[da5idnetlimit.com]

As this part of the story is the only one that is remotely of interest to me (Mac Controlled Roomba ! Wow ! at last ! my dreams are fulfilled ! and I can now die at peace knowing humanity has reached its peak !)

Do any of you know of a robotic toy to amuse the cat ? The Roboraptor Robotic Dinosaur is very nice, but it lacks the ability to going back on its feets on its own. Knowing my cat, I think i'd have to reset it upright every 5/10 seconds.

I'm looking at something that could be "autonomous", can stand upright by itself, and is more or less cat-proof so my cat can have something to play with while I'm at work.

I thought about robotic insects that look for dark places and are shy of movements, but don't really want cockroachs at home, even robotic ones.

So, any Idea ? (except of course a mac controlled Roomba, please...)

D.

Re:Robotic Cat Toy

[businessnerd]

I've got a great do-it-yourself robotic cat toy that will keep your cat occupied for hours on end.

All you have to do is tie a piece of string from a ceiling fan and turn the fan on the low setting. The string should be long enough so that it touches the ground when hanging from the fan.

Cat's are notorious for rejecting any "toy" that cost you money unless it is laced with massive amounts of catnip.

Re:Robotic Cat Toy

[g1zmo]

Another cat?

What about the Wii remote?

[manfredz]

Wouldn't the Wii remote be a great remote for the Roomba? Image what you can do with the Nunchuk :-)

Who cares about the Roomba anyway?

[ewilts]

My Roomba was great when it worked. It's now been acting as a doorstop for the last 2 months while iRobot tries to find a friggin' battery. Yup, deader than a doornail, they've acknowledged the battery needs to be replaced under warranty, but they keep saying they're back-ordered. They're still selling new ones (and I assume they have batteries) but they're screwing their existing customers. I've recommended the Roomba to a bunch of people that have bought one but am now telling everybody who will listen to avoid the company. Avoid them until they can get their act together! .../Ed