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Roomba + Wii remote + Perl = Awesome

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the when-buzzword-compliance-is-a-good-thing dept.

Anonymous Wii Lov'n Coward writes "Check out the WiiRoomba, a mashup using a Wii remote, a perl script, and the Darwiin Remote software. While a little sluggish to respond, the Roomba is entirely controlled by the Wii remote accelerometers." All of the source code to do it yourself is available at the site linked, along with a youtube video of how it works.

7 of 175 comments (clear)

  1. Strange by Cytlid · · Score: 5, Funny

    This is like an odd parallel universe movie where a younger Matt Damon controls his vacuum with a remote control.

    --
    FLR
  2. Cool hack, but by Oddster · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Isn't the point of the Roomba that it doesn't need control?

    Although I suppose it would be really useful if you added a servo arm, and could use the contraption to get yourself a beer without leaving your chair.

  3. Spoiler by Nerdfest · · Score: 5, Funny

    It sucks.

  4. Good Will by huper · · Score: 5, Funny

    My boy is wicked smart!

  5. It's only a question of time now. by gijoel · · Score: 5, Funny

    Before they REBEL!

  6. Re:Why Perl? by bockelboy · · Score: 5, Informative
    Wouldn't Java be better suited for this?

    No offense, but Java would be a particularly bad choice for this application. The real work done here is "gluing" two things together at a system level - the Roomba program and the Wii program. Java is uniquely miserable at interacting on the system level. Where Java excels is object-oriented architectural design and huge enterprise-level programs.

    So, if you want a scalable application server, use Java. If you need to tie two programs together, use a scripting language like Python or Perl. If you know you can limit yourself to a Unix shell environment, Perl may be best (and this is from a Python junkie!)
  7. "mashup" by sinserve · · Score: 5, Insightful

    What is this trendy-word shit? MASHUP? Who the fuck came up with this word? In multimedia we already had "remixing" and "sampling".

    Hardware and software can not "mashup", they're "coupled" or "integrated" in manager-speak, but in honest everyday speak hardware is "driven" or "controlled" or "interfaced" with software.

    It could have been "controling roomba with wii remote". Perl would never show up in the headline because software drivers are no often given banner credit. They're expected to work.