I am in the process of building an Android-based (and eventually iOS) telepresence robot software platform, currently dubbed myRobot, and one of the planned hardware applications is the Roomba vacuums, which have a serial port that can issue commands and receive data.
In considering how to turn a Roomba into a telepresence Roombot that can carry an Android device, an IOIO controller, and the voltage converter to take the 15.6V of the Roomba Battery to the 5-15V input on the IOIO board, it seemed like Legos would be a fun, customizable, and versatile way for people to make their myRobot "Roombots" into whatever form they can come up with!
The only special equipment this requires is a 10" x 10" Lego Base Plate that can be cut down to fit the Roomba, then you can build your own Lego creation on top!
In considering how to turn a Roomba into a telepresence Roombot that can carry an Android device, an IOIO controller, and the voltage converter to take the 15.6V of the Roomba Battery to the 5-15V input on the IOIO board, it seemed like Legos would be a fun, customizable, and versatile way for people to make their myRobot "Roombots" into whatever form they can come up with!
The only special equipment this requires is a 10" x 10" Lego Base Plate that can be cut down to fit the Roomba, then you can build your own Lego creation on top!
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Using a flatbed scanner, I imported images of the 10"x10" baseplate and the Roomba cover plate to make sure they were both to scale.
I erased the edges and holes for the handle, the center buttons, and the serial port.
Cutting manually with a Dremel, it lines up well. I'm hoping to get my hands on a laser cutter to test the dimensions. Meanwhile, feel free to download the .jpg template here, and an attempt at a vector file version for laser-cutting here.
I erased the edges and holes for the handle, the center buttons, and the serial port.
Cutting manually with a Dremel, it lines up well. I'm hoping to get my hands on a laser cutter to test the dimensions. Meanwhile, feel free to download the .jpg template here, and an attempt at a vector file version for laser-cutting here.
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