Product Description

The Jetsons would be proud!

A gizmo as cool as Roomba just begs to be hacked. Now, with this book and the official ROI specification furnished by iRobot®, you can become the robotic engineer you′ve always dreamed of being. Build a Bluetooth interface for your Roomba. Turn it into an artist. Install Linux on it and give it a new brain. Some hacks are functional, others are purely fun. All of them let you play with robotics, and not one will void your warranty.

• Build a serial interface tether.
• Set up a Bluetooth® interface.
• Drive Roomba.
• Play with sensors.
• Make it sing.
• Create a Roomba artist.
• Use your Roomba as a mouse.
• Connect Roomba to the Net.
• Wi–Fi your Roomba.
• Replace Roomba′s brain.
• Install Roomba–cam.
• Put Linux® on Roomba.
• Features a companion Web site.

All this and it will still clean your floor!

Get the official iRobot Roomba Open Interface (ROI) specification and all code presented in the book in ready–to–run form at wiley.com/go/extremetech.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #345482 in Books
• Published on: 2006-11-14
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 456 pages

From the Back Cover
The jetsons would be proud

A gizmo as cool as Roomba just begs to be hacked. Now, with this book and the official ROI specification furnished by iRobot®, you can become the robotic engineer you dreamed of being when you were 10. Build a Bluetooth interface for your Roomba. Turn it into an artist. Install Linux on it and give it a new brain. Some hacks are functional, others are purely fun. All of them let you play with robotics, and not one will void your warranty. You could say it′s a clean sweep.

Fun ways to work the Roomba

All this — and it will still clean your floor!

1. Build a serial interface tether
2. Set up a Bluetooth® interface
3. Drive Roomba
4. Play with sensors
5. Make it sing
6. Create a Roomba artist
7. Use your Roomba as a mouse
8. Connect Roomba to the Net
9. Wi–Fi your Roomba
10. Replace Roomba′s brain
11. Install Roomba–cam
12. Put Linux® on Roomba

Companion Web site

Get the official iRobot Roomba Open Interface (ROI) specification and all code presented in the book in ready–to–run form at www.wiley.com/go/extremetech

About the Author
Tod E. Kurt has engineered hardware and software for robotic camera systems that went to Mars. Although he has degrees in electrical engineering and physics, Tod′s career as a robotics hacker really began when he took apart his BigTrak, radio–controlled car, and chemistry set box to build an upright programmable robot when he was 12.

Customer Reviews

Nice if you are non-tech
The book itself is well written and easy to read. For me as an IT-specialist and a background in computer electronics, 90% of the book is known knowledge. The actual Roomba interface part is only a small portion of the book. I now use it as a reference for the programming commands to the Roomba. So: if you are already familiar with how RS232, networks and general information technology things like this work, just download the Roomba Open Interface spec from the Roomba site. Otherwise, this is a nice book to read.