Hack Your Roomba ~ iRobot Create

As if vacuum cleaning and floor-washing robots weren't enough, in 2007 iRobot branched out into a number of other home robot niches -- some of them related to its original Roomba mission, others anything but. We've already mentioned the Create, which is iRobot's development platform that lets anyone create their own robot. The iRobot Create is ideal for both developers who want an inexpensive way to tinker with the basic design of the Roomba platform (like the Zoomba enthusiasts we mentioned above) and educators interesting in teaching robotics, computer science, and engineering.

Whether you're a student or a serious developer, you can use the Create to, well, create the robot of your dreams -- or you can just plug it into your computer, fool around with it, and see what happens. It comes ready to go right out of the box, with 10 demos, 32 built-in sensors, an empty cargo bay, and a 25-pin expansion port. Currently the iRobot Create is supported under Windows XP, the oddly stable operating system used by Windows-based PCs until Vista debuted in 2007. There's no word yet on Create's compatibility with Vista, but you can be sure they're working on it.

If you spring for the iRobot Command Module, you can add a variety of your own electronics: sensors, actuators, cameras, you name it. Your imagination's the limit. Oh, and if you're feeling unusually creative, keep an eye out for a new iRobot Create Challenge, like the one the company offered in 2007. The winner, who got a cool $5,000, created an R2D2-like li'l robo-buddy that can dance (kinda), water plants, water the dog, control the VCR and TV (very important), play music, turn appliances and the lights off and on, and probably do a lot of other things no one has thought of yet.

November 2008: Latest updates are in green.

iRobot's® Roombas®

It doesn't get any better than this!

Top technology from iRobot® and Hammacher Schlemmer's lifetime guarantee -- it's a match made in heaven! When you purchase your Roomba Vacuum from Hammacher Schlemmer not only do you get the best product iRobot® has to offer -- you also get to take advantage of Hammacher Schlemmer's unconditional and unwavering promise -- their merchandise is guaranteed for life.

iRobot® Roomba Vacuums
It looks like iRobot® has cleaned house and is now only manufacturing the following floor cleaning robots (Models 780, 770, 760, 560 and 530). Narrowing the selection makes it so much easier to choose the model that will work best as it appears they have weeded out the models that people were having so many problems with -- which is a good thing! Only the best of the best are available for sale from our online merchant and they also offer an unconditonal lifetime warranty!

Roomba® Pet Series
Spend more quality time with your pet - while Roomba® does the cleaning for you! The Pet Series was designed specifically for pet owners who are fighting the war on pet hair, debris and pet dander. This little hair ball sucker covers 3 to 4 rooms on a single battery charge depending on what model you buy. It's large debris bins, anti-tangle technology, and other pet friendly features will do the vacuuming for you and your household of pets.

iRobot® Scooba
The Scooba® floor washing robot does it all: it preps by sucking up loose dirt and crumbs, washes, scrubs, and cleans up after itself, leaving the floor sparkling and dry -- and it does it all in one pass. One of the Scooba's best features is the fact that it'll scrub every spot on your floor an average of four times, ensuring a thorough cleaning. It even gets up beneath the edges of kitchen cabinets and under tables to clean where normal cleaning tools don't. It's the only mop you'll ever need!

Build On This ~ iRobot Create

November 2008: Latest updates are in green.