An open-source hardware developer has shared an innovative project repurposing his old vacuum cleaning robot, demonstrating how to transform a Roomba Vacuum Cleaner into a programmable robot using microcontrollers like the Raspberry Pi Pico and ESP32-S3. This project highlights the value of deconstructing existing devices to understand and control them through coding.
The developer experimented with both microcontrollers, creating two separate robotic modifications—one with the Raspberry Pi Pico (Pico Roomba) and another with the ESP32-S3 (ESP Roomba). The primary goal was to control the robot using a simple web interface. Initially, he removed the iRobot control board and replaced it with a Raspberry Pi Pico W, integrating an Arducam camera module to enable video streaming and remote control over Wi-Fi.
However, after testing, he found that the Pico-based setup had a very low frame rate for video streaming. To improve performance, he built a second setup using an ESP32-S3 development board along with its built-in camera module, achieving a much better frame rate.
Additionally, he explored an alternative approach without removing any hardware. Instead, he used the Roomba Open Interface (ROI), a built-in feature of the vacuum cleaner’s original control board. This method allows users to control the robot’s movement and functions without the need for extra hardware modifications.
Through these different methods, the developer successfully demonstrated multiple ways to modify and enhance Roomba vacuum cleaners, providing an excellent example of creative hardware hacking.
The full project details, including code and implementation steps, are available on GitHub, allowing others to replicate or modify the project.
