Roomba and Mac OS X: Cross-platform Vision and Robotics for AI

This paper investigates the suitability of iRobot’s Roomba as a low-cost robotic platform for use in both research and education. We present sensor and actuation models and implement algorithms that demonstrate the Roomba’s viability. While the platform has both benefits and drawbacks relative to similarly-priced alternatives, we conclude that the Roomba will interest many educators, especially those focusing on the computational facets of robotics or applications involving large, homogeneous groups of physical agents.