IRobot Create

This is an unmodified iRobot Create with Command Module (the small green attachment).

The iRobot Create is a hobbyist robot based on the Roomba platform and introduced in 2007. It is explicitly designed for robotics development, rather than simply hacking the Roomba. In place of the vacuum hardware of the Roomba, the Create includes a cargo bay which houses a 25 pin port that can be used for digital and analog input and output. The Create also possesses a serial port through which sensor data can be read and motor commands can be issued using the iRobot Roomba Open Interface protocol.

It accepts virtually all accessories designed for iRobot's domestic robots and can be programmed with the addition of a small "command module" (a microcontroller with a USB connector and four DE-9 expansion ports).

Controller

Due to the limitations in storage space and processing power of the iRobot Command Module, many choose to utilize an external computer in controlling the Create robot. Since the built-in serial port supports the transmission of sensor data and can receive actuation commands, any embedded computer that supports serial communication can be used as the control computer. Popular choices include the gumstix line of computers.

A number of robot interface server / simulators support the iRobot Create. Most notably, the Player Project have long included a device interface for the Roomba, and has recently developed a Create interface in Player 2.1. The Universal Real-time Behavior Interface (URBI) environment also contains a Create interface.

The Microsoft Robotics Studio simulation environment contains a Create model.

Community

A team of iRobot Create robots at the Human-Automation Systems Lab, Georgia Institute of Technology.

Due to its small size and low cost, the iRobot Create is popular in the robotic research community. In particular, research projects in the area of multi-robot networks favors the Create robot. Examples:

• Autonomy Laboratory, Simon Fraser University (R. Vaughan) -emergent object clustering behavior. Website
• Human-Automation Systems Laboratory, Georgia Institute of Technology - Persistent Formation Control for Multi-Robot Networks.

See also

• Big Trak
• Lego Mindstorms
• Turtle (robot)
• Vex

External links

• iRobot's Create home page
• C# CreateOI Framework, Open Source C# Programming Framework for iRobot Create
• Create-Info.Org - the Wiki for the iRobot Create Programmable Robot.
• Element Direct - accessories and add-on's iRobot Create Programmable Robot.
• Adding vision to the iRobot Create, information on interfacing a Create to an Xport Botball Controller (which includes vision and other capabilities)
• Sourcecode, Sensor Help, and even a FREE Remote Control Application with an ActiveX interface to help you get started.