Want to hack your Roomba robotic vacuum cleaner? Roomba says it's cool with them! (Engadget)
Related entries: Household, Robots
Roomba fans have been
hacking
their vacs for almost as long as the round robots have been on the market, but they haven’t always had the blessing
of Roomba-maker iRobot. That started to change earlier this year, when iRobot began pre-installing the software needed
to control the bot via its serial port (above). Now, iRobot is going one further with the release of the iRobot Serial
Control Interface, which will make it easier for owners of older Roombas to get the bots to do their bidding. Of
course, actually using the SCI to mod your Roomba may void your warranty, but you knew that already. At least the folks
at iRobot recognize that there’s a market for hackers out there, and if you’re ready to void your warranty, they may as
well help you do it.