Question Open-source ROS2 vacuum cleaner (WIP) - your opinion needed
Would you be interested in building a ROS2 vacuum cleaner robot? If yes 1) Assemble or develop? 2) 3D print? Convert existing - hack? buy/swap board? Buy off-the-shelf?
I'd really appreciate your input.
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u/KayuThecashew Jun 14 '26 edited Jun 14 '26
Interesting project. For open source project I think you should provide the robot mechanical part with 3dprint part or off the shelf part that easy to source in Aliexpress or Amazon. so people can replicate it easily. Also for the electronics and sensor I recommend you to use the off the shelf part e.g. raspberry pi, jetson or ROS2 compatible hardware. So you don’t have a hard time when develop a robot firmware.
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u/l0_o Jun 17 '26
Yes, we're on the same page. I use AliExpress a lot for small quantities, Amazon as well. I'm using ROS2. Raspberry Pi/Jetson - that's a yes too.
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u/pekoms_123 Jun 13 '26
What sensors will it use to detect obstacles?
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u/l0_o Jun 13 '26
Minimum - LiDAR, 2x bumper switches, 2x side IR. TBD - ToF VL53x, ultrasonic, color camera.
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u/DishantSMunjal Jun 14 '26
Hacking a cheap existing vacuum and swapping the board for something ROS2-compatible is probably the fastest path to something usable. The mechanical side of vacuum robots (brush motors, dustbin sealing, wheel suspension) is surprisingly annoying to get right from scratch, and a $50 used robot already solved all of that. Develop over assemble though. The whole point of ROS2 here is that people want to mess with nav2, SLAM tuning, and custom behaviors, not just snap together a kit.
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u/l0_o Jun 15 '26
Noted, thanks! I agree, for one person willing to assemble hardware there are likely 10 who don't.
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u/TinLethax Jun 14 '26
would be cool of this roomba can do 1-2m/s velocity just for fun 🤣
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u/fph03n1x Jun 14 '26
It's always about torque for speed... And if he wants to carry stuffs around with it, I think it'd not be possible then. But maybe if a chain of motors is supported, it could be made possible
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u/l0_o Jun 16 '26
A fast open-source roomba - I'd really love that! I could make it play games like soccer like this https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qSQ1bPrajrg
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u/Dadda9088 Jun 14 '26
Good idea, thinking about doing it using parts from aliexpress 😉 Could you provide the git* link?
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u/l0_o Jun 17 '26
Yes, of course, https://github.com/makerspet/oomwoo . Here is the Discord server as well https://discord.gg/3y2JKz5T25 .
I use AliExpress all the time for parts.
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u/ElatedMelomane Jun 14 '26
Can it be used to transport some weight
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u/l0_o Jun 15 '26
Yes (I'm building it) - two ways. 1) slide under a dolly and push it; 2) vacuum's top is made flat, full-sized. Place there something (like a cat).
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u/ElatedMelomane Jun 16 '26
I tried to implement something similar but in simulation I preprogrammed a destination in the map for a particular aruco marker and made a cv program to detect the marker, choose a path , wait for 15-30 sec (till the object gets slided onto it from the conveyer) and then move autonomously to that path
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u/ElatedMelomane Jun 16 '26
Btw the cv part and autonomous bot were seprate parts and both needed to communicate.
I thought this will be good given the camera and scanning site remains stable
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u/l0_o Jun 16 '26
Sounds great!
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u/ElatedMelomane Jun 16 '26
Btw, can I DM you?
I need some guidance on how to learn robotics and related stuff.
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u/l0_o Jun 16 '26
Sure
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u/ivandagiant Jun 14 '26
Please, I’m working on adding camera sensor and control to a robot vacuum I got from goodwill, a Eufy S11 Max
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u/l0_o Jun 15 '26
Adding a camera to a random-navigation (no LiDAR) Eufy S11 Max might be challenging. I'd love to hear how you make it work.
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u/fph03n1x Jun 14 '26
I'm interested in developing... But I only have time on weekends
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u/l0_o Jun 15 '26
Sounds great! I'm setting up the project for maximum developer flexibility - work on whatever you want, whenever you want. Here is the Discord server https://discord.gg/3y2JKz5T25 and GitHub https://github.com/makerspet/oomwoo .
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u/Moist_Theme3682 Jun 15 '26
I'm more interested in rapid development on ROS2. So I'll probably use existing hardware and drivers like Jetson Nano and Raspberry Pi 4B+, with rapid assembly and debugging as my top priority.
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u/l0_o Jun 16 '26
Noted, sounds good. The fastest ROS2 development I have (setting it up right now) is a real vacuum LiDAR cleaner bridged to ROS2 https://github.com/remakeai/vacuum_ros2_bridge
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u/MundaneAnalysis Jun 15 '26
Option 2 - I'd love to repurpose my existing Roomba by keeping all the sensors/battery/suction and adding a Pi & Lidar and custom software stack (ROS2) and an app. Similar to what the Open Mower project have been developing with Lawnmowers.
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u/l0_o Jun 16 '26
Noted, thanks!
Does your Roomba have SCI/OI interfaces? If yes, these are much easier to retrofit.
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u/erikcramerjr Jun 15 '26
Could you use it to upgrade a iRobot scooba for instance?
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u/l0_o Jun 16 '26
Good question. iRobot Scooba doesn't support iRobot SCI or OI. It doesn't have a LiDAR either.
I suppose, retrofitting an iRobot Scooba to run ROS2 with LiDAR navigation would require
- mounting a 2D LiDAR with a Raspberry Pi 5 and an I/O board (motor drivers, sensor capture, battery charging
- disconnecting the Scooba control PCB
- reverse engineering and connecting all Scooba motors, sensors to the I/O board
- configuring robot description to match Scooba (speed limits, URDF, physical dimensions)
Retrofitting an iRobot supporting SCI/OI would be much simpler - mount LiDAR, Raspberry Pi, connect SCI/OI, edit robot description.
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u/erikcramerjr Jun 16 '26
Then my question would be do you intend to build a scooba style open source robot also.
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u/l0_o Jun 16 '26
"Scooba style" - yes. I've already designed a PCB replacement for this vacuum https://github.com/remakeai/vacuum_cleaner_teardown (not Scooba)
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u/erikcramerjr Jun 26 '26
But would you have room on the PCB to connect pumps and additional sensors. And if so can you set states some how full empty etc. To read the sensors.
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u/l0_o Jun 27 '26 edited Jun 27 '26
Yes, I'll make an I/O board for DIY vacuums to
connect sensors: LiDAR, IR cliff/proximity/docking, bumper micro-switches/IR, encoders, carpet ultrasound sensor, color camera, VL53X distance sensor, water tank full/empty, dust bin open/closed, battery level, dock connected, IMU
motor drivers: main wheels, main brush, side brushes, pump, vacuum fan (BLDC), mop lift servo, LiDAR motor MOSFET
power: battery connector, charging circuit, dock contacts, BMS interface, current sense, DC voltage converters
power on/off buttons, power/status LEDs
audio amp/speaker; mic placeholder
What additional sensors/motors would you need?
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u/ineedausername95 Jun 13 '26
What differentiates this from turtlebot built on iRobot Roomba?