iRobotCreate and Raspberry Pi
The iRobotCreate is a fantastic base platform for robotics clubs and classes. The Roomba is a familiar appliance in our society today. The Create is a genuine refurbished Roomba robot with a serial interface port. You can use a USB-to-serial dongle to control the robot from your computer. Or mount a raspberry pi to the robot for a stand-alone mobile brain you connect to through wifi.
Have a look at my own robotics class here: https://github.com/topherCantrell/class-piCreate
Here is the official documentation, version 1 hardware (old):
http://www.irobot.com/filelibrary/pdfs/hrd/create/Create%20Open%20Interface_v2.pdf
Version 2 hardware (current):
Build the Robot
Follow this guide to get your robot hardware running. The guide shows how to connect a Raspberry Pi to the iCreate1 and iCreate2. The guide includes wiring diagrams and links to buy the parts.
Installation
On the Raspberry Pi:
git clone https://github.com/topherCantrell/robots-piCreate
cd robots-piCreate
sudo python3 setup.py install
Web Control
This web server runs on the raspberry pi and controls the robot from a browser on a mobile device (phone or tablet). This is a great platform to take to out-reach events. Put your club flyers on the robot and drive it around the event. Invite kids to drive the robot, and talk to them about your club.
The web interface allows scripted control through drag-and-drop commands. Users can try their hand at rudimentary programming challenges.
Run the webserver controller:
cd webcontrol
python3 server.py
