Roomba Plugin?

This website claims that HA plugins for Indigo are being created for this Wifi Roomba controller. Anyone know about this? I'm dying to get a roomba wired up through indigo so I can strap a camera to it and use it as a Security Robot! ANyone?

http://www.roomba-wifi-remote.com/home-automation/

[jay (support)]

We have no plans to develop a plugin for the roomba, but a user has done some work with one.

Hi,

Yes, this link points to the hardware needed to run the Indigo's plugin I have developed.
I sent them information about this plugin.

Please, be patient with me.
I hope I could share with you the plugin next week (also the xbmc plugin)

Ramon

Thanks a lot Ramon. I'm waiting for my Roomba to arrive. I would love to be able to hook a camera up to it and actually issue commands to patrol the house. And also, an automated sling shot to peg would be attackers with projectiles (ok maybe not). Will look into that hardware mentioned in the link.

Also, I wouldn't expect Perceptive Automation to make a plug in for absolutely every device out there. That would be an exercise in futility. I'm grateful for people like Ramon and Ben the Cynic who have the talent and the time and (probably obsessiveness) that it takes to come up with these things. Thanks guys.

-macguyincali

Trying to research cameras for the Roomba security monitor:

Here's one, I wonder if this will be useful:

http://www.amazon.com/NETGEAR-VueZone-Video-Monitoring-System/dp/B009SPUY5O/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1384699901&sr=8-2&keywords=wifi+battery+powered+camera

Question would be to see if there were a way to charge the battery while it is docked.

-JP

Ramon: you are the man. I now officially have a Roomba that is automated. It vacuums the house as soon as we leave and then docks itself (if it doesn't get lost, of course). I'm going to get one for upstairs too!

Thanks for your hard work and dedication on this.

macguyincali

Ramon: you are the man. I now officially have a Roomba that is automated. It vacuums the house as soon as we leave and then docks itself (if it doesn't get lost, of course). I'm going to get one for upstairs too!

Thanks for your hard work and dedication on this.

macguyincali

Hi macguyincali,

I am happy the plugin works for you.


Ramon

Just reporting back my experiences:

First of all, amazing that I can read states and info from the Roomba and report back.

Also, love that I can initiate a cleaning cycle and even a docking cycle at will. (on an unrelated note: My "presence" monitoring system needs some work though as I haven't really had a reliable way to notify Indigo that the house is empty.)

One issue I think I have with the chip itself is that if the power drains (which happens whenever the roomba fails to dock... which is a frequent occurrence in our fairly long house) I have to re-set up the wifi settings. Not a plugin issue, though. It would be nice if it had non-volatile memory to keep the settings active even after power goes off.

The plugin, however, works great. If only I could figure a way to get Roomba to successfully dock on the opposite side of the house reliable, I'd be in business. Any tips on this would be appreciated.

Also, I like your toe-kick cabinet roomba garage. Do you have instructions on how to create something along those lines? Much appreciated.

Perhaps a second dock for your Roomba if it tends to get lost in the same area of your home.

Not a bad idea. I may just do that. Would be cool if it would somehow tell me which dock it is docked in. Lately it is has gotten better. That dock needs a tackier surface or at least needs to be glued down or something because it moves around a lot and Roomba has trouble dockings sometimes.

That dock needs a tackier surface or at least needs to be glued down or something because it moves around a lot and Roomba has trouble dockings sometimes.

3M command strips do the trick.

Hi,

I agree with Chompy that a second dock at your house will be a good idea.
Another idea will be to check the battery charge value during cleaning state. Using a trigger, if this value reaches a determined low value, you can send a "go to dock" command to RooWifi.
Yes, I need to reconfigure my Roowifi wifi's values sometimes. It is a hardware issue. It is reported to the device's maker.

If you unplug the device, it does not lose the configuration. I unplug it when I need to do Roomba's maintenance.
I think it loses the configuration when it is powered on and loses connection with the wifi access point (because it is far away, or the AP is powered off)

About the "toe-kick" ... I will take some photos about it.
Basically, I am reusing the original "toe-kick". Mine, is an aluminum board fixed with clamps to the "columns" that hold/elevates the furniture.
I have replaced the clamps with hinges.
The movement is done thanks to a little linear actuator.
http://www.robotshop.com/en/linear-actu ... -12-s.html
This actuator is a 12Vdc device.
I manage the actuator extension/compresion and power on/off with a zwave fibaro´s double switch and an relay.

I have also developed an Indigo plugin for this device and other motorized doors in my house.

Google or youtube for "linear actuator" and you will see a legion of different devices with a wide range of power, speed and extension length. Including lifting TV sets, moving beds

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d2l_dzOTaEg
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s7lXpJ7PDpc

Regards,
Ramon

About the "toe-kick" ... I will take some photos about it.
Basically, I am reusing the original "toe-kick". Mine, is an aluminum board fixed with clamps to the "columns" that hold/elevates the furniture.
I have replaced the clamps with hinges.

I have also developed an Indigo plugin for this device and other motorized doors in my house.

I’ll be very interested to see this.. I’ve just got a new kitchen and a section of baseboard that’d be perfect for a project like this.. and of course a little plugin to manage it all would make life much easier should you be willing to share

Hi guys,

I have a problem with the RooWIFI Roomba plugin... I upgraded Indigo from 6.0.5 and 6.0.18. In addition, I just upgraded from Mavericks to Yosemite. I did both upgrades at the same time, so unfortunately I cannot pinpoint whether my troubles detailed below result from the Indigo upgrade or the OS X upgrade. Prior to both of these upgrades, the RooWIFI plugin was working great. Since the upgrade, the plugin is consistently reporting the Roomba lost. If I restart the plugin, RooWIFI initially seems to be running okay, but then an error is reported (see below) and the plugin cannot communicate with Roomba. Sometimes the plugin will be able to communicate with Roomba again after losing communication, but then it will fail again fairly quickly.

It looks like the root error is this:

RooWIFI Debug Roomba: Error: HTTP Error 401: basic auth failed

My Roomba WIFI module has a reserved/fixed IP address, and it has not changed. The Roomba userid/password also has not changed. I have also checked and the Roomba is indeed connected to WIFI and controllable via the RooWIFI webpage when the plugin failures occur - so it has something to do with either the Indigo upgrade or Yosemite upgrade.

I have enabled debugging on the plugin and pasted the results below. If anybody has any suggestions/advice I would appreciate it.

One other thing... I backed up my 6.0.5 Indigo folder (/Library/Application Support/Perceptive Automation) prior to upgrading to 6.0.18. Can I just replace the 6.0.18 folder contents with my backed-up 6.0.5 folder in order to downgrade the Indigo version?

Thanks,
Mike

Starting plugin "RooWIFI 0.0.27" (pid 1022)
Started plugin "RooWIFI 0.0.27"
RooWIFI Debug startup called
RooWIFI Debug Roomba: Starting device
RooWIFI Debug Roomba: Requesting status.
RooWIFI Roomba: was lost, now FOUND !
RooWIFI Debug Roomba: Status received.
RooWIFI Debug Roomba: changed state to dock
RooWIFI Debug Starting polling thread
RooWIFI Debug Thread. Roomba State = dock
RooWIFI Debug Thread. Pooling interval = 120
RooWIFI Debug Roomba: Requesting status.
RooWIFI Debug Roomba: Status received.

Nov 16, 2014, 10:40:16 AM
RooWIFI Debug Thread. Roomba State = dock
RooWIFI Debug Thread. Pooling interval = 120
RooWIFI Debug Roomba: Requesting status.
RooWIFI Debug Roomba: Status received.

Nov 16, 2014, 10:42:28 AM
RooWIFI Debug Thread. Roomba State = dock
RooWIFI Debug Thread. Pooling interval = 120
RooWIFI Debug Roomba: Requesting status.
RooWIFI Debug Roomba: Status received.

Nov 16, 2014, 10:44:23 AM
RooWIFI Debug Thread. Roomba State = dock
RooWIFI Debug Thread. Pooling interval = 120
RooWIFI Debug Roomba: Requesting status.
RooWIFI Debug Roomba: Status received.

Nov 16, 2014, 10:46:18 AM
RooWIFI Debug Thread. Roomba State = dock
RooWIFI Debug Thread. Pooling interval = 120
RooWIFI Debug Roomba: Requesting status.
RooWIFI Debug Roomba: Status received.

Nov 16, 2014, 10:48:29 AM
RooWIFI Debug Thread. Roomba State = dock
RooWIFI Debug Thread. Pooling interval = 120
RooWIFI Debug Roomba: Requesting status.
RooWIFI Debug Roomba: Requesting status ... trial #1
RooWIFI Debug Roomba: Requesting status ... trial #2
RooWIFI Debug Roomba: Requesting status ... trial #3
RooWIFI Debug Roomba: Requesting status ... trial #4
RooWIFI Debug Roomba: Requesting status ... trial #5
RooWIFI Debug Roomba: Error: HTTP Error 401: basic auth failed
RooWIFI Error Roomba is LOST !

Nov 16, 2014, 10:50:29 AM
RooWIFI Debug Thread. Roomba State = lost
RooWIFI Debug Thread. Pooling interval = 120
RooWIFI Debug Roomba: Requesting status.
RooWIFI Debug Roomba: Requesting status ... trial #1
RooWIFI Debug Roomba: Requesting status ... trial #2
RooWIFI Debug Roomba: Requesting status ... trial #3
RooWIFI Debug Roomba: Requesting status ... trial #4
RooWIFI Debug Roomba: Requesting status ... trial #5
RooWIFI Debug Roomba: Error: HTTP Error 401: basic auth failed
RooWIFI Error Roomba is LOST !

Nov 16, 2014, 10:52:29 AM
RooWIFI Debug Thread. Roomba State = lost
RooWIFI Debug Thread. Pooling interval = 120
RooWIFI Debug Roomba: Requesting status.
RooWIFI Debug Roomba: Requesting status ... trial #1
RooWIFI Debug Roomba: Requesting status ... trial #2
RooWIFI Debug Roomba: Requesting status ... trial #3
RooWIFI Debug Roomba: Requesting status ... trial #4
RooWIFI Debug Roomba: Requesting status ... trial #5
RooWIFI Debug Roomba: Error: HTTP Error 401: basic auth failed
RooWIFI Error Roomba is LOST !

[matt (support)]

I'm not sure what is causing the problem, but I'm pretty sure it is related to the Yosemite upgrade and not the Indigo upgrade. Yosemite doesn't include python 2.5, so all plugins/scripts now have to run under python 2.6. There might be a subtle difference between the two runtimes that is causing the problem.

You can try swapping back in the 6.0.5 folder. It might still use the newer version of your database file after swapping it back in (I'm not sure), so I would suggest making an extra backup copy of it just in case a database versioning issue occurs.