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December
25
2019

Stairs are no obstacle for flying robovac
Paul Ridden

If your busy lifestyle leaves little time for housework, robot vacuum cleaners can help. Though models can employ some pretty advanced tech to autonomously tackle dirt in the living space, they're pretty much limited to one story. If you want your robovac to clean upstairs, you'll have to carry it up and set it off. Peter Sripol wasn't happy with that situation so made his Roomba fly. 

Sripol and his friend William Osman began the flying robovac project with a cheap model bought online and added three small ducted fans bolted directly to the casing of the robovac. The fans are controlled wirelessly using an RC transmitter, hinged rudders are used to spot the flying robovac from spinning around and, for the first flight tests, a battery was held above the unit. 

Sripol and his friend William Osman began the flying robovac project with a cheap model bought online and added three small ducted fans bolted directly to the casing of the robovac. The fans are controlled wirelessly using an RC transmitter, hinged rudders are used to spot the flying robovac from spinning around and, for the first flight tests, a battery was held above the unit. 

The inexpensive robovac host was later swapped out for a genuine Roomba, which can now tackle stairs and split-level living spaces with the help of a human remote operator. But take-off and landing could be a problem for actual cleaning as the fans just disperse all the dirt before the brushes get a chance to do their stuff. 

It's slightly more hands-on than your usual robotic vacuum too, and much noisier, but it's a fun build – as you can see in the video below.

 

While Paul is loath to reveal his age, he will admit to cutting his IT teeth on a TRS-80 (although he won't say which version). An obsessive fascination with computer technology blossomed from hobby into career before hopping over to France for 10 years, where he started work for New Atlas in 2009. Now back in his native Blighty, he serves as Managing Editor in Europe.

 

 

 

newatlas.com