The iRobot Create

Some Create Examples

With all this potential, what can the iRobot Create do? Well, the little robot that could has already been used by independent developers for many interesting projects that demonstrate a broad spectrum of possibilities. Here is a very, very small sample of the robotic ingenuity shown on the iRobot Create forums:

'Fridgemate' or 'MBF' (Man's Best Friend)

Now, this is a robot. The MBF is capable of opening the refrigerator, collecting a can of your favorite tasty beverage, and transporting that can to a starting location... it goes without saying that the starting location will be your couch. The folks who engineered this deserve some kind of Nobel Prize. Put me on the list of interested buyers, fellows.

These robots are playing laser tag.

This is a robotic game of laser tag for people who don't want to bother with all of that unnecessary sweating and crouching. Each participating robot has its own video camera and wi-fi connection and is controlled remotely by a player. Tagging your opponent's robot will either slow it down or take it out completely. The only negative is that this is, eerily, a precursor to the self-aware robots of the future that will inevitably wipe out the human race. But for now, hey, it's good for a laugh.

Take your hamster for a walk, sir?.

In the year 2020, our wives won't get annoyed if we come home after a hard days work and throw our socks on the hallway floor. Robomaid will be there to pick up after us! Yes, Robomaid drives around, looks for clutter and identifies its size; then it decides if it should clean it up or not. The only downside is that the prototype's arm is only strong enough to pick up socks. Remember, it's only a prototype. I think my better half would be more than pleased, even with its limitations.

Conclusions

Here Elektro visits with a gentleman friend. He (Elektro, not his gentleman friend) is one of eight similar robots built by Westinghouse between 1931 and 1940.

Because the iRobot Create platform is so customizable, what we've covered is only a tiny sampling of what a dedicated developer could make it do. It's a bit of a cliché, but what can be accomplished with the Create is truly limited only by the imagination and programming skills of those who choose to take on its challenges.

Over the next few months we'll be looking at many more applications for the iRobot Create platform. Stay tuned to see what Tom's Hardware readers are able to accomplish.