DPRG mailing list archives: [DPRG] Re: Roomba subsumption

Fri Dec 15 08:53:46 CST 2006

Hmm.  I have a raised living room.  Go figure.

I have two Roombas, and have been very satisfied with them before they both
broke at about the same time.  If we want to open a "Broken Roomba" thread,
I'll be happy to contribute.  I've repaired each of them a few times for
various maladies.  Right now, neither one is working properly

I was under the assumption that the 1st generation Roombas did indeed use
subsumption.  I've never thought about devising a test to see if you can
determine its "behaviors", though.

However, I think the "Discovery" series was the first to return to its
charging base.  (My Scheduler does this, and my Pro Elite does not).  Maybe
they slapped some overriding "find the base" code that wasn't subsumption
based, or maybe they made the "hungry-find base" behavior override all other
behaviors.

If I get the Scheduler (named Elroy) working this weekend, I'll see if it
works the way Jon described.

Best Regards,
Jeff

On 12/15/06, William James <polymath2000 at yahoo.com> wrote:
>
> I too have a Roomba and am very satisified with it. Yes you must
> straighten up room, just as you would do if you were vacuuming
> yourself.  Remove the cords, maybe move some furniture, I set my office
> chair on the bed so it can get under the desk.  I have one occasion where
> there the unit did get trapped due to it sliding under something, in that
> case it was a partial opened dresser drawer.
>
> I too have a sunken living room. But I have not had any issues with it
> trying to get to the base in the living room when vacuuming areas other than
> the living room. Mainly because I move the home base to the area it is
> vacuuming. So if it is vacuuming the kitchen dining room, the base is in the
> dining room. So when I get home it is already charged up and waiting to go
> again.
>
> But I am going to see if it will do the cliff dive, just to see if it
> will. To me that is a real minor issue.
>
> My house has never been so clean.
>
> Bill James.
>
> ----- Original Message ----
> From: John Swindle <swindle at compuserve.com>
> To: dprglist at dprg.org
> Sent: Thursday, December 14, 2006 10:53:48 PM
> Subject: [DPRG] Re: Roomba subsumption
>
>
> Hey Guys and Gals:
>
> When I posted my disappointment about Roomba, I implied a
> question that got no response: Does Roomba correctly implement
> subsumption?
>
> Since Roomba isn't ready for prime time, and since I've already
> returned Roomba to Sam's Club, the answer is academic. Really,
> it's academic: Roomba is supposed to be a prime example of
> subsumption, and the guys who designed it are from my alma mater.
> So, did they do it right? It seems not, but maybe I'm wrong.
>
> At RBNO, Dale asked if the cliff-diving behavior of Roomba was
> contrived. No. I (unfortunately) have a sunken living room. If
> home base is in the living room, Roomba leaps off the foyer to
> its doom. Not contrived at all.
>
> At RBNO, I mentioned how Roomba traps itself under furniture, and
> Will mentioned how the bump sensor ought to be straight edged to
> prevent that problem. Hmmm. Roomba has a rounded bump sensor that
> allows it to compress its suspension and get permanently stuck
> under furniture. Seems to be a Robotics 1.01 freshman mistake.
>
> Am I missing something vital, or am I once again learning that it
> is better to earn millions making my own mistakes instead of
> earning thousands fixing other people's mistakes?
>
> John Swindle
>
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