Roomba Hack VAC allows to study air quality too

Gear, right Your Roomba could tell where you have a problem with the quality of air. Long exposure pictures of roving robots produce color guide that indicate the concentration of the contaminant. (Credit: public laboratory open technology and science)

I don't expect Roomba to do windows, but it would be nice, if slightly more at home. Students at the Rhode Island School of Design, this piece came from the VAC, little robot vacuum cleaner that expands repertoire of its entry into force. They have been Tricked out Roomba with air pollution in the rooms.

Hack promises to take one more arduous household with his hands. Vacuum? Choice. Track down sources of volatile organic compounds? Choice.

Get the Roomba to sniff the air pollution is not much of a stretch. As they note in their side project, the Roomba, autonomous bots traveling around the premises in which they are set loose in may also have them in the assessment of ambient air quality, wherever they go.

WebCrawler Roomba is made from simple ingredients: air quality sensor, type the sub-$ 20, LED and battery. As the Roomba makes its rounds, the sensor measures the levels of volatile organic compounds. When levels rise above the threshold value, the light on the sensor changes from green to blue. Long exposure pictures of roving robots produce color guide that indicate the concentration of the contaminant.

The students used alcohol as their pollution test. Then you will configure the sensor to detect the air pollution of formaldehyde, common in the rooms. Plywood is a common source of formaldehyde, which can cause sensations of burning in the eyes and throat, nausea and difficulty breathing, according to the EPA.

Research is sponsored by a public laboratory open technology and Science (surfaces), research organisations, which develops and promotes open source tools on a small scale, DIY projects, which promote environmentally and socially progressive causes. Other projects include PARCELS and kite balloon aerial mapping of ecologically sensitive areas, including in the areas affected by Gulf oil spill.
(Credit: public laboratory open technology and science)
(Technology review)
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