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April 3, 2006
The Roomba Rumba
Just when you thought things couldn't get any weirder, they did. People are hacking their Roombas, the little robotic vacuum cleaners, and staging robotic cock-fights with them.
Roombas manufactured after October 2005 contain an electronic and software interface that allows you to control or modify Roomba's behavior and remotely monitor its sensors. This interface is called the Roomba Serial Command Interface or Roomba SCI. If you are a Roomba owner, your Roomba can be upgraded by following the below instructions. This update is not a necessary enhancement for Roomba owners, rather it is intended for software programmers and roboticists to create their own enhancements to Roomba.
Annalee Newitz breaks the story wide open:
Goddamn, who doesn't love a robotic vacuum cleaner cockfight? I know they're illegal in most states, but luckily California isn't one of them. Sure, there are liberals who say it's abuse to whip a Roomba into a frenzy, tape a pair of sharp scissors on its back and set it loose in the ring. But screw those bleeding hearts. Roombas, the saucer-shaped, floor-sweeping robots from iRobot, love to fight. It's in their nature.
Posted by Peenie Wallie on April 3, 2006 at 4:21 AM
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