SigDave

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New and improved Roomba Mount

26 Apr 2014

So, on Monday Zane and I decided it’d be best to begin the process of mounting the components of DJ Roomba. One thing that had been really limiting this was the lack of a structurally sound and spacious platform for mounting the components.

We opted for the following layout: platform layout

We also needed to give enough clearing on the underside for storing the batteries in the roomba. Taking all of this into consideration, I headed to the fablab and made this prototype:

platform prototype

The relay has yet to be mounted. To mount it we may need to invest in some longer bolts (I’m not 100% sure on the size, but the mounting holes are quite small) along with some nylon washers.

The extra six inches of height don’t seem to have changed the driving stability too much, and the new frame is WAAAY stabler. I imagine if we do start having worries of it tipping over, we can add some training wheels to help stabilize it.

Monitoring audio levels

I’ve been working on the side to figure out the best way to measure the audio level to have the lights react to it. The best way seems to use pulse audio’s monitor sink (which is just a fake microphone for the current output). There’s a nice console example here. If I have time, I’ll add something to the DJ Roomba code base.

  • Marcell V.C