Built to Hack
Some bots have back doors.Rebecca Freed
Want to make your off-the-shelf robot do something a little different? It's an ambition typical of robot aficionados, and the companies that build them understand. From the Roomba vacuum to the wide-open Vex and Mindstorms Nxt construction sets, robotics companies are building interfaces into their products that let you take over.
Owners have been tinkering with robot toys like Aibo and Robosapien from the time the first models came out, with active forums on the Web for sharing how-to information. Aibos even have a Memory Stick slot that allows users to install software that adds new behaviors and capabilities to their pets, including dancing and the ability to take photographs.
Robosapiens are a favorite robot to modify, with numerous forums and hack books in circulation. Robosapiens that were modified and programmed by computer scientists at the University of Freiburg, Germany, were made autonomous through Pocket PCs and digital cameras mounted in place of their heads. (Future Robosapien hackers may not have to go to such drastic lengths--the upcoming generation of the bots will be programmable out of the box.)
Late-model Roomba robotic vacuum cleaners (those made after October 2005) have the Roomba Serial Command Interface, which lets knowledgeable users remotely control or modify Roomba's functions. Mainly, this allows robot hobbyists to experiment.
Some examples of Roomba modifications are on display at the Roomba wiki. And Element Direct has introduced an $80 module called Mind Control, which plugs into the Roomba's expansion port and connects to your PC via USB. With it, you can write programs for the Roomba in C or C++ to take control of the robot's functions. When you remove the module, no permanent changes are made to your vacuum.
Hacking not your style? To build a robot from scratch, try the Lego Mindstorms and Vex Robotics Design System kits. A redesigned version of Mindstorms, called Mindstorms Nxt, will include the Nxt brick, a processor module that will be programmable using either a PC or Mac. It will also have a Bluetooth receiver for accepting commands wirelessly, even from a phone.
Last month Lego chose 100 Mindstorms enthusiasts to be members of its Nxt development team (from more than 9,600 applicants). The team will help finalize the new product, reportedly available this fall for $250. A starter Vex robotics kit, available now, goes for $150 at places like RadioShack.
As with PCs, whether you hack or build, robots are fertile ground for innovation.