Disable Cliff Sensors, zero parts, reversible

[AndyTane]

I have a 595 series roomba. And I have carpets witH black stripes, so my roomba wouldn't vacuum it because it always thought the black stripes are cliffs. I've had some success with taping tinfoil over the sensors, but replacing them when they get worn out was becoming an annoyance.

I once did some research to see if any of the spray dye upholstery company's produced a colorless spray that was highly reflective to infrared. I could then spray the black areas of my rug to make them cliff sensor friendly. But couldn't locate anything out there.

So, this time I decided to disassemble my roomba to see if there was an easy way to disable the cliff sensors. I use a virtual doorway at the top of my stairs, which is the only cliff in the house. So I have no issues with the roomba being unable to detect a cliff.

I discovered that the IR transmitter and sensor are in a housing that made it easy to aim the two directly at each other without the need for any soldering, melting etc, and it's just as easy to put it back to its original configuration should I ever get rid of that stupid black striped carpet.

See the photos below to see how I did it. If you can't get your roomba disassembled to this point, then maybe this mod isn't for you. Just sayin'.

[vic7767]

Very nice non-harmful mod to the existing cliff sensors on your 5XX Roomba. This mod can also be accomplished on 6XX, and 7XX models that don't require the cliff detection sensor function during the cleaning cycle.

[Gordon]

Member "Dajiu" disabled his R3 Roomba by placing each cliff-sensors IRED & PT side by side, taped together as I recall, about four years ago. He posted that achievement in this rr thread: viewtopic.php?p=58152#p58152
but rather than detail what he did, as well as provide a great step-by-step procedure about taking the R3-Roomba apart in order to reach the sensors, he built a web-page at this address to hold that information: http://www.pottsland.com/roomba/Roomba_ ... ensor.html

Now, a comment: From an opto-electric view point I am certain that Dajiu's side-by-side coupling of an IRED with its PT partner is more desirable than beaming IR radiance directly into the PT, for the reason that side-by-side coupling tends to mimic the considerable attenuation normally experienced by scattering the IR signal off flooring materials. IOW, the detector portion of a Cliff Sensor is expecting a low level return signal, not the high strength of source radiance. Notice I said "desirable", not superior.

Good of you to post, Andy. Your thread title may be easier for searchers to find than Dajiu's.

[AndyTane]

When I first decided to look into a better way to fix this, I was thinking of making something that I could add to the outside that would act as a light pipe, to get the IR light past the little black barrier that's glued inside the clear plastic cover.

After opening the assembly, I was thinking of removing the black barrier, but that wouldn't be reversible. That's when I noticed the cavity that would hold the LED and PhotoSensor.

If anyone is concerned with the intensity, they could put a small square of paper between the two devices. That would diffuse and attenuate the light somewhat. Personally, I'm not concerned with my sensors being damaged.

I'm very surprised that iRobot hasn't listened to their customers, and provided a way to disable the cliff sensors for those who have black carpets. Even an un-documented internal switch, on the circuit board would be nice. They don't even have to acknowledge it in the manual. Just make it available for those of us who need them disabled. These kludges shouldn't be necessary.

[TechGuy]

iRobot does not want to be responsible for the broken Roombas that go down the stairs.

[mfortuna]

Or broken items caused by a roomba going down the stairs, including personal injury.

[adrik]

I once did some research to see if any of the spray dye upholstery company's produced a colorless spray that was highly reflective to infrared. I could then spray the black areas of my rug to make them cliff sensor friendly. But couldn't locate anything out there.

So, this time I decided to disassemble my roomba to see if there was an easy way to disable the cliff sensors. I use a virtual doorway at the top of my stairs, which is the only cliff in the house. So I have no issues with the roomba being unable to detect a cliff.

I discovered that the IR transmitter and sensor are in a housing that made it easy to aim the two directly at each other without the need for any soldering, melting etc, and it's just as easy to put it back to its original configuration should I ever get rid of that stupid black striped carpet.

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[Roombascoobatastic]

I have an idea, but not sure if it can work, but I'm sure an electrically savvy person could find an answer... Can anyone think of a way to replace the IR cliff sensors with magnetic sensors so you can use magnetic strips to confine the roomba instead of virtual walls? Would a magnetic sensor just send on and off signals to the Roomba's computer?

[vic7767]

Getting off topic, cliff sensors are not used for detecting virtual walls. The Neato uses a magnetic strip that functions as a wall.

[Roombascoobatastic]

I know that. It's just interesting to imagine repurposing them to eliminate the virtual walls. I'm sure someone could get it to work. It's off topic but posted here because someone might want to try it.

[vic7767]

Ya it is kinda strange though because over on the Neato forum there is a thread on converting from magnetic strips (very inconvenient) to IR based virtual walls or even converting Roomba VWs to work with the Neato. The grass is always greener...........

[mfortuna]

A black non-magnetic strip (I am not sure of the minimum width) will work without requiring a modification to the robot.

Search the forum, people have done this.

[Roombascoobatastic]

Tried a few strips of differen materials. They all get ignored by the sensors

[vic7767]

It has to be a strip of flat black or very dark color and must absorb instead of reflect the IR signal.