Does Scooba has SCI capabilites?

[Mooba]

On the iRobot web site they say that the Scooba has a serial port
http://www.irobot.com/sp.cfm?pageid=46& ... ategoryid=

Is the serial port the same one as on the Roomba? Does anyone know if you can use the Roomba SCI commands to drive a Scooba as well?

[Gordon]

...the Scooba has a serial port...Is the serial port the same one as on the Roomba? Does anyone know if you can use the Roomba SCI commands to drive a Scooba as well?

No one has reported any attempt at doing that.
One fundamental problem is: No normal DIN plug can be connected to the SCI-jack when the Tank Assembly is in its operational position.
Recently, I have looked inside Scooba's top-panel, and from what I could tell by looking at how the pins of the DIN-jack interface with the 26-conductor ribbon-cable (heading to the main-PWB) the connections are wired straight across the board to the ribbon-cable. A really industrious hacker could do a hatchet-job on the user-interface panel and transfer the seven lines to a top-mounted jack
One thing that will make any wiring changes difficult is the degree of moisture-proofing that iRbt has applied to the PWB. It is clear-coat, conformal coated both sides, and after that application, several other areas where bare pins were still exposed, have been hand doctored (buttered-up) with black, RTV-silicone rubber.

[lupo]

Has anyone hacked a Scooba since this last post? I had assumed the Scooba featured the same SCI as the Roomba and put together an interface to allow control via PC or a microcontroller (Handy Board).

[vic7767]

The 7 pin mini din connector has been connected to different comm packages and the charging data as well as the Built in factory tests can be monitored. However, there is no Open Interface software on the Scooba and therefore the standard commands that can be sent to the Roomba do not work on the Scooba.

[lupo]

Thanks for the quick reply! I appreciate all the information that's been shared on this forum. Somehow I glossed over this little detail with the Scooba. WIth that said, has anyone had success tapping into the motor controller, or even at the H-bridge level? I'd like to use this as a platform that can be controlled by a separate controller.

[vic7767]

No one had done that in this forum. You might check with the users forum for the iRobot Create, there were some creative folks there. Most of them moved off of the web site to form another user forum on Yahoo.

[Gordon]

... has anyone had success tapping into ... the H-bridge level? I'd like to use this as a platform that can be controlled by a separate controller.

While such take-over is possible, I think you would be faced with taking over any other subsystems that you need to use. You also take over the job of switching certain power-forms ON/OFF. IOW, you supply your own MCU & F/W to operate all motors and sensor-systems that you require. Another way of saying that is: You can't expect Scooba's MCU to handle a portion of Scooba ops, while your controller does the navigation. If that is your intent, I think Scooba will issue an error when it learns the drive wheels are not operating in accordance with commands it has issued.

If you wish to rev-engr the wheel-driver circuits, I think you can get a leg-up by studying the 4XXX-Roomba's H-bridge configuration, shown in schematic2 & schematic5 (Advance search for the underlined strings). H-bridge groupings on Scoobas main board are obvious. Don't know if the power BJTs are the same device used in Roomba, but the TO-126 package is the same.

Happy hacking!

[mfortuna]

You could control the H-bridges with a microcontroller that can generate the proper pulse width modulated signals. At that point you would not really be using the scooba's on board microcontroller. A related experiment was detailed in this forum, were radio control replaced the roomba's brain.

[lupo]

Thanks! I checked out the R/C thread as well as the drive circuit schematic and there's some really good stuff in there. You're right about my bypassing the MCU, as I'll be using a Motorola microcontroller on the HandyBoard, which is designed for robotics applications. My original intent was to pair the two controllers through the SCI (I'm a big fan of smart sensors and distributed intelligence) but I'll leave that project for when I acquire a roomba. Now it looks like I'll use the scooba strictly for its driving platform and my non-scooba sensors will interface with the HandyBoard.

[bhylak]

Yes, like said a servo is a servo and with the proper supplies/tools, sure you could control it. But the SCI, now the ROI sends commands to the internal MCU. So by connecting right to the wheels you could control it. Or having all the components attached to the Motorola board.

I suggest you get a Red/Disco with the OSMO. (Got mine on ebay, 50 dollars) Locally, (Or craigslist) you may get a better deal. It may save some time and effort.

If you are using your scooba just for its driving platform you could basically do away with the Chasis, and add some more wheels for stability.