Roomba cliff sensor cover

A quick idea, or concept if you will, for a solution to the anxious Roombas out there. This thing is meant to cover the sensors that keep your robot from falling down the stairs or from falling from balconies. The only problem with these sensors are their tendency to confuse dark carpets or rugs with endless voids. Resulting in carpets and portions of the house/apartment being left un-vacuumed. If you’ve got dark carpets, no cliffs (stairs, balcony or other) and a will to experiment, this is for you! If you’ve got cliffs, you might want to find another solution or Roomba proof them first. Try this at your own risk, you’ve been warned! Print one for each sensor, they are designed to be a friction fit. This should therefore be a good model for flexible filaments.

This has been a very iterative process but we are finally arriving in something useful. Our robot is a iRobot Roomba 880, but other models have the same or similar (other brands) sensors.

We recommend shiny, bright filaments which reflect the rays from the sensor we are trying to cover. We used white PLA and it worked very well. The model will probably need some support while printing. Sand and cut if needed.

We invite you to remix this for a better fit or for other models of robots. Make it pretty or tough as h*ll!