For the last few years, enterprising robot hobbyists have hacked into iRobot’s popular Roomba robot to make their own autonomous robots. Now iRobot has decided to faciliate that modification even further by releasing iRobot Create, a do-it-yourself robot kit based on the Scooba/Roomba platform.

The Create will be offered at a variety of price points, ranging from a basic model for $129, a robot with command module for $179, and a complete bundle (with charger) for $229.

An open expansion bay (with 25-pin expansion port) allows for the addition of new sensors, expansion devices, actuators and other gadgets to expand the usefulness of the device. A number of demos and hard-wired sensors (32) are also included. The optional command module plugs into the expansion bay and enables full access to all of the Create’s sensors, motors and other devices. Also included are sample programs, a compiler, USB cable and a quickstart guide. The Create will support the use of a range of programming languages (including C/C++) via iRobot open interface.

Check out iRobot’s iCreate website or Robot Magazine’s Create article for more information. (Source: iRobot) – [Jeff James]