Ever wonder what path your Roomba takes as it clears the floor? Well, here’s an easy way to find out, and create some fine artwork in the process. The above pictures were made by sticking an LED to the top of a Roomba vacuum, then photographing it using a long exposure setting. This results in a form of motion capture, and you can clearly see where your Roomba has been by where the light trails are. There are a bunch of other photos at the Flickr group.
Now, if I was going to do this, I would also put a big light on my cat, so I can show how quickly it makes a b-line for cover when the scary vacuum turns on.
Above photos by Flickr users reconscious and digitalosh.
[thanks Patti!]
8 thoughts on “Beautiful generative art made with Roombas”
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These pictures should be on their website.
It’s so wonderful to see such an excellent visualization of an algorithm, and how it is expressed given different initial condition and spatial constraints.
is it the Roomba itself on the pics?!
The Roomba doesn’t show up because it isn’t around in one place for long enough to show up. The LED shows up because it is really bright, and the furniture does because it is stationary, so the dim illumination from the LED shining on it for a long time eventually makes it bright.