I’m working on a robot that follows people for a school project and i was wondering how the roomba does it, and if maybe i could do the same thing on the robot.
Edit: i think my roomba doesn’t map out the rooms as it’s pretty old, but still finds the dock
In: 4
Ever have a siren on a cop car driving past you?
When it is far away, it makes noise at one frequency, and then that changes as it gets closer, and then further away. It sounds a bit difference.
This is called Doppler Shift. It is a very clear illustration of the fact that signals (sound, in this case), can change as things move around.
The Roomba uses an RF signal, similar to a radio.
So. The antenna for the roomba can hear the radio station that the docking station is broadcasting.
If it moves right to left, it sounds wrong. If it is moving AWAY from the radio station, it sounds wrong. If it is moving in the right direction, and pointing right at the docking station, it knows that it is driving in the right direction.
If it gets misaligned? Sounds wrong. Similar to dialing in a radio, or the doppler shifted siren.
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