Connecting Roomba to Your Computer

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Revision as of 20:05, 31 January 2007 by Pwt23 (Talk | contribs)

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This page covers the various ways that the roomba can be connected to the computer -- namely by Bluetooth (RooTooth) and Serial (RooStick). In this lab, you should have been given a 7-pin serial cable and a Roostick (a USB to serial converter).


Serial & RooStick


  1. Connect the computer to the internet
  2. Plug the RooStick into the computer
  3. A "Found New Hardware" bubble should appear and install the necessary drivers
    1. If this does not happen, the drivers can be found by allowing Windows to search for them on the internet
    2. You can also manually install drivers found at
  4. When the USB (CP2103) to Serial (UART) Converter is installed, you can now connect your Roomba to your computer via the serial cable.
  5. This next step is important. You must now find the Serial Port Number. The serial port number is used to tell applications through which port must be used to talk to your Roomba. This can be found by accessing Device Manager, which is Window's interface for managing hardware communicating with Windows. To access Device Manager, follow these steps:
    1. Right-click on "My Computer" and select Properties (you can also open My Computer Right-click somewhere in the folder, then Properties)
    2. A dialogue box should now appear. Click on the "Hardware" tab near the center top of the dialogue box.
    3. Select "Device Manager"
    4. If the Converter was installed correctly, in the list of devices, there should be a "Ports (COM & LPT)" Expand this menu
    5. Once exanded, there should be a device called "CP210x USB to UART Bridge Controller" Next to this is your Serial Port Number; Example: (COM3), (COM4), (COM6)
    6. Remember this port for Future reference


BlueTooth & RooTooth


Run Bluetooth Setup Wizard

  1. Select 2nd Option ("I want to find a specific Bluetooth device and configure how this computer will use its services")
  2. Windows Searches for BT devices in Neighborhood (have rootooth plugged into roomba and powered on)
  3. Select RooTooth
  4. Use "default" for pincode
  5. Click Initiate Pairing
  6. Select COM0 Service (check mark)
  7. Click Configure (windows will install drivers)
  8. Windows Selected COM6 as the Virtual Serial Port
  9. Click Finish
  10. In "My Bluetooth Places", right-click on "Rootooth COM0" and click Connect
  11. open cmd.exe and run 'java -Djava.library.path=rxtxlib -classpath ".;rxtxlib/RXTXcomm.jar" roombacomm.RoombaCommTest' from the roombacomm directory
  12. Select "COM6" at the top and hit connect
  13. Have fun (you might have to use reset to get it going)