[Electrosync] is the creator and driver of the world’s fastest robotic vaccum cleaner, the Vroomba. It’s a heavily modified roomba capable of speeds of around 60 kph, well beyond the pedaling speed of most bicyclists. Despite being rejected by Guinness for a world record, we’re fairly confident that no other vacuum cleaners have gotten up to these speeds since the Vroomba first hit the streets. That’s not going to stop [electrosync] from trying to top his own record, though, and he’s brought the Vroomba some much needed upgrades.
The first, and perhaps most important, upgrades are to some of the structural components and wheels. The robot is much heavier than comparable RC vehicles and is under much greater strain than typical parts are meant to endure, so he’s 3D printed some parts of the chassis and some new wheels using a nylon-carbon fiber filament for improved strength. The wheels get a custom polyurethane coating similar to last time.
Controlling the robot a handful with previous versions. This is because Roombas use differential steering, controlling direction by sending more or less power to one of a pair of wheels. This is great for maneuverability at low speeds but becomes nightmarish at 60 kph, so [electrosync] added an onboard gyroscope to help the controller maintain a stable direction.
The final improvement was a full aerodynamic body kit including a front splitter and a rather large spoiler. With those improvements, it was ready to hit the track. After some fine-tuning the Vroomba is nearly as fast as its previous record. This is presumably because of a combination of higher weight and losses due to downforce from the spoiler, but ..
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