Real-life Frogger (or: Roomba hacking is fun)
by Christopher Grant 
{ Mar 16th 2006 at 2:30PM }
MAKE: Blogger (and one time Joystiq contributor) Phillip Torrone and Limor Fried (creator of the awesome Pac-Man LED bike wheels) teamed up recently at the SXSW conference in Austin to use a Roomba robotic vacuum to play a real-life game of Frogger!
Armed with only a Bluetooth-enabled Roomba, a green t-shirt, and the alcoholic consumption necessary to devise such a brilliant idea, they managed the little "frog" across four lanes of traffic ten times before falling under the wheels of a Toyota 4-Runner.
Afterwards Torrone said, "We had a lot to drink before we got here but there's nothing to sober you up like steering a robot through traffic." Ah, truer words were never spoken... not ever.
[Thanks, redLlama]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Sense @ Mar 16th 2006 2:41PM
That...is...awesome. In the true sense of the word. I am filled with awe.
David @ Mar 16th 2006 3:00PM
What, this is so stupid its not even funny. What if a car had swirved to avoid it and caused an accident, wouldn't be that humorous then I'd bet.
PsyClerk @ Mar 16th 2006 3:20PM
Where was George Costanza while all this was happening?
Douggy @ Mar 16th 2006 3:25PM
Lighten up Dave!
32_Footsteps @ Mar 16th 2006 3:27PM
Good thing I wasn't involved. I would have kept trying to get it run over.
Baba @ Mar 16th 2006 3:32PM
I'll never get over how many people break the law, document it, and post it on the internet.
Scott @ Mar 16th 2006 3:35PM
The thing lasted for 15 minutes, apparently. They must have racked up quite a high score.
GunForHire @ Mar 16th 2006 4:10PM
Man that looks like fun. I want to try it now. Only I don't have a Roomba, or the technical skills to make one bluetooth controllable. Oh well, I can dream...
Tony @ Mar 16th 2006 4:17PM
I wouldn't be very happy if I was the one over a piece of electronics that could potentially whip up thanks to a tire and dent up my car lol
Gonzo @ Mar 16th 2006 5:00PM
Oh
THAT'S what that was.
Another reason to not drive under the influence; I thought I killed a crippled Kermit.
homer @ Mar 16th 2006 9:24PM
I'll never get over how many people are uptight in this country, make a fuss about things that don't really matter, then ruin life for the rest of us by sucking the fun out of everything.
take dave, for example...
Ryuukuro @ Mar 16th 2006 10:13PM
Homer, those uptight people are the same folks who threaten to boycott games that are delayed and who sign and start petitions protesting cel-shaded Zelda games. They ain't even worth the grief.
And, yeah, someone could have been killed but, you know what? No one was...no one but that poor, brave roomba. Go real-life Frogger!
moody @ Mar 16th 2006 10:45PM
Dave has a valid point. I could easily see someone swerving to avoid the little green Roomba (I've seen someone go to a dead stop on a 55mph freeway to avoid a chipmunk). While really funny, this is crazy dangerous, stupid and irresponsible. It has nothing to do with being "uptight" or not, it's just common sense.
Now, the invisible rope trick, on the other hand, that's hilarious.
lolersticks @ Mar 16th 2006 10:57PM
DId anyone notice that the guy's a master in "Teledildonics"?
That is, by far, the COOLEST word that I've heard in a long time.
Ergin @ Mar 20th 2006 2:32PM
There's a difference between "uptight" and "responsible". Dave is absolutely right. Not only doing something this irresponsible, but also then proudly posting it on the Internet is such an adolescent piece of behavior that I can't get my mind around it!
The "fun in everything" of this sort would transform into tragedy astoundingly rapidly when something bad happens and it's your own daughter or brother whose life is ruined in the name of someone's fun. "Fun" should not involve jeopardizing two-ton fragile machines traveling at 70 miles per hour in close proximity carrying non-consenting live people.
And saying "yeah, someone could have been killed, but no one was" is such a rationally handicapped statement that I wouldn't even know where to start responding to it. So I won't.
In case your "uptight" stereotype involves a 60-year-old irate old man rocking in his armchair, I may point out that I'm actually a Silicon Valley software engineer who does mountain biking and autocross racing, if you must know.