Roomba Surgery: Replace the Bumper Articulating Arm Optical Sensor Set

A few weeks ago my iRobot Roomba started spinning in circles and failing with a 9-beep error.  This error is related to the two bumper sensors located at 10 and 2 o’clock.  In some cases there might simply be debris behind the bumper interfering with the sensors.  I ruled this out with a disassembly and clean.

If your unit is under warranty you would likely be sent a replacement unit for this case, but that being said, mine was not.  Plus I was secretly looking forward to a full disassembly.

I followed a combination of instructions I found on the net to diagnose and replace the faulty part.

The problem is caused by one or two faulty “Bumper Articulating Arm Optical Sensors” in your robot.  These sensors consist of a plastic arm that swings between two IR sensors.  My readings on the working sensor showed a range of 0-5 volts.

The first sensor I tested functioned correctly switching between  0 and 5 volts.  The second sensor was fixed at 0v.  I had read about shorting out the IR to half blind your Roomba but I was not in the mood to solder fragile wires.  With that said, I managed to find a replacement part from Protech Robots. 

A week and a bit later (the item was shipped USPS ground) my part arrived and it was time to put Roomba back together again.

 
Remove the face plate

Remove the side brush, bottom plate, battery and the bumper (after removing the plate that holds the bumper on, the bumper gently lifts off.

 

This is one of the Articulating Arm Optical Sensors

Remove the top of the robot (don’t remove the screws for the handle)

Disassemble and remove the display

Gently remove the plastic sheet on top of the PCB

 
Disconnect all of the connections from the top of the PCB and remove the screws securing it.

Gently lift up the PCB towards you (the front of the robot) exposing the bottom connections.  Gently disconnect all of the connections including the bumper.

 
Gently lift out the IR sensor array

 
Remove the 2 screws securing each articulating arm sensor and remove the sensors from the robot.

 

 
Here comes the trickiest of the parts.  You need to follow all of the wires from the sensors to the connector located in the bottom right of this photo, ignoring the white wire that connects the two sensors together.  Carefully remove any material securing the cables together.  I highly suggest you draw a visual of the connector and keep track of the individual wires as you remove them.  To remove the individual wires from the connector you need to gently lift up the plastic the secures the wire, and pull at the same time.  I used a small paper clip to lift the plastic.

Once the connector is reassembled the rest of the steps are just the re-assembly of the robot and testing.

 

It works!

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How to query your BES database for a list of users

I was asked to generate a list of all our BES users, including their name, phone number, PIN, IMEI and device number.  Sure, I could have copied/pasted this data out of the BES management utility, but what fun is that?

It turns out that it’s really easy to query the BESMGMT database for this list.

SELECT
      uc.[DisplayName],
      sdms.[PhoneNumber],
      uc.[PIN],
      sdms.[IMEI],
      sdms.[ModelName]  
FROM
      [dbo].[SyncDeviceMgmtSummary] sdms
INNER JOIN
      [dbo].[UserConfig] uc on sdms.[UserConfigId] = uc.[Id]

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MBC is Hiring – ASP.NET Web Developer Position available in Toronto, Ontario

Description

If you enjoy working on a variety of cutting edge web applications ranging from eCommerce apps to Social Networking sites then this position might be for you! MBC is seeking to hire a talented and passionate developer with a deep understanding of ASP.NET and the .NET framework but who also likely knows their way around windbg.  Experience with standards-based XHTML, CSS, JavaScript and AJAX is a must.  The position is based out of Richmond Hill, Ontario (just outside of Toronto).  Office environment is young and casual.

Experience

Degree or certificate in Computer Science, Computer Engineering or college level application development program. Some experience developing production applications required.

Responsibilities

1. Design and coding of features and bug fixes in a variety of .NET applications authored in C# (primarily ASP.NET)
2. Occasionally working on VB6, PHP, ASP applications
3. Communication with clients regarding progress, feature requests, answering general questions, support

Requirements

• Strong object oriented design and programming using C# and ASP.NET 3.5
• Strong knowledge of Microsoft SQL Server 2000/2005 (programming with T-SQL)
• A desire to take part in the full development processing starting with design of features through implementation
• Job experience working with C#, ASP.NET, .NET framework, JavaScript, AJAX
• Experience working in a team environment
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills

Additional Assets

• Knowledge of COM+, Active Directory, Exchange, IIS, MSMQ
• Team Foundation Server
• PHP, ColdFusion, ASP
• MySQL
• Basic use of graphic design tools such as Adobe Photoshop

Salary

Commensurate with experience.

To apply for the job

Candidates will be required to provide sample source code that demonstrates strong knowledge of C# and ASP.NET. An application implementing an n-tier design is highly recommended. Additional consideration will be given to candidates who provide sample code using .NET 3.0/3.5 technologies such as LINQ, WCF, WPF.

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XHTML Strict not supported by ASP.NET

Back in October I opened up a MS Connect feedback item about a validation error I was receiving with a XHTML Strict site that used a ScriptManager with history support.  The site would fail W3C validation because the ScriptManager emits an IFRAME (when history is enabled) , and an IFRAME is not part of the XHTML Strict spec.  I just thought I’d provide the official word from Microsoft on this issue: XHTML Strict is not supported by ASP.NET!

XHTML strict is not supported by ASP.NET. Only transitional doctypes are supported, which enables iframes. Furthermore, the history feature can't be made compatible with IE 6 and 7 without using an iframe.

Posted by Microsoft on 11/12/2008 at 12:34 PM

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Don’t forget about the defer attribute for non-essential external scripts

I was recently reviewing a customers eCommerce site and I noticed that the “Please Wait” page that occurs after completing an order but before you view the order was taking a long time to load.  Using Firebug I traced the issue down to an external script that was taking it’s sweet time to download; it was for affiliate tracking on a 3rd party site.

I’m all for tracking, but not at the expense of performance.  Though I haven’t seen an affiliate/ad partner use the defer attribute on their script tags before, there is good reason for you to add it.  Consider the following example:

SlowRequest.aspx is just an ASP.NET page that after a 2 second delay, returns some JavaScript (not my finest code I might add)

Sure enough, for the first two seconds, all you see is

And finally (2 seconds later)

Luckily for this example, this information isn’t overly pertinent – but if it were my order status, it would be.  Luckily a quick defer=”defer” attribute on your script tag and the wait is gone; the external script is loaded after the DOM is ready:

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Is it really going to take that long?

You have to love Microsoft dialogs sometimes:

I really hope that’s not an accurate number! This was invoked by removing the Encrypted attribute on a folder of about 1GB.

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OrderDynamics Launches New Website

October 27, 2008

TORONTO - OrderDynamics Corporation, an on-demand eCommerce solution provider, is pleased to announce its new website.

Since 2006, OrderDynamics has had a website that focused more on the technical details of their solution. The new website, and company logo and colors, is designed to provide visitors with a view to the entire OrderDynamics solution, not simply technical details.

"Our success comes from our overall approach, and we wanted this reflected in our brand and website going forward." Michael Benadiba, CEO and founder of OrderDynamics Corporation. The new website contains new content areas that describe all major aspects of the eCommerce solution. The design itself is significantly less busy, more simplistic, and easier for potential Clients to find what they need -all underlying themes meant to support the company philosophy. "The format of the website is exciting for us. Shortly, we will be providing specific content to explain to potential Client’s how we solve real problems for online merchants." Benadiba says.

About OrderDynamics Corporation

OrderDynamics Corporation is a privately owned company that provides turn-key eCommerce solutions to businesses looking to grow their online sales. The success of OrderDynamics is highly attributed to its response to real Client requirements and Dynamic Merchandising concepts which provide superior control and help drive revenue. The OrderDynamics solution is designed for online merchants and services different business such as retail, manufacturing, business-to-business, complex online retail, and more. OrderDynamics officially launched its solution in 2006 after 2 years of research and development.

For more information, please contact:

Michael Benadiba
Chief Executive Officer
OrderDynamics Corporation
1+ (866) 559-8123
news@orderdynamics.com

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