DIY ATtiny85 Roomba Wall

I decided to make this Roomba virtual wall after my old one broke down, and I found a lot of information on the Internet on how to make one.

The basic virtual wall signal is actually very easy to replicate with any microcontroller, an IR LED and a small current-limiting resistor.

I created mine using the ATtiny85 and some Arduino code. I chose the ATtiny85 because it uses very little current in sleep mode, so 3 x AA batteries can keep it powered for months.

A 3D-printed enclosure helps to house the prototype board and batteries. I made two and use them on a daily basis now.

You can read more about the design and implementation here, along with a link-dump of all the other implementations I have found while researching the topic.

The actual prototype board is very small, so it is entirely possible to make this into a very small device powered by a coin battery. This device can then be mounted inconspicuously anywhere by blutack or tape. The coin battery should be able to provide operating power for at least a few weeks.

One current limitation of this DIY virtual wall over the commercial device is that it does not protect itself via a ring of IR signal projected via a conical reflector at the top of the device. Hence the virtual has to be strategically positioned to prevent the Roomba from running into it.