How to Program Roomba - Roomba Modes

  By Anna Sandler

What are Roomba modes?

Some of the commands require Roomba to be in a specific mode to accept them.
Roomba has four modes:

• "Off"
• "Full"
• "Safe"
• "Passive"

"Off" mode

Roomba will enter the "Off" mode when it is powered on after a battery change or other loss of power.
The only command that can be accepted in the "Off" mode is the "Start" command (command byte [128]) that automatically puts Roomba into the "Passive" mode.
When Roomba is powered off, no command can be processed until you power it on (by pressing the power button).

"Full" mode

"Full" mode gives you a full control, and disables all protection mechanisms.
"Full" mode accepts all the commands except the "Force-Seeking-Dock" (byte command [143]).
Use the "Full" mode only if you implement a fail-safe mechanism of your own, or if you would like to give Roomba a different behavior when Roomba's sensors reach their fail-safe values.
Some of the commands require Roomba to be in a "Full" or "Safe" mode like "Drive" (command [137]), or "Play" a song (command [140]).
Roomba buttons (Clean/ Spot...) and remote control buttons are disabled in this mode.
You can only use SCI commands instead of pressing the buttons.
When you enter the "Full" mode, the LEDs are turned off and charging is terminated.
Make sure you change the mode back to "Passive" when your app is terminated in order to enable Roomba’s default behavior.

"Safe" mode (recommended)

"Safe" mode is similar to the "Full" mode with one difference- the robot’s fail-safe mechanisms are enabled.
Fail-safe mechanism stops Roomba's motors when a cliff, wheel-drop or charging were detected.
Like in the "Full" mode, Roomba buttons (Clean/ Spot...) and remote control buttons are disabled.
You can use SCI commands as a replacement to Roomba’s buttons.
When you enter the "Safe" mode, the LEDs are turned off and charging is terminated.
Make sure you change the mode back to "Passive" when your app is terminated in order to enable Roomba’s default behavior.

NOTE: If Roomba is in "Safe" mode while a safety condition occurs (like a wheel drop), it goes into "Passive" mode automatically.

"Passive" mode

"Passive" mode gives a limited access to Roomba's commands.
Only the following commands are available in this mode:

• "Get Roomba's sensors" (command [142]);
• Start and stop cleaning cycles (commands [133]-[136]);
• "Define a song" (command [140]);
• "Force-Seeking-Dock" (command [143]);

How to change Roomba mode:

• "Start" command [128]- Changes Roomba mode from every mode to "Passive" and tells Roomba to be prepared to start accepting commands;
• "Control" command [130]- Changes Roomba mode from "Passive" to "Safe" mode (for Roomba 4XX, Create and Dirt Dog models) or from "Passive" or "Full" mode to "Safe" mode for the other Roomba models;
• "Safe" command [131]- Changes Roomba mode from "Full" mode to "Safe" mode (for Roomba 4XX, Create and Dirt Dog models) or from "Passive" or "Full" mode to "Safe" mode for the other Roomba models;
• "Full" command [132]- Changes Roomba mode from "Safe" to "Full" (for Roomba 4XX, Create and Dirt Dog models) or from "Passive" or "Safe" mode to "Full" mode for the other Roomba models;

At least 20 milliseconds must pass after the mode was changed before any other command can be accepted.

What's next?

Ready for some driving lessons? How to program Roomba to drive tutorial