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Controlling Turtlebot's sound/noise

asked 2011-11-17 08:59:57 -0600

130s gravatar image

updated 2012-09-07 12:44:37 -0600

Is there a way to control/stop/resume the funny sound that Turtlebot makes when it moves (not the one from the motor & wheels but the "computational" one from somewhere on iRobot Create) ? I suspect it might not even controlled by ROS since I don't see any topic that seems sound related.

I personally like that sound since it's really "robotic", but it'd be nicer if I can turn it off in certain situation for ex. when I create the map of my office.


Update Nov 18) Thanks guys but sounds like the sound I'm talking about is different from what you think of. My turtlebots make this fake, sci-fi, technical sound when it/Create moves. And it looks like it comes from the base not from Kinect.

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answered 2011-11-18 14:19:29 -0600

Atom gravatar image

updated 2011-11-18 14:24:08 -0600

To shed some more light on the subject. I even went as far as to disconnect the speaker on the Create (cut the wire) in order to reduce any sound coming from the base. Now my turtlebot seems quieter moving forward or backwards. The weird blipy Starwars noises seem to have be fixed by my mod but it still makes the noise when rotating in place, but not as loud as before. I am sure the noise you are describing is not related to the Create's speakers. As strange as that might sound. Im sure its the motors or possibly something to with the motor drivers making noise. You can try taping your speaker up and see if the noise you hear is reduced. I'll take some time and investigate the noises agian, and post some more info. --Atom--

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answered 2011-11-17 20:30:22 -0600

Atom gravatar image

Well, my experience with the IRobot Create is that it is loud. IMHO But I went as far as to examine the internals of the motors and drive-train and noticed that alot of the noise was due to plastic parts rubbing or touching inside. So I added some small plastic spacers inside the gear case to make some distance away from the motor gears and the encoders. Which I believe is where alot of the funny noise was coming from. But the trick is not to put too much distance away from the encoder and sensor so it still accurate. My turtlebot still makes noise but not nearly as loud as before. But I assume this mod will void your warranty and you may damage the gears,encoders, ect if you are not careful.. I mainly examined the noise due to the interference I was getting when trying to use TTSpeech with turtlebot. --Atom--

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answered 2012-10-16 13:10:45 -0600

mmwise gravatar image

Most likely that noise is generated by the servo motor when the velocity command to the create is very small. When servo motors are driven at the low end of the controllable range typically they will make noises like you hear in the create. As you drive the create faster the noise should be less pronounced.

Also you can drive the motors at particular frequencies to produce different noises in general. For example you can make servo motors sing.... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-i9RyROVWHI

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answered 2011-11-17 16:29:50 -0600

Mac gravatar image

I've never heard a turtlebot make much noise, other than the motors. Creates make noise when they're turned on (I don't recall if the Turtlebot drivers make the robot make noise when they connect). But neither of those are "when it moves."

Can you explain further?

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Asked: 2011-11-17 08:59:57 -0600

Seen: 2,530 times

Last updated: Oct 16 '12