Star Wars R2-D2 Robot Vacuum Cleaner is Perfect for Lockdown

Sure, you might use the Samsung Stormtrooper robot vacuum cleaner to clean your house. But if you don’t want to transform at lockdown to the dark side of the Force, you can always ask R2-D2 to take care of your messes.

Star Wars fan Matthew Scott Hunter converted his Roomba into a realistic-looking R2-D2 cleaning droid back in 2018, but this week the video resurfaced as many are searching for ways to make cleaning more bearable during the lockdown of coronaviruses. Hunter used lightweight garbage that can be used to create a cleaning robot with a dome cover, poster board, and random household objects.

Hunter used oscillating fan parts for turning the droid ‘s head. He also added a Bluetooth speaker inside so that R2-D2 could produce droid sound effects while cleaning the floors. The helpful robot moves by itself or can be remotely controlled.

“I’ve made a lot of special improvements to my Roomba, because if you’re going to have a robot to clean your house, why not make it the droid you’ve always been searching for?” Hunter wrote on his YouTube post.

The DIY cleaning astromech, which Hunter calls R9-D9, weighs 14 pounds, but is still light enough to push around and suck dirt from the Roomba vacuum foundation.

In fact, this project may encourage some tinkerers to make cleaning robots more Star Wars-themed. How about an IG-88 window washer or BB-8 floor waxer? Honestly, if someone wants to build me one, I would be satisfied with a mouse droid stair cleaner.

After you’re making your own astromech housekeeper, here are a few Star Wars crafts that you can create during lockdown for even more fun.