Custom 8-bit Roombas created for Super iam8bit

Though the LA art show Super iam8bit ended September 10, it lives on in our hearts (and archived articles). But one new way to remember it is through the short montage of custom “character covers” created by the company iRobot and fabricator Kelice Penny. The video was put together by the iam8bit production company, and the 8-bit characters were crafted by hand, mounted to Roombas, and left to roam around the gallery floor guided only by their own circuitry. You can check them out below.

Custom Character Roombas (for SUPER iam8bit) from iam8bit Productions on Vimeo.

The four characters are a Goomba, a red shell, and a green shell from Super Mario and the last (and largest) is an Octorok from The Legend of Zelda. Like most of the gallery, they're based on iconic games, so you may have already known who they were. What you might not of been able to tell is that the Roombas were still fully functional with the character covers in place — not only do custom 8-bit Roombas make great art, but they clean the floor with maximum efficiency.

Sep 19, 2011

Latest in Gaming
GDC The Game Developers logo
When is the Game Developers Conference 2025 and why is it so interesting?
Pokemon Legends: Z-A screenshot
Everything announced at Pokemon Presents 2025
Saros screenshot featuring the main character and am imposing monster in the background with a swirling void in its chest and multiple arms with balls of fire
Everything announced at the PlayStation State of Play February 2025
Close up shot of an anime schoolgirl with a superhero mask over her eyes in a screenshot from Mightreya.
My Steam wishlist is bigger than ever thanks to the indie devs flooding social media with 15-second clips explaining their games
FGS Spring 2025
The Future Games Show Spring Showcase is back and will have a new live segment from the GDC event floor
A close-up of the Doom Slayer in the upcoming PC game, Doom: The Dark Ages.
Xbox Developer Direct 2025: date, time, and where to stream the showcase
Latest in News
Scarlett Johansson in Jurassic World Rebirth
Jurassic World Rebirth studio asked Scarlett Johansson to join Instagram, but she refused: "The film will do fine"
Deltarune
Undertale creator Toby Fox's tomfoolery leaves Deltarune testers thinking an intentional nerf was actually a bug after they "independently" discovered it
Pokemon Go player trying to catch a Croagunk
Pokemon Go developer Niantic has been bought for $3.5 billion, CEO says it'll help its games be "'forever games' that will endure for future generations"
A Minecraft Movie
Minecraft movie's popcorn bucket is an explosive, game-accurate continuation of a cinema trend that shows no signs of slowing down
The Running Man
The Running Man reboot is bringing back key aspects of Stephen King's novel to turn it into "the deadliest game of hide and seek"
Balatro Joker card
After stepping away from Balatro for 3 months, the developer only resumed work "because I was bored but the internet was out so I couldn't play Rocket League"