Which ROS package are you using for the neato? I had a lot of fiddly compatibility issues with mikeferguson/neato_robot: https://bbot.org/blog/archives/2016/06/09/using_ros_with_the...

Fergs' node is kind of old, and he's a bit busy being CTO at Fetch Robotics, so don't expect him to put a lot of bandwidth into updates. Ralph Gnauck's fork of Ferg's original node has been updated for D-series Botvacs and recently added support for ROS Kinetic. We are on Kinetic.

Would be good to know how hackable this is. It's got SLAM

http://www.gearbest.com/robot-vacuum/pp_440546.html

Ridiculously hackable. Plug in a USB cable, open your favorite serial terminal, and type "help". There are Neato ROS nodes, and it isn't hard to hack around with other interfaces.

edit: I should note that through the USB interface you get raw LIDAR data, but not access to the internal SLAM. The LIDAR itself is decent, 1 degree angular resolution, 5m indoor range (2+ m outdoors with a sunshade) and 2cm distance accuracy at 5m, 1mm distance resolution. I've given multiple XV-11's LIDAR-ectomies, (get dead robots off E-Bay) and as soon as it spins up you start getting data. A simple PID controller (or even an "I" controller) will get you spinning at 300 RPM +/- 1%, which will give you very good quality data. Easily done with Arduino or better.

Is it? Which one are you using? Walmart has the D80 for $499, which is about $50 more than the Kobuki.

I bought a used XV-11 for $179, but budget buying a replacement battery immediately (~$60) since any used robot vacuum is going to have a bad battery.

I'm using a D80, but they can be found for less. The D-series is much preferred, because the XV-11 has a lame USB driver and the LIDAR data chokes it. I didn't realize Kobuki's were that cheap.

Yeah, the Turtlebot 2 is significantly more expensive than just the Kobuki, as mentioned in the post. But you get more stuff, too.