Mastodawn

will strafach Dec 17

Matthew Garrett

iRobot apparently just declared bankruptcy, so if you have an internet connected one and want to retain control if the cloud platform vanishes, take a look at https://github.com/koalazak/dorita980#how-to-get-your-usernameblid-and-password and stash that information somewhere safe (and note that it changes if you ever factory reset the device, so try not to do that)

GitHub - koalazak/dorita980: Unofficial iRobot Roomba and Braava (i7/i7+, 980, 960, 900, e5, 690, 675, m6, etc) node.js library (SDK) to control your robot

Unofficial iRobot Roomba and Braava (i7/i7+, 980, 960, 900, e5, 690, 675, m6, etc) node.js library (SDK) to control your robot - koalazak/dorita980

GitHub

Gwyn Ciesla Dec 15

@mjg59 mine are dead and I was pondering whether to try to repair. I guess that's that then.

Matthew Garrett Dec 15

@gwync They're being restructured as a going concern but it's not really a great sign

Gwyn Ciesla Dec 15

@mjg59 no. And it's not as potentially hazardous as 23andMe.

Unless they had that room mapping tech and stored home floorplans. Not ideal.

Luis Villa Dec 15

@mjg59 @gwync sigh. Didn’t love the software but they were really repairable machines.

Gwyn Ciesla Dec 15

@luis_in_brief @mjg59 right? So many replacable parts.

RalfMaximus Dec 15

@luis_in_brief @mjg59 @gwync

I've never used the software. Never let it connect to the Internet. Still works fine, great in fact just pushing the button.

don Elías (como los buses) 🥨Dec 15

We have one that never got connected to the internet and never will.

@luis_in_brief @mjg59 @gwync

David Adam Dec 15

@mjg59 that explains the massive uptick in marketing over the last few months I guess

@zanchey there was marketing? @mjg59

(legit forgot about irobot)

Programmer 832-529 🍅Dec 15

@mjg59 "filing for bankruptcy" is just another way of saying "strategic transaction to drive long term growth"

They actually called it that.

fuzzyfuzzyfungus Dec 15

@smallsees @mjg59 It looks the the bankruptcy is basically just finishing the accounting details of what they already did: https://media.irobot.com/2024-01-29-iRobot-Announces-Operational-Restructuring-Plan-to-Position-Company-for-the-Future

Cut everyone they could; farmed most of it out to the ODM who is now their primary supplier and creditor.

iRobot Announces Operational Restructuring Plan to Position Company for the Future

Announces Leadership Transition Provides Preliminary Fourth Quarter Results; Schedules Conference Call for February 27, 2024 BEDFORD, Mass., Jan. 29, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, iRobot Corporation...

iRobot MediaKit

Ariaflame Dec 15

@mjg59 I have a roomba, but it's old enough not to be internet connected.

Marcos Dione Dec 15

@mjg59 I have a couple of 8xx that will survive this \o/

@mjg59 unfortunately they removed all local position and mapping data in version 3 firmwares. At best you'll have a robot that continues to work exactly as you set it up with no way to change rooms or areas.

Matthew Garrett Dec 15

@exu yup. Still better to have something that works until you move house than something that can't do anything other than bounce around the room.

Simon Cozens Dec 15

@mjg59 @exu Is that the wonderfully named "100 (1000) series" that I have? Never managed to get it to talk to dorita980. I guess it's just a ride-on vehicle for the cats now.

James Derrick Dec 15

@mjg59 Good shout - I used the same library to get the Roomba creds for local MQTT control from Home Assistant:

https://www.home-assistant.io/integrations/roomba/#manually-retrieving-your-credentials

Looks like mapping data retrieval has been added since I last looked - great!

iRobot Roomba and Braava

Instructions on how to integrate your Wi-Fi enabled Roomba and Braava within Home Assistant.

Home Assistant

@mjg59 How much scope is there for evil if the control domain lapses and is bought by someone malicious?

Matthew Garrett Dec 15

@pseudomonas My recollection is that there's cert validation so it wouldn't be trivial

@mjg59 phew. I mean, having the devices themselves messed up is bad enough but better than having them eg wreck people's houses. (well, inasmuch as that's possible for a small cylindrical robot. maliciously put dings into furniture legs i guess.)

Simon Bisson Dec 15

@mjg59 Home Assistant has support for the local device APIs, plus tips on how to extract the per-device encryption keys.

The Penguin of Evil Dec 15

@mjg59 it's being dumped through the US chapter 11 game to avoid liability for any existing debt etc then flogged to the people in China who did all the work anyway

(((JaneinNJ)))Dec 15

@mjg59 Is there a place where technically non-advanced people can get dumbed-down instructions?

Travis Marble Dec 15

@mjg59 it also looks like it is being purchased by a Chinese firm,

"iRobot says it is entering Chapter 11 protection and will be acquired by its contract manufacturer, China-based Picea Robotics."

That's frustrating, I specifically avoided a Chinese one!

https://www.theverge.com/news/844460/irobot-files-for-bankruptcy

iRobot files for bankruptcy

The Roomba vacuum maker will be bought by Picea Robotics and plans to continue operating.

The Verge

Nicolás Alvarez Dec 15

@marbletravis @mjg59 afaik iRobot was already outsourcing manufacturing *and* design to Picea anyway, they weren't doing anything anymore.

Nicolás Alvarez Dec 15

@marbletravis @mjg59 similarly, I have a Samsung robo-vacuum, and it's all made by Midea, Samsung just slaps their logo on it.

Travis Marble Dec 15

@nicolas17 @mjg59 yeah, it's getting harder and harder to avoid.

I have no objection to imported goods, I'm just skeptical of my data in china, which I know is nigh impossible to achieve.

Terra Field Dec 15

@mjg59 ours fatally leapt down a staircase recently, likely distraught over its progenitor’s financial woes.