I'm pretty sure somebody will buy the data iRobot robots collected during their cleaning time :-)
this post was submitted on 12 Mar 2025
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I wonder how valuable that data even is, or to who. I figure the data consists of accumulated cleaning time, location, surface area which could be used to extrapolate some socio economic stats and offer insight how to best market these devices. And also technical data about the devices. Both of which I'd wager are probably useful to companies in the same business.
We'll see who buys them in a year :D
Not just surface area, based on algorithms it can also determine type of appliances, furniture layout, routines, habits and a lot more when combined with other datasets.
https://valetudo.cloud/pages/general/supported-robots.html
iRobot not even on the list despite being the original de facto vacuum robot OEM
The movie wasn't very good either
Oof, as an American company the rest of the world is boycotting them too.
Yup, they are toast. I dont think the Americans have realized how much permanent damage Trump has caused.
They're about to learn about the world stage
I highly doubt his voters will ever realize it. People who voted for him have single digit IQs. Other Americans warned them before hand.
Not only boycotts, it'll also be a prime target for retaliatory tariffs. So for even those that don't care about the boycott, a Roomba will cost at least 25% more than the equivalent robot vacuum made in Korea.
Democrats have known from the moment he was elected. Republicans are starting to figure it out now that they are feeling the effects. Of course, they were the ones who caused it so....
They're really not though, maga fascists, actually believe this is a mere speed bump on the way to the promised land...
"Many economists are saying that the market was due for a correction..."
I've seen that comment a few times in the last few days. They'll say ANYTHING to support Dear Leader.
Economists will literally say anything to perpetuate capitalism/the status quo.
All the economists here (Canada) are saying this is an absolute disaster that will cause a recession. No reasonable person believes these tariffs are a net positive.
Well obviously, they need to get into the lucrative back alley robot vacuum cleaner fight rings. Strap on that knife iRobot vacuum, and lets go!
We need decent European alternatives for robot vaccuums.
We need open source alternatives
I'll just put this right here...
Valetudo, though an absolutely amazing software, is no the replacement I was meaning. I meant we need a fully open source robot, from software to hardware, and that can be adapted. Of course there's always blobs which are not open source, but that's the case already for many things
Absolutely, but that only happens once someone starts a project and gets contributors. Be the change you want to see.
Chinese mop vacuum combos with dust and water bin are going for $500 these days. It is bonkers how cheap they go. Trying to compete in that market is a lost cause. Better install Valetudo on a Chinese vacuum. Maybe a European OEM could do something similar.
Will certainly be a bummer if they do go under, I really appreciated their serviceability. Have several in the immediate family that have been going for over 7 years at this point though all kinds of calamities. Each time can I just pop out all the components clean/replace as necessary and get it back in service, good as new.
Agree. While I think there's been little effort to evolve their products at the same pace as their competitors, I have very much appreciated their servicability.
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The free market is supposed to make this happen. The problem is that we have also built a system that just generates mountains of junk and e-waste. Because our government is feckless and refuses to actually regulate, ya know, anything with a shareholder attached.
Also because section 1201 of the DMCA means that otherwise useful things become e-waste.
Once they are cut off from the parent company they will go rogue and attack in the night...
When I got my first robot vacuum I was too impatient to wait for the battery to fully charge before trying it out so when I started it up it was only able to clean a small area before it had to go back to charge. Very exciting though!
Anyway I went to bed not realizing that once it was fully charged it would resume cleaning. So approximately 1am the vacuum wakes back up and starts cleaning. In my sleep-addled delirious state I had absolutely no idea what the fuck was going on. Suddenly it sounded like there was a jet engine in my room and I couldn't even tell where it was coming from until I jumped out of bed and there were red lights coming at me.
Saw my life flash before my eyes. Little fucker might as well have been a terminator.
So the Roomba I bought in 2021 is gonna stop working come 2026... Guess I need an open source vacuum now too 😩
It's going to become feral
this comment makes me question, is there an open source sex toy community?
edit: there is lmao https://github.com/PITR-DEV/ukbutt-mod
Bro .. this is the best response I've ever gotten on Lemmy 🤣🤣🤣 thank you stranger, both fascinating and hilarious
Good news, buttplug.io is written in Rust so it's safe.
Haha. Ofc with these prices and features compared to some other good Chinese and other brands roomba is doomed. Like check vacuum wars on YT. Middle model roombas are on par with your typical Chinese brand robots but price is double. Basically, you pay for a brand 🤷.
And then they go and remotely kill the vacuum after just 5 years.... (See above).... Yeah, not crying for iRobot...
I will check them out later! I've been wanting a robot vacuum for a while now but I also am wary of Chinese bullshit.
I want a really good one that doesn't connect to the internet in any way. 👍🏻 Even if that kills some of its smart features.
I pulled a trigger in 2024 for their 2023 pick. Dreame l20 ultra. It has app and does connect to the net. My pihole doesn't necessary send tons of requests outside. Just occasionally and most of them is when I visit app.
If you want truly self hosted vacuum, check out valetudo and their list of supported vacs. This way you would retain most of not all features and it will be fully your own device.
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It would be great if more smart devices had a LAN-only control mode like my 3D printer, TV and AV receiver.
I would be perfectly happy if my iRobot phone app only worked from inside my network.
Doesn't apply to iRobot but there are lots of robot vacuums that can be flashed with an open firmware with just a USB UART cable: https://valetudo.cloud/pages/general/supported-robots.html
As for the other devices, my 3D printer, projector and AV receiver are all locally controlled.
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So my vacuum will likely not work in 12 months. Niiiice.
Their products are like 5 years behind their competitors. It's inevitable.
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