allot of basic functionality, like mapping, will no longer be possible since it seems to depend on the cloud; this will make units close to useless as rooms / houses change.
already enrolled devices should still be able to run their jobs, but I suspect updating their maps will no longer work. With internet disabled, I tried running a job on my i7 via HA and it worked, but not sure how long it would last before the bot refuses to work until connected to the cloud service.
Is there any way around these issues with a iRobot bankruptcy, or would it be lethal to the iRobot integration once the cloud service goes down?
I am hoping there is a solution Home Assistant could leverage to show its power in keeping perfectly capable devices out of landfills.
Strongly recommend you buy the company, publish the source code as public domain, and free the cloud.
Not happening? Welcome to your expensive orphan.
Hopefully some enterprising person with access to the source code will liberate it. A bankrupt entity is possibly not going to have money to sic lawyers onto you. They could even form a spinoff company to take over support of just that very product.
The HomeAssistant community is very resourceful with reverse engineering. I doubt it will take very long for third party addons to appear. It may draw the hordes reliant on the vendor solution to come here seeking their fix.
First and foremost it is the buyers responsibility to buy devices that allow full ownership an local control to don’t get caught up in a full blown enshittification
When the shit hits the fan already best you can do is probably take money into your hand to find someone willing to waste time freeing your device EOL’ed by the vendor
And make a payed subscription so it can continue to work like companies did already
I read in a different place that reported the same story that the same generic hardware, firmware and software bundleware may be found in other devices too, where the internals are rebadged with no modifications other than branding? An opportunity for a generic solution tied to open source and HomeAssistant exists.
I’m thinking of the vast treasure trove of home pattern layouts stored by Google, unbeknown to the users, and possibly even the rebadging vendors, and what would happen should they abruptly withdraw that mapping service all these devices rely on behind the scenes, like happened in the fitness tracker industry, or at least make the APIs so different that firmware updates are obligatory for the device to conrinue to function.
Oh wait, no security, right? Hack away! Easy peasy…
So iRobot files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, possibly a victim of soaring tariffs, and the the main manufacturer of Roomba devices, Shenzhen-based Picea Robotics, will take ownership of the company.
Wonder if there will be any release of source code or APIs? I would doubt it.
I’m pretty sure no API or code I would just promote some kind of protection for customers. This is totally unregulated and we (the customers) are totally unprotected from the companies plans to tie us to their ecosystems.
Not really. The moment you buy a device without the obligatory due diligence you probably will know it down the line when the shit hits the fan
A 3 stunning second google search for example reveals
So if you plan your purchase and stick to a device which can be controlled a 100% locally you are not obliged to take part in the enshittification
It might be just the silver lining if you end up being the product or the actual consumer
a woman participating in a development program for iRobot’s Roomba J7 series was subjected to an egregious breach of privacy. While she was using the toilet in her own home, the robot vacuum snapped photos that were later leaked and posted to private Facebook groups
I’ve been running my roomba without internet access for the last 5 months or so - and it seems to work fine under HA.
So roombas that are currently already integrated in HA will probably continue to work - and since these robots really only have a useful life of 5-6 years, before the battery needs replacing - I will probably get my moneys worth out of it.
For my next robo-vac, I will definitely stick to a manufacturer that is covered by Valetudo, or offers completely local operation from start to finish.
If everybody did that - I guess the manufacturers would be coming around quite quickly?
I would just promote some kind of protection for customers. This is totally unregulated and we (the customers) are totally unprotected from the companies plans to tie us to their ecosystems.
