71–80 of 105 posts
I wonder if there's a project like there's OpenWRT for routers, just for vacuum robots? Where you just can buy some device form a normal online shop, then flash your custom firmware, and off you go with a privacy respecting fellow that doesn't film you and doesn't send everything to some US or Chinese cloud. :) (I still use a traditional vacuum here, because all the privacy and snooping aspects of those robot thingie…
There is! https://valetudo.cloud/
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A few thoughts on the vibe coding… This is probably just one person and this project wouldn’t have seen the light of day if they weren’t able to vibe code it. A few years ago this would have to be a kickstarter that raised at least several hundred thousand- probably millions to have a shot at successfully getting off the ground. You’re talking software and hardware engineering, experts in multiple disciplines, a whol…
> It’s beyond what I saw from much more senior developers than I and it’s beyond what I was ever capable of myself. and >It does produce a lot of slop in the hands of someone unskilled in the use of their tools. Form a somewhat contradictory pair.
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Agreed. I have a 6.5 year old Roborock S5 Max, and it still works fine. I've replaced a few parts (can still get on AliExpress), but other than that no issues. It's cleaned 74km2.
Assuming you live in a crazy big house (1000 m2), it cleaned your house 74000 times. Given S5 was released 8 years ago, even approximating it to 10, that's 20 times a day. I can imagine it taking about an hour to do one clean run. Jesus, did it ever stop cleaning
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Assuming you live in a crazy big house (1000 m2), it cleaned your house 74000 times. Given S5 was released 8 years ago, even approximating it to 10, that's 20 times a day. I can imagine it taking about an hour to do one clean run. Jesus, did it ever stop cleaning
They probably meant 74000m², not 74km².
The hardware is an issue, not because it's bad but because it's massively expensive to buy the components piecemeal. You can purchase a lidar vac for £70-80 now. Even if you only replaced the brains, that's a quarter of the price of a Oomwoo. The only upgrade I'd want is self-emptying. You'd probably have to relocate the charging contacts but it seems highly achievable. Or you could break up an existing vac for the p…
I think the point of this is not to make "a product". It's just a fun project that you can build yourself or participate in some way with it's creation and/or funding.
It's not practical. That's OK.
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Also very fond of the Roborock S5, in fact I recently got a second one for the other floor - totally took it apart, cleaned it, put it back together and stuck Valetudo onto it. The first one is from 2017 and still going strong - issues so far: battery replaced (only recently), laser motor replaced, fuse replaced. Aside from the fuse it was very easy and doable for basically anyone.
I’ve had two S5s die on me recently. They kept shutting down in the middle of a clean, and from what I read, it needed a battery replacement. Ordered one off Ali Express, and after another couple months, it also started dying. So replaced it with a newer Roborock. Didn’t bother when the second S5 started doing the same, just got a new Roborock. Both new ones have been going well so far, and while it does seem to be g…
The hardware is an issue, not because it's bad but because it's massively expensive to buy the components piecemeal. You can purchase a lidar vac for £70-80 now. Even if you only replaced the brains, that's a quarter of the price of a Oomwoo. The only upgrade I'd want is self-emptying. You'd probably have to relocate the charging contacts but it seems highly achievable. Or you could break up an existing vac for the p…
Gagguino is a great example of this approach, licensing scandal aside†. Espresso machines are expensive and not because the software is particularly clever. They are electrically simple, but mechanically there's a lot of pressurized plumbing that you really don't want to DIY. The kit is a control board for the pump and boiler, and some add-on sensors for temperature and pressure. The "high end" features that it enabl…
They're fine to DIY if you're sensible about it. If you can build it, you can build a simple hydrostatic pressure tester. Pump, valves, tubes and a gauge. No computer parts. Pump the tank up to 1.5x rated pressure. This is industry standard.
But of course the age old saying applies: know what you're doing.