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Troubled robot vacuum-cleaner maker iRobot, abandoned by Amazon after regulators effectively doomed the web giant's takeover offer, has warned investors it may not survive the next 12 months.

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[-] endofline@lemmy.ca 10 points 1 day ago

I'm pretty sure somebody will buy the data iRobot robots collected during their cleaning time :-)

[-] PieMePlenty@lemmy.world 1 points 1 day ago

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

[-] skozzii@lemmy.ca 60 points 2 days ago

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.

[-] Global_Liberty@lemmy.ml 26 points 1 day ago

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....

[-] Crashumbc@lemmy.world 11 points 1 day ago

They're really not though, maga fascists, actually believe this is a mere speed bump on the way to the promised land...

[-] echodot@feddit.uk 1 points 9 hours ago

Yeah but will they still believe that in 4 years? The problem for the republicans now is that they are getting called out by their own voters right now and it's only March of the year 1.

So now they have to tread the fine line of not being too supportive of his policies so that they stand re-election chances while at the same time not being so against the policies as to risk Trump's revenge. It's a very shitty bed they have to lie in, and I almost feel sorry for them, but they deliberately shit in it themselves, so sod them.

[-] limelight79@lemm.ee 8 points 1 day ago

"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.

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[-] NightCrawlerProMax@lemmy.world 5 points 1 day ago

I highly doubt his voters will ever realize it. People who voted for him have single digit IQs. Other Americans warned them before hand.

[-] Showroom7561@lemmy.ca 16 points 1 day ago
[-] RabbitBBQ@lemmy.world 16 points 1 day ago

The movie wasn't very good either

[-] mlg@lemmy.world 11 points 1 day ago

https://valetudo.cloud/pages/general/supported-robots.html

iRobot not even on the list despite being the original de facto vacuum robot OEM

[-] Alpha71@lemmy.world 14 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

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!

[-] aldfin@lemm.ee 27 points 2 days ago

We need decent European alternatives for robot vaccuums.

[-] witx@lemmy.sdf.org 14 points 1 day ago

We need open source alternatives

[-] Knoxvomica@lemmy.ca 12 points 1 day ago
[-] witx@lemmy.sdf.org 3 points 1 day ago

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

[-] Knoxvomica@lemmy.ca 1 points 1 day ago

Absolutely, but that only happens once someone starts a project and gets contributors. Be the change you want to see.

[-] IndustryStandard@lemmy.world 3 points 1 day ago

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.

[-] skysurfer@lemmy.world 29 points 2 days ago

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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[-] StinkySocialist@lemmy.ml 34 points 2 days ago

So the Roomba I bought in 2021 is gonna stop working come 2026... Guess I need an open source vacuum now too 😩

[-] TriflingToad@sh.itjust.works 31 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago)

this comment makes me question, is there an open source sex toy community?
edit: there is lmao https://github.com/PITR-DEV/ukbutt-mod

[-] StinkySocialist@lemmy.ml 13 points 2 days ago

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.

[-] Ledericas@lemm.ee 2 points 1 day ago

It's going to become feral

[-] pHr34kY@lemmy.world 58 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago)

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.

[-] domi@lemmy.secnd.me 24 points 2 days ago

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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[-] imetators@lemm.ee 28 points 2 days ago

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 🤷.

[-] KingDingbat@lemmy.world 3 points 1 day ago

And then they go and remotely kill the vacuum after just 5 years.... (See above).... Yeah, not crying for iRobot...

[-] CoffeeJunkie@lemmy.cafe 10 points 2 days ago

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.

[-] imetators@lemm.ee 2 points 1 day ago

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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[-] Evil_Shrubbery@lemm.ee 100 points 2 days ago

(I know I didn't contribute shit & just complain but) ... isn't it a bit weird how after all this time there arent any good open sauce diy robot kits?

Like, materials, sensors, brushes, filters, batteries, etc are all cheaply available, a basic board could literally be just cut plywood with the rest is the things mounted on top (who even needs a cover?). And ofc one could mount various weapons mod on it.

[-] MangoPenguin 86 points 2 days ago

There is https://valetudo.cloud/ for a lot of existing models, it's about the closest thing we have.

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[-] PerogiBoi@lemmy.ca 17 points 2 days ago

So my vacuum will likely not work in 12 months. Niiiice.

[-] lamyipming@lemmy.world 18 points 2 days ago

Their products are like 5 years behind their competitors. It's inevitable.

[-] kane@femboys.biz 61 points 2 days ago

Their products require their app, would this effectively turn their devices useless when the servers die?

I know it supports a single button to start cleaning, but I wonder if that will work properly without being able to call home.

Might be time for people to look for alternatives.

[-] TheGreatSnacku@lemm.ee 43 points 2 days ago

It technically still works without the app but it loses features that increase the efficiency of the map, tells it where not to clean, scheduled cleaning, etc.

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[-] reddig33@lemmy.world 51 points 2 days ago

Another company squandering their patents and market advantage. Reminds me of TiVo.

[-] merc@sh.itjust.works 3 points 1 day ago

TiVo had such an excellent UI. DVRs became common, but all the ones I saw had such inferior interfaces. Such a shame.

I bought and hacked a TiVo unit and used it for years in a place where the service wasn't available. I miss that thing.

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[-] Captainautism@lemmy.dbzer0.com 8 points 2 days ago

I'm glad I waited to replace my old Eufy one. I definitely will not be replacing it with Roomba now.

[-] bouncing_blob@sh.itjust.works 37 points 2 days ago

my first thought was aren't they a part of the Military Industrial Complex, how could they possibly go bankrupt? It turns out they sold off that part of their business in 2016 to private equity. Oops.

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this post was submitted on 12 Mar 2025
639 points (100.0% liked)

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