alt Hacker NewsOomwoo, an open-source robot vacuum you build yourself
Comments
Even though it’s vibe coded, I like the idea of an open source repairable robot vacuum. The current generation of them are notoriously not built to last / be repairable.
The name is exciting to me. I've been a multiple time robot vacuum owner and it does have an appeal to be able to see a fresh build dissected like this. Why not contribute to this project instead of having a go all on my own, except of course with my AI helpers. I could pick the vacuum control board for the motors and sensors. I have some thoughts on brushes too.
It's a good point, vibe coding does lend itself to fast splitting among developers with the intent of recombining quickly too into a larger project.
Personally, I find open hardware to be the selling point for devices that are supposedly running open source. If I can't change the parts/components, there's really no point.
Are robot vacuums always circular, wouldn't a single 90 degree or similar section be useful for accessing corners
Nice! This is just what I'm looking for. An old Roomba 880 served us well until it could no longer charge its battery, even a new one.
The AI slop on the site is not appealing, but it could also mean that the project will be parallelized successfully.
I just can't say how much I want to see the growth of open hardware.
I am bone tired of slop. This looks like a useful thing to build (the cameras in existing closed source robo vacuums creep me out), but when people don't even write their announcement blog post by hand it gives me zero confidence in the project getting anywhere meaningful.
Perhaps not the place to share this, but it's depressing. I hope this proves me wrong.
[dead]
[dead]
> oomwoo is organized so the community can build it in parallel. The robot and its software are split into self-contained modules. You pick whatever module interests you, work on it whenever you want, and submit your work as a pull request. Multiple people can tackle the same module — the best solution surfaces over time.
I think one major advantage of open source over commercial alternatives, is the possibility of endless improvements. Similarly, 3d printing as a manufacturing method allows for a short iterative cycle, high degree of design freedom, customisation as a product feature, local production, and an high degree of repairability.
It’s going to be interesting to see how well git(hub) and discord serves as collaborative tools in this case. Hardware files are often binary, hardware components have complex interfaces between them, and hence depends more on human communication and collaboration.
I really hope this project succeeds. I’d love a cloud free robot vacuum that I can trust.