Hacking my Robot Vacuum to add ONE MISSING Feature!

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In this video I will try to manually control my robot vacuum. The problem is that sometimes my robot vacuum loses the ability to move one of its wheels which can be annoying because there is usually only one small spot left to clean. So let's see how easy it is to "hack" such a robot so that I can control it directly without using the manufacturers app. Let's get started!
Thanks to Keysight for sponsoring this video.
0:00 The Problem with my Robot Vacuum
1:09 Intro
1:55 Taking the Robot apart
3:13 Theory of Adding Custom Control
3:30 Battery Pack
4:17 Wheel DC Motors
5:31 Vacuum BLDC Motor
8:05 Final Custom Control Hardware/Software
9:28 Fun Testing
9:51 Aborting this "Hack"

[@mattfleming86]

Now, a FPV camera for the front, and the augmented reality project that "shades" the areas where you've been. Vacuum Simulator 2023.

[@greatscottlab]

Sounds like the German Dream

[@MCsCreations]

I really like how you think.

[@eklhaft4531]

Hey and you can let other people drive it over the internet and then give them score based on how clean your room is and how many things they knocked down 😂😂

[@MariomasterNSMBHD]

@@MCsCreations You scare me. Basically whatever video I watch, from whatever creators, it already has a comment from you somewhere...

[@MCsCreations]

@@MariomasterNSMBHD I guess we have the same preferences... The name looks to be the same anyway. 😬 (MC comes from Mario Cesar.)

[@MichalKottman]

For the "roborock" robot vacuum series, there's a modified firmware called Valetudo, which disconnects the vacuum from "cloud" and gives you local access, including the ability to manually control the movement.

[@greatscottlab]

Good to know :-)

[@Bingocat4]

The roborock app also has that feature built in. Valetudo is still superior though

[@mikeydk]

If I get any problems with my S7, I will also have a look at that. But for now it works just fine. (it is also only 4 months old, so it would be a bit early to already modify it)

[@foobarturkey]

@@mikeydk the Xiaomi uploads your Wi-Fi password to the Chinese cloud.

[@Swesen]

@@foobarturkey So why does this mater, what are they going to do with that information? It is totally useless unless they want to go to your house and mooch of your WiFi...

[@marcsellohooves]

As a software guy I would start with hacking the firmware to make something like this work somehow. It is interesting to see how people from different disciplines have different approaches to a problem. Great video as always! ^^

[@timmy7201]

A Java developer would've to upgrade the CPU and ram, before being able to run anything... :-)

[@googleyoutubechannel8554]

Cool, you would have tried to dump the firmware, bricked it, bought another one, configured the UART correctly, dumped it, thought you understood the firmware, uploaded a modified copy, and bricked another again within an hour, at least not wasted too much time... but each method has it's own merits. The fact that most commercial firmware remains unmodifiable on the vast, vast majority of popular electronics, like robovacs and amazon alexas, despite thousands of hours trying to 'hack it' by very smart people, means as a 'software guy', you wouldn't do jack...

[@wadeh486]

Irobot makes a robot vacuum intended for educational purposes that is adaptable and able to accept code. It's changed a lot over the years, but the newest one, the Create 3 Educational Robot, may be able to help you accomplish this.

[@ericlotze7724]

I didn’t know they still had that! Granted with 3D Printers / KiCad (aNd oUr SpOnseR PCB wAy /j) i guess self sourcing isn’t *too* bad these days. Granted having a base to go off of is always nice.

[@greatscottlab]

Sounds like fun and a good plan. I will have a look.

[@eklhaft4531]

Oh that would be so cool to have!

[@SimonBauer7]

you mean the current turtlebot? that has no vaccuum in it

[@MrDobiedoobie]

The non educational versions still accept python scripts! I did this to get mine into home assistant

[@juliannojungle]

Well, of you're into programming, you could actually remove all of the original boards from the robot, leaving only the ESP32 inside it, but with some GPIO attached to the original sensors. Then build a remote unit in a box with another ESP32 to receive the sensor data and pass it to the main board, get the response and forward it to the onboard ESP32. That way you can programmatically choose to drive it manually (using your phone) or let the remote main board control it. That remote control unit can even be located at the charging station maybe.

[@danilokrausz9103]

I have a Irobot robot Vacuum and it has a UART port for maintenance propose , but i hook up my pc and i can send commands to go forward, turn left, switch on the vaccum motor etc..

[@greatscottlab]

That sounds awesome👍 I will have a look.

[@infinitepurelive]

I have always loved the idea of taking electronics and adding features that they don't have, through software or hardware, also i would love to see a video of you salvaging electronics from an old device and making a completely different new device from it

[@XenoTravis]

One of the main reasons I didn't get really into the electrical side of things is because of how frustrating it was to have a chip or component break immediately. Especially if it is a components component and the entire thing need replacement.

[@greatscottlab]

It can be quite annoying sometimes.....

[@ayushp.5395]

@@greatscottlab indeed, especially in the starting when you buy your 'first' components...

[@Davidslabofficial]

plus sometimes it's really expensive 😂😅 i had some moments like that

[@ayushp.5395]

@@Davidslabofficial 😬😅😂

[@XenoTravis]

@@Davidslabofficial recently at work I got a 300 dollar controller and fried the interface part of it by metering out valued and accidentally touching two contacts. Of course it wasn't a part I could replace nor did I know how it worked to fix it. I think they had the buttons converted into some special serial signal. Was super dumb. And of course the entire controller needed the buttons to do anything. So the buttons not working made the entire thing useless.

[@TiagoTiagoT]

Some robot vacuums can actually have their software replaced with an open-source alternative; I think the open-source system was called "Valetudo" or something like that. I haven't gotten around getting one myself yet though, but I'm gonna be looking for one compatible with that.

[@Booruvcheek]

That would be the best solution, since you'd know you're not being tracked. Particularly concerning prospect if your vacuum has a microphone and / or a camera.

[@0ChAnTi]

As long time valetudo user I expected that it would be valetudo indeed. But I think everything looks like a nail when you are working the whole day with a hammer

[@stoojinator]

@@Booruvcheek you can always wrap your vacuum in tinfoil....

[@Booruvcheek]

@@stoojinator Wow, you're so funny!

[@ogi22]

Hi Scott! There is one thing in your clips that i really love. I didn't see you talking about it, but i think it is important. Drawing while deconstructing a problem. This is something my dad tought me when he was helping me learn how to solve problems when i was in primary school. I also learned very similar method some years later. It was called a "non linear notes". Drawing simplified or symbolic shapes and relations between them, helps incredibly while searching for solution or trying to understand how things work (reverse engineering something). Maybe i have missed this episode... If not, i would ask for one describing how you approach to solving problems with drawings 🙂 I think such methods should be tought at primary school for problem solving.

[@patrag25]

Great video !! If your model supports IR . You could use an IR remote to achieve that. The IR remote code available in the tasmota documentation worked for my deebot 500. Used esp8266 +tasmota to command the robot via phone to move forward, turn left or right.

[@mikepote]

I have this exact model! If you never use the mopping function then you could perhaps use the water tank space to include your custom electronics?

[@greatscottlab]

Sadly I love to use the water tank function

[@RealJohnnyDingo]

flame thrower to get all those really stubborn spots clean 🫧🪥

[@katydid5088]

​@@RealJohnnyDingo Whoah there buddy. Just because the sauce from the fajita mix is a bit stubborn doesn't mean you burn down the whole kitchen. 😅

[@deadbird99]

Next project: make it an autonomous gatling turret.

[@greatscottlab]

Haha😉 On it.

[@priyankagosh2127]

Killjoy bot?

[@isaacm1929]

Claymore roomba.

[@boydmcree9085]

i hope no one takes that idea, and runs with it.

[@Nightykk]

@@priyankagosh2127 Well, he IS German, so it's already half way there! ;D

[@tom95076]

Thanks for the honesty about smoking the part... I have been inside a couple robots and your right.

[@yahnsolo]

I just fixed a Conga for a friend, used it few days and I'm actually thinking to buy a vaccum robot because it's working so nice!! And now your last video just appeared, THANK YOU !! I thought of modifying a used one and your video just confirmed what I had in mind. You still can put your system ON TOP of the LIDAR head unit, running your small wires over the 4 supports legs of it, it might be possible to make it really compact, even with relays... Not easy tho, indeed, but doable : )

[@pomonabill220]

I have one of those Ecovac vacuums and have taken it apart "just to see", and the amount of technology inside them is amazing! The software that runs them is great too, as all the decisions that are made, with all the different inputs from the sensors and the LIDAR, means alot of processing is going on. I would only mess around with it IF I had another one that I use and the "spare" could suffer failure. Thanks for your post! Interesting!

[@RetinaBurner]

Maybe build in a curve for the acceleration and deceleration when commanding movement forward or backward. Otherwise, very cool. I'd probably make it permanent, but also able to be enabled or disabled via the control software.

[@MrDocomox]

I have an idea for your next project. A small device that collects mobile phone's details (IMEI and whatever else data that can be collected) of every person that shows up in your house. This device is to protect against spontaneous intruders, perhaps drunks who broke into your house and unwisely have their mobile phone on them.

[@grins047]

Great project. Always learning things from you

[@princebanini]

amazing video as always. I love how you figured out the functions of the 5 pins on the vacuum motor

[@nathanmiddleton1478]

That's cool! Looks like your forward function needs a speed ramp up function but otherwise that's pretty awesome. I too was wondering where you'd put all those electronics.

[@slawomirjanicki9580]

I picked up one of those vacuums at a second hand store for $5. It has been sitting in a box since then because I couldn't register it with the manufacturer. Now I can use it for this project. Thank you, Scott!

[@happyfaces4731]

Waited for you video and it's posted .Good work

[@greatscottlab]

Hope you enjoyed it!

[@haldersoham4]

Great content! one thing I would emphasize though, is first checking if the pins are Input or Output first(by disconnecting the motor and testing the output), and then using a resistor to connect to the microcontroller to limit unwanted/accidental current shorts, that way everything is taken care of. Sometimes when we're not careful, and one of those pins of the motor is an output pin, and we try to drive it, it might result in bad things!

[@loodusefilm7881]

My xiaomi roborock s5 have control remote at the app. It's not that responsive but things will get done if i have wish. Great video!

[@greatscottlab]

Thanks. Yep. Heard from others about the Xiaomi ones. I am jealous.

[@jong4321]

First thing I thought of as you moved your robot vacuum was how it'd be a good fighting robot base - remove excess parts, add in controls & weapons & armor until it's ready for Robot Wars!

[@greatscottlab]

That also sounds fun....

[@avejst]

Great video as always Thanks for sharing

[@SchwaAlien]

I would have probably opted to continue the hacking quest on a slightly older, used model that doesn’t include as much sensor tech so that your custom controller can be built up to include any sensors available for the micro controller so you can perfect the ‘better than stock’ vhacuum robot.

[@abrahamwondafrash7549]

thanks to you I started to look into the mit app!

[@JonathanDeWitt1988]

Another great video. I really enjoyed seeing how you reverse engineered the controls for the BLDC motor. This whole video was enjoyable. Thanks for sharing.

[@fixnreview]

Great job Great Scott

[@6ghost6rider6]

Well Scott as being a subscriber for so many years I highly arpeciate when you fail interly and show to us that is is possible even to the best ones :D of us !

[@roelvb]

My 8 years old Neato vacuum already had the option to manually control it through the app. I always assumed this is nothing special, but now learned this is quite a unique feature.

[@welshdave5263]

I've got a really old robo vac that was powered by Lead Acid, now got it running with Lipo from recycled disposable vapes. I plan to use ESP32 cam for custom control over the internet, plenty of space inside, I will have manual/auto selectable from the webpage and video feed hosted on the ESP.

[@greatscottlab]

Sounds awesome!

[@larspetersen2688]

Always a pleasure to see what projects you come up with. Should you run out of ideas and you have the skills, maybe you could make a bike radar? You have abilities that go far beyond us mortals, What I admire most is your ability to realize your ideas, seems like you always complete your projects.

[@ElectronicLab.]

What an interesting/educational video. Keep it up👍

[@mikefochtman7164]

Fascinating and enjoyable video. The 'popping a wheelie' aspect whenever you tap 'go forward' could be explored. Obviously applying full power to the drive wheels is the issue and we could experiment with various ramping of the power. I've always loved tinkering with process / motion controls and this is a 'rabbit hole' I'd end up diving down for days. lol Thanks again for another enjoyable bit of 'hacking'.

[@Toefuzz122]

I gotta say, I respect you more because you openly admitted when you hit your limit. Love the channel, keep making great videos!

[@ilia-ned]

Great video - both informative and entertaining! I won't forget frying Roomba with a single dropped screw. Through all the debugging and repairing I was disconnecting the battery... except for the final assembly 🤦‍♂️ I feel your pain bro!

[@Farm_fab]

I think you're missing the cat riding the sweeper to supervise the cleaning.😁

[@nopparuj]

Make it swear every time it hits something.

[@greatscottlab]

That has already been done ;-)

[@paskokelava2795]

Do it in german

[@thedamnone]

Old Neato vacuums have a serial console that lets you do this kind of stuff without any hardware mods - you just hook up your microcontroller in the USB port and then you can control the vacuum any way you want, including XBox controller hooked to your phone.

[@enjibkk6850]

I would continue by hooking a RC controller and use the proportional input. Would also be fun to decode the signals output by the receiver

[@screen-protector]

You need a soft start to remove this over power, but, I agree that at the start is too much to add this feature ;). Only if you can mount it above the top sensors on a custom PCB which will be much smaller, might make sense though.

[@jlucasound]

He'll have to be really careful around the couch! It'll be like James Bond in the Double Decker Bus going under the low bridge!! 😲🤣😂

[@SuicideNeil]

Ok, hear me out; robotic combat contest but the robots have to be autonomous vacuum cleaners that have their original motors and chassis, with only their control electronics replaced and one external weapon added, no additional armour or anything else to beef them up.

[@daniesalex7073]

Its always fun to see you Work on Consumer electronics

[@greatscottlab]

Thanks :-)

[@joopterwijn]

For sure I would have killed “Henry” in the process 😂

[@suji730]

Lots of love scott 🤩

[@johna7075]

Glad to see I'm not the only one who toasts electrical gadgets while poking around in them.

[@A2an]

Definitely continue😊

[@Abishek_Muthian]

Well done, It was the right choice to not risk the robot electronics and I appreciate that you told us that.

[@DanielLowrance]

Could you mount the additional electronics above the LIDAR and run the wires down one of the supports to not block it? I would push forward just because those wheelies on manual mode are hilarious

[@Kevin-jz9bg]

1:03 using the vacuum cleaner as a solder fume extractor 🤣🤣

[@dtheguy]

Very good and it’s always fun to hear “and I’ll see you next time”

[@jdlives8992]

this is super cool!!! rumba whatever needs to add a controller to them. kids will like to clean a lot then. we made a 1985 buick 4 door remote controlled in the 90’s. it was crazy. people would ride in it while we drove it in the field. we jumped it over some erosion bumps and killed the whole drive train.

[@Ryan_Tidwell]

It would be nice to know what happened to damage your robot for those of us that might poke about inside one.

[@eatxthatx2k9]

@GreatScott! Great video! Only thing that i didn't understand is at 10:17 when you said mounting the component on top would block the lidar sensor. Couldn't you just raise the sensor by couple centimeters with a simple spacer to solve that issue? After all, you did the hard work. Would love to see a follow up in the future when you've had some time. Thanks for putting this kind of educational content out!

[@andythebritton]

The slight pitch up when the motors start reminds me of some of the robots from Robot Wars. Activate! If you added a compressed-air driven 'flipper', the bot could even tidy up for you!

[@cristibmmm]

this was a really interesting and full of insights video. Really sad to hear that the wacuum cleaner got a bit hurt during the atempt of upgrade but glad it suvived and is feeling better :D. With that aside this little experiment was nice to watch. good job. now you got me thimking of a lawn mower :))

[@technicallitesh4420]

I would definitely continue with custom body base using a 3d printer to mount everything from scratch!Sounds cool 🙂

[@eatxthatx2k9]

Agreed

[@Incommensurabilities]

Great idea

[@Eliasdbr]

What a coincidence, I recently bought a vacuum cleaner robot. Mine hasn't the house mapping feature, but it does have the manual movement through an IR remote control. I've been thinking of a possible way to use that system to track its movement via a microcontroller, map the house, and control it with IR signals. I see it very hard to pull off, but it sounds like a fun experience

[@jimlaredo8864]

Great video! was looking to hack underwater robot Aiper and run into this!

[@gregorymccoy6797]

Maybe you could ramp up the power to the wheels gradually using PWM to prevent the lurching. Very interesting what you have here.

[@juniorjunior7179]

I've always wanted to do this with mine... Perhaps, if you create an extension of the robot frame and reposition the sensors, things will work out. The robot doesn't know its size, it just "reacts" to the sensors. Creating an extension of the structure and printing it on a 3d printer, you would gain space to add the components and put the project into practice. The robot would get bigger, but it would also get better or at least more fun.

[@MatthiasLeeb-il3ic]

really nice project! I definitely would like to see a follow-up. What kind of microcontroller is used in the Deebot? Maybe one could reverse engineer the software.

[@CrAzZyTheCodingBoss]

New title: Almost hacking my roomba, but got cold feet

[@SGRAHMD]

I always love your projects. Thank you for making and losing contents with such details. You could mount the circuits on the side, right?

[@MTECHINDUSTRIES2022]

Love your channel & any knowledge you have on wireless power would be appreciated. Our research group created a wireless power transmitter that consumes 30 watts of power & has a range of over 2,000ft when a receiver coil is Earth grounded.

[@JustPyroYT]

With those googly eyes your Robot Vacuum looks so cute xD

[@TheCrypticSkull]

2:28 "At this point I started to realize how much technology is crammed into this small thing." SO TRUE, I opened up one, It was FILLED.

[@razhterize]

"See a screw, remove a screw" ~GreatScott

[@yagneshpatel1183]

At least it fun to see and we also make vaccum robot following same procedures

[@Fattypatty20]

Hey Scott! I'm currently an Electrical Engineering student and love your videos! Seeing how the parts and electronics you use in your project directly relate to things we discuss in class is fascinating. I'm super intrestered in doing projects like the ones you do but struggle to even know were to being. Any tips?

[@Candy-records]

Just a bit of creativity is needed, but sometimes equipment. Do you have any ideas or hobbies?

[@NickSurmava]

If you purchase eufy, you already can control via remote or wifi. No need custom modification

[@gewittertorte]

I have the Roborock S7 MaxV, you can control the vacuum robot in the app and drive it around like a remote play car. And there is a camera built in, so you can see where you're going. There is even a microphone and a speaker, so once you reach a destination, you can speak with someone around. You can even tell it to go somewhere on the map, watch it driving there with the camera and control it on the way or once it arrived. But you can not program it do do things, just a cleaning schedule

[@greatscottlab]

That sounds awesome.

[@mikeydk]

I got the same vacuum, and during Christmas when I was not at home, I used it to drive around in my house to check on it. :)

[@reverse_engineered]

I could definitely see the fun in being able to remote control the robot yourself. However, these machines aren't cheap, and if you're getting any actual use out of it, then you have come to rely on it. If an accident means you break it and have to go without it or replace it at considerable cost, then it just isn't worth it. It's the same reason lockpicking enthusiasts always say, "Don't pick a lock that you rely on." If something goes wrong, you wouldn't want to be locked out of your house, or have to leave your house unlocked. If you find you just need to clean a small area that got missed and is noticeably dirty, your best option might just be a dust pan and broom or a stick vacuum so you can quickly and easily do it manually. :) Sometimes our interest in technology leads us to making things more complicated and time-consuming, when it should be to make things faster and easier.

[@aqua_sakura5021]

Great video 👍

[@greatscottlab]

Thanks 👍

[@ChrisShUK]

My neato D7 has manual mode built in. Handy!

[@jumbleblue]

Cool project, even though not pulled through! Interesting to know a bit about the guts of such a robot.

[@greatscottlab]

Thanks :-) Getting to know the inside of such a robot was definitely worth it for me.

[@ElvisCheung-xl5qg]

Thats an interesting project that I will add to my to do list. Got a crappy roomba I got from china that are so dumb that would just bumping around and does basically nothing at cleaning other then being annoying. I think using the lidar sensor you have mentioned in your previous video would give it a second life before being dump into trash can by me.

[@bardenegri21]

I remember there was a custom firmware for the xiaomi roborock type vacuums. It had some extra features and ran without any cloud access. Might be worth seeing if it's still available, it might have manual control.

[@pedrokatuniz8936]

For supported vacuum robots I recommend Valetudo, a alternative firmware which gives you many new possibilities and also a remote for the vacuum robot.

[@greatscottlab]

Thanks for the tip

[@calebjpryor]

Valetudo is amazing and I love having full local control of the robot

[@rekkenberX]

Hey, nice video. Hope we get to see more electronics hacking and reverse engineering in the future!

[@djlorenz11]

Add a saw attached to the lidar spinner, and here we are with the 2023 edition of robotwars ❤

[@viveksamani7924]

Please answer this - While designing a full bridge rectifier, what value (uF) capacitor to use? & how to determine those values (uF)??

[@1NIGHTMAREGAMER]

wait til some one tells him a broom and dustpan exists (joke)

[@terrencezellers9105]

I'da raised the lidar box and just added a custom electronics box under it. Don't know how many connections to it, but at a guess it would be fairly compact possibly only two wires plus power.

[@seabeepirate]

Genius. Turn the app into a game and kids will be asking to clean the house.

[@greatscottlab]

Great idea.

[@bunicutzeu8617]

What uC is the robot using? I have one just like that and would really like to do some improvements 😂. Hopefully some debug port remained open. In that case you would not need any additional space... and speaking about that you can place the components in the rear of the robot with some velcro and flexible cable connecton to be able to get the watter tank out.

[@dondavido]

Danke für dein Video

[@greatscottlab]

Bitte

[@LabArlyn]

This video is giving me information on how to run such bldc motor without its original circuit. 🍓

[@mrc6032]

I'm so glad to see using a drill to remove screws. . Combined with manual magnetic screwdriver

[@KeithOlson]

FWIW, a common solution to not having space inside is to design and 3d print (or w/e) a case extender. (i.e. extrude the outline of the division between two parts.) In this situation, it would sit between the base and the top shell. Designing it would be tricky, but the result would look like factory original and as much space inside as you could ever want.

[@drewmeriborne1584]

you should check the main board for a serial UART, and see if you can hack remote control functionality into the firmware with the already existing hardware.

[@user-ml3jf7ef4c]

In old roombas UART is exposed on a top panel (under cover), and command specification is publicly available. Having some fun with it couple of years ago.

[@ForkTheSpoonWrecker]

The model I own, Ecozy RV-LD200A already has this feature built in.

[@PrivateJoki]

I have the first version of the Mii vacuum cleaner and the default firmware also features a manual control.

[@plageran]

3D printer people: right.... lemme print an external box for this

[@maxmyzer9172]

9:20 I remember when i used to play with the MIT app inventor

[@mRendyIrawan]

I think it's a great oversight by robot vacuum manufacturers to not include a manual control mode. Sometimes you just need to vacuum one specific spot quickly without having to haul a hand operated vacuum cleaner to that spot.