Hacking a Neato Robotics BotVac Connected

[korttoma]

FYI, a friend of mine has created a PHP library for the Neato cloud service -> https://github.com/tomrosenback/botvac

It is based on the work @kangguru has done.

[d96mbe]

@korttoma Works like a charm. Used PHP CLI on Windows 10. You have to enable extensions; php_curl and php_openssl in php.ini.

[Jonathan8301]

The PHP API Works great for me. I have two questions though.

1. The [isCharging] value in the [details] array of the State JSON is always empty, even when it is clearly charging i.e. the [charge] value changes. Any Idea why?
2. Whenever I call the pause cleaning, and then return to base, the robot will go back to its base, but it will not dock with it, is there any particular reason for this? and is there a way to have it return to the dock, and actually dock and charge with out just letting run through the entire cleaning cycle?

[RawLiquid]

@Jonathan8301
You know, I've had that happen once or twice before I even found this page, but when I just tried it out, my botvac did dock properly.

I just wish there were some way to get at the lower level sensor readings through this, I'd love to be able to see the 'map' that it builds when it cleans....

[RawLiquid]

@Ubiquitous
I have plans to open up my D80 the day that the warrantee is up, not sure if that will or won't help you any...

[Jonathan8301]

Hmm it almost sounds like the Botvac could go for a firmware update, unfortunately it looks like Neato's post launch product support is severely lacking

[RawLiquid]

@Jonathan8301
Funny thing is, before the connected was launched, I remember being able to find an API document and programming info for interfacing with the lower models...NOW, I can't so much as even find any page that contains a link to anything resembling an update file or api documentation...

[korttoma]

@RawLiquid So you are looking for this -> https://www.neatorobotics.com/resources/programmersmanual_20140305.pdf

Or something else?

[RawLiquid]

@korttoma actually, I already had that very document, and that is the one I was referring to. I might suggest keeping mentions of the exact url fairly low, It's likely an oversight that it's available still and if so, likely to be removed if they notice it. maybe use bitly to reference it instead...
I don't know what exactly changed within the company to cause such a drastic shift, but it's obvious that something changed....

[jcolter]

Did anyone ever get this working with the Vera?

[roberto]

Hello hackers!
Let me introduce myself, I am Roberto Ostinelli, Neato Robotics' Director of Cloud Services.

I'm impressed with the work that you've put into integrating with our robots! Great job!

Given the interest we've seen on this and other forums, we've listened and have just released the Neato Developer Network, which might hopefully be of interest for some of you here.
You can become a developer with just your Neato account from here:
https://developers.neatorobotics.com

You will find official documentation and SDKs for JavaScript, iOS and Android (for now, we plan on expanding to other languages too!).
Simply put, as a developer you can create your own OAuth apps that interacts with Neato robots.

A demo of what you can achieve with the JavaScript SDK can be seen here (just login with your Neato account when requested):
https://developers.neatorobotics.com/demo/sdk-js

Please note that all of this is in Beta, we're a small team but are doing our best!

Cheers,
r.

[korttoma]

@roberto

Thanks for finally acknowledging the fact that some people want to integrate their robotic vacuum cleaner with the rest of their smart home functionality.

Is your Neato Developer Network investment only targeting the new Neato Connected series and future versions or is there a communication module in the pipeline for older models like my Neato botvac 85?

[roberto]

@korttoma due to hardware and other considerations we are only targeting the connected series, that started with the BotVac Connected. There currently are also the D3/D5 available, and then the future products to come!

[hek]

Welcome @roberto,

Thanks for making the Neato more hacker friendly. I'm sure it will boost your sales. The HA/DIY crowd and the early adopters buying robotic vacuum cleaners is coinciding.

[roberto]

Thank you @hek!
Sales are very nice indeed, but I'm also very interested in seeing what can be built with the creativity of all of you hackers on top of the Neato platform!

[Michael van der Heijden]

This is good news. Thank you Neato.

Is it possible to send commands with just an https url? These URL's I can implement in LUA scripts for my Domotica.

[roberto]

@Michael-van-der-Heijden Yes, everything is just standard http requests. Just head to the API section of the docs to learn more. You can see implementation examples in the existing SDK, that may help you out too!

[Ubiquitous]

@roberto Awesome to see you make the API public and official even though it seems that you're just making the endpoints "official" and pretty much identical to the API resulted from reverse engineering efforts. Any chance you (as in Neato) would consider allowing us to switch to our backend server, essentially replacing your cometa.io server (cometa.neatocloud.com)? And on a sidenote, to get access to the developers portal and API through your site, you have to accept to your new terms, yet you've made the libraries public on github. :)

[Stormwind]

@roberto - Thanks for making the API public! @kangguru and others - thanks for reverse engineering it!

@roberto - Any chance of making the local LAN, direct-to-robot API official and documenting it? Some people prefer the lower latency and non-cloud dependency of local LAN control.

P.S. I started an OpenHAB thread about developing a OpenHAB binding for the Neato Connected series.

[Seth Daniel]

@roberto Thanks for the documentation! Are there any plans to integrate with IFTTT? That would make it much easier for people to use with other smarthome things such as SmartThings, Echo, and Google Home.