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  1. Home
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  3. Hacking a Neato Robotics BotVac Connected

Hacking a Neato Robotics BotVac Connected

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  • UbiquitousU Ubiquitous

    As for replacing the cloud server, I don't think it's possible without rooting the robot. The first thing it does when it's connected to the internet is to start an HTTPS Comet session (long polling). The robot will kill the connection immediately if you try to MiTM it with a selfsigned certificate and there is no way to install new certificates on the robot. If anyone has opened the robot I'd be interested in pictures of the motherboard, especially of any pads labeled JTAG.

    RawLiquidR Offline
    RawLiquidR Offline
    RawLiquid
    wrote on last edited by
    #48

    @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...

    1 Reply Last reply
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    • Jonathan8301J Offline
      Jonathan8301J Offline
      Jonathan8301
      wrote on last edited by
      #49

      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

      RawLiquidR 1 Reply Last reply
      0
      • Jonathan8301J 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

        RawLiquidR Offline
        RawLiquidR Offline
        RawLiquid
        wrote on last edited by
        #50

        @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...

        1 Reply Last reply
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        • korttomaK Offline
          korttomaK Offline
          korttoma
          Hero Member
          wrote on last edited by
          #51

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

          Or something else?

          • Tomas
          RawLiquidR 1 Reply Last reply
          0
          • korttomaK korttoma

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

            Or something else?

            RawLiquidR Offline
            RawLiquidR Offline
            RawLiquid
            wrote on last edited by
            #52

            @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....

            1 Reply Last reply
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            • jcolterJ Offline
              jcolterJ Offline
              jcolter
              wrote on last edited by
              #53

              Did anyone ever get this working with the Vera?

              1 Reply Last reply
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              • robertoR Offline
                robertoR Offline
                roberto
                wrote on last edited by roberto
                #54

                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.

                1 Reply Last reply
                5
                • korttomaK Offline
                  korttomaK Offline
                  korttoma
                  Hero Member
                  wrote on last edited by
                  #55

                  @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?

                  • Tomas
                  robertoR 1 Reply Last reply
                  0
                  • korttomaK 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?

                    robertoR Offline
                    robertoR Offline
                    roberto
                    wrote on last edited by roberto
                    #56

                    @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!

                    1 Reply Last reply
                    0
                    • hekH Offline
                      hekH Offline
                      hek
                      Admin
                      wrote on last edited by
                      #57

                      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.

                      robertoR 1 Reply Last reply
                      0
                      • hekH 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.

                        robertoR Offline
                        robertoR Offline
                        roberto
                        wrote on last edited by roberto
                        #58

                        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!

                        1 Reply Last reply
                        1
                        • Michael van der HeijdenM Offline
                          Michael van der HeijdenM Offline
                          Michael van der Heijden
                          wrote on last edited by
                          #59

                          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.

                          robertoR 1 Reply Last reply
                          0
                          • Michael van der HeijdenM 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.

                            robertoR Offline
                            robertoR Offline
                            roberto
                            wrote on last edited by roberto
                            #60

                            @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!

                            UbiquitousU Seth DanielS 2 Replies Last reply
                            1
                            • robertoR 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!

                              UbiquitousU Offline
                              UbiquitousU Offline
                              Ubiquitous
                              wrote on last edited by Ubiquitous
                              #61

                              @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. :)

                              1 Reply Last reply
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                              • StormwindS Offline
                                StormwindS Offline
                                Stormwind
                                wrote on last edited by
                                #62

                                @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.

                                robertoR 1 Reply Last reply
                                1
                                • robertoR 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!

                                  Seth DanielS Offline
                                  Seth DanielS Offline
                                  Seth Daniel
                                  wrote on last edited by
                                  #63

                                  @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.

                                  doobarD 1 Reply Last reply
                                  1
                                  • BasicB Offline
                                    BasicB Offline
                                    Basic
                                    wrote on last edited by Basic
                                    #64

                                    Cool thread! I have got a Botvac Connected as well :) I see there is limitations to the scheduling in the software. I want to run the robot two times a day (set the schedule remotely). Any ideas on how to do that? :)

                                    1 Reply Last reply
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                                    • Seth DanielS 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.

                                      doobarD Offline
                                      doobarD Offline
                                      doobar
                                      wrote on last edited by
                                      #65

                                      Looks like Smartthings is underway and Neato are engaged. I have not tested yet.

                                      https://community.smartthings.com/t/neato-botvac-connected/24607/24

                                      1 Reply Last reply
                                      0
                                      • StormwindS 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.

                                        robertoR Offline
                                        robertoR Offline
                                        roberto
                                        wrote on last edited by roberto
                                        #66

                                        @Ubiquitous said:

                                        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)?

                                        We took your suggestion, but there are so many implications that i doubt this will get prioritized.
                                        FYI, we do not use the cometa.io server, the official endpoint is https://nucleo.neatocloud.com:4443/ and the one you pointed out is for retro-compatibility only.

                                        @Stormwind said:

                                        @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.

                                        Suggestion noted. Note that direct-to-robot have limited functionalities.

                                        @Seth-Daniel said:

                                        @roberto 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.

                                        A SmartThings integration exists, so does the Alexa one. IFTTT and Google Home are on the list of integrations that we are considering.

                                        @Basic said:

                                        I see there is limitations to the scheduling in the software. I want to run the robot two times a day (set the schedule remotely). Any ideas on how to do that? :)

                                        This is an internal robot implementation. You can use the API to start your robot anytime you want, and build your own schedule system. :)

                                        CooperCGNC 1 Reply Last reply
                                        1
                                        • robertoR Offline
                                          robertoR Offline
                                          roberto
                                          wrote on last edited by roberto
                                          #67

                                          Greetings hackers!
                                          Some of you may have seen that the latest 2.2 release for Botvac Connected includes the new maps functionality. Basically, you can now see the cleaning maps of your home in the Neato applications.

                                          We thought you might interested in accessing this functionality too, hence we've just released the new SDKs and API documentation which include this functionality. This main addition can be seen here:
                                          https://developers.neatorobotics.com/api/beehive

                                          Happy hacking! ^^_

                                          Cheers,
                                          r.

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