Robot vacuum compatibility with Homekit

jmayhugh · October 9, 2019, 7:25pm

In the market for a robot vacuum. Anyone have any experience using Homekit with one of these? I suspect that most of them aren’t even compatible. I’d love to hear about any relevant experiences.

rob · October 9, 2019, 7:34pm

I don’t think HomeKit supports this kind of device at all:

github.com

KhaosT/HAP-NodeJS/blob/master/src/lib/gen/HomeKit.ts

// THIS FILE IS AUTO-GENERATED - DO NOT MODIFY

import { Characteristic, Formats, Perms, Units } from '../Characteristic';
import { Service } from '../Service';

/**
 * Characteristic "Accessory Flags"
 */

export class AccessoryFlags extends Characteristic {

  static readonly UUID: string = '000000A6-0000-1000-8000-0026BB765291';

  constructor() {
    super('Accessory Flags', AccessoryFlags.UUID);
    this.setProps({
      format: Formats.UINT32,
      perms: [Perms.READ, Perms.NOTIFY]
    });
    this.value = this.getDefaultValue();

This file has been truncated. show original

What kind of functionality are you expecting in/from HomeKit?

jmayhugh · October 9, 2019, 10:16pm

Right now there’s no direct control via Homekit, but for people using Homekit, I’ve seen many reports online of Homekit/Siri integration via third party connectors, such as IFTTT, Homebridge and Hass.io.

Typically, it seems helpful to be able to initiate cleaning routines within “scenes” such as Away or Good Night or be able to initiate these devices via voice control. I’m just curious what models & brands people have been able to integrate with their Homekit systems and what their experiences have been.

rob · October 10, 2019, 7:25am

Ah, now I understand why you would want HomeKit integration.

The source code I linked to is (indirectly) used by Homebridge, so that won’t have direct support for vacuum cleaners either. But maybe they can model the cleaner as a switch and only support on/off functionality?