I haven't tried it personally because my particular model of vacuum has some complicated and potentially destructive procedure to get the required access, but there's quite a few models where it can be installed easily.
Since the robots got cameras and microphones, it's a no-go for me to have it in my home connected to some cloud.
It's little bit challenging to orient oneself in the project (tip: read a couple of the last release notes), but once you do, it's great.
I bought a new robot vacuum that was specifically recommended by the Valetudo project (Dreame L10s Pro Ultra Heat). The rooting was straightforward and non-destructive. The robot works great.
And the usage is much better even for non-developer people (i.e. my wife), as the UI is simple, not constantly changing under your hands, no ads, no upseling. It's a tool as it should be.
> ... because my particular model of vacuum has some complicated and potentially destructive procedure to get the required access
This right there is the root of the entire problem. We had IBM PC clones that you could recover and keep running for decades by easily replacing expansion cards, HDDs, RAM sticks, peripherals and even circuit components like caps, ICs and batteries. We used to partition our 50 GB HDD into a dozen little partitions and multiboot every conceivable OS out there. Now we have an oligarchic dystopia where even RAMs and batteries are soldered on and bonded with single-use resins instead of age-old screws. Even if you get through, you can't salvage or swap ICs because they're paired individually at device level. You can't reach the boot partition without a Ph.D in RevEng and a risk of still bricking the device 3 out of 4 times. And that's all for technological progress and security, they say! Those claims have as much credibility as their claims to making an honest living. It's weasel-speak, not engineering insight.
Modifying the device that you paid for should never be this complicated. Those greedy corpos are usurping the consumer's rights and wealth, plain and simple.
From my understanding (I might be wrong) the images are pre-built by the owner of the project right? I remember there being a form you fill and you receive a download link.
If that's the case what guarantees do I have there's no "funny business" on the image?
It runs entirely on LAN, ie; you just go to the vacuums IP address in a browser to control it. So you can block internet access for it if you're worried with no negative effects.
I haven't tried it personally because my particular model of vacuum has some complicated and potentially destructive procedure to get the required access, but there's quite a few models where it can be installed easily.