After the firmware update went bad, many rhombuses felt like drinking a drink too much and acting “drunk,” Reddit users reported last week. Robot home-helpers have taken all sorts of crazy steps, from driving without the owner’s direction to turning around with users scratching their heads at what might go wrong. Although the manufacturer has acknowledged the iRobot issues, it may take several weeks before the drunken and chaotic bots are fixed.
The latest update, 3.12.8 released in late January in an attempt to fix bugs and add some new features to Rumba. However, it quickly became notorious for creating a number of unspoken behaviors. As automated robots struggle to navigate abruptly, they end up in rooms that are not supposed to be in their spot or just spin, and many users have reported that their preset programs have deleted on the i7 and S9 models. With the Roombas bringing the price tag up to $1099, they are annoyed with the problems they realize.
Unfortunately, even withdrawing the update in a previous iteration did not provide any relief, with another user saying that their device was “getting thicker during the day”. Even following an updated rollback, Reddit user u/HobosInTuxedos: Roomba revolves around himself. Sometimes his bumper flickers towards the furniture; driving around in strange patterns; Running the dock diagonally; my main residence is taking too long to clean; and going to recharge 5 times for a total of 8 minutes – where it was previously able to clean on a single charge. Despite their frustration, others had no problem with the latest firmware, citing updates as “just make it smarter and stronger” – which sounds scary as vacuum-based apocalypse launches. The iRobot has since responded.
iRobot says in a statement reported by the BBC, “We’ve worked with affected customers to roll back their robot software.”
“We are also implementing an update to ensure that any similar issues are avoided. This update is being rolled out to all customers in the next few weeks.” Like all complex and automated techniques, rhombuses can have their own minds. Probably the best story of all is the man whose dog collided with the pope while cleaning the rumba. Uncomfortable by its dirty wheels, it makes it all over the house while performing it with the joy of “cleaning” responsibilities. After others shared similar stories, this sad critique of Rumba history dubbed ‘poopocalypse’.
When automation is jumping and coming along borders, unfortunately, common sense in robots can be a bit far.
