Robot Vacuum Attack (Photo : www.theguardian.com)
Did a vacuum cleaner just start the great machine war? Well, not exactly. In an incident that's a far cry from the fictional SkyNet's global attack in "The Terminator" movies, a woman had to be rescued when her hair was trapped in the mechanical mouth of a robotic vacuum cleaner, such as many around the world have in their homes.
The woman, 52, from the city of Changwon, did not remember to disable the robot cleaner before sleeping on a futon on the floor. The robot, mistaking her hair for dust, then proceeded to try and suck it up, Mashable reported.
Woken up by the pain of having a robot latch onto her hair, the woman, whose name was not revealed to the press, contacted the fire department in a desperate plea for rescue, reported The Guardian. She was eventually freed from the clutches of her mechanical helper-turned-torturer. Paramedics were needed to get the job done.
The Korean lady reportedly did not suffer any serious injuries, although the fate of the robot is unclear.
Robot vacuum cleaners have found a place in many homes around the world in recent years, with Roomba being the most popular brand. It was noted, however, that the vacuum cleaner involved in the incident was of a different brand.
"The safety of our customers is paramount for iRobot, and all of the company's products undergo strict development processes and testing before going to market." Charlie Vaida, the spokesperson for Roomba maker iRobot, stated in an interview, "This includes technologies that prevent tangling and safety mechanisms in Roomba that deactivate its cleaning system when it is not placed on the ground."
