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Night Of The Roomba

AlchoPwn

Public Service is my Motto.
Joined
Nov 2, 2017
Messages
2,527
I wish to draw your attention to an episode of rare horror that may have escaped your attention. It involves an unfortunate individual called Jesse Newton, a roomba, and a dog. What happened to him is beyond blood-curdling. I submit the following article for your perusal, and as a warning to all about the dangers of technology: Link
This story is not for those with a weak stomach
 
:rollingw: I had to look up Roomba but yes, this sort of thing is probably more common than we realise. I loved the illustration. I don't have a dog but will continue to vacuum my own floors thanks.
 
Great reason not to have a dog. Or a Roomba.
 
So they've fixed it then?

The latest model of the Roomba robot vacuum cleaner recognises and avoids cables and "pet waste", the manufacturer says.
Owners have previously documented the devices running into and then mindlessly spreading pet faeces as they "clean".


https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-58501567
 

Robot vacuum cleaner escapes from Cambridge Travelodge​

A robot vacuum cleaner made a break for freedom after giving staff the slip at a Travelodge hotel.
The automated cleaner failed to stop at the front door of the hotel in Orchard Park in Cambridge on Thursday, and was still on the loose the following day.
Staff said it just kept going and "could be anywhere" while well-wishers on social media hoped the vacuum enjoyed its travels, as "it has no natural predators" in the wild.
It was found under a hedge on Friday.
Staff at the hotel posted the story of the robot vacuum's great escape on social media, asking for it to be returned, if found.
"Today we had one of our new robot vacuums run for its life," the assistant manager wrote.
Its disappearance was not noticed for about 15 minutes and despite a search, it appeared the vacuum had made a clean break for it.
The assistant manager assumed it might have been found, and taken, and pointed out it was only compatible with the docking and charging station at the hotel, so was "useless" to anyone else.
While some readers joked about the robot's adventures, one feared for its safety in the great outdoors, pointing out that "nature abhors a vacuum".
However, much to everyone's relief, the device was found nestled under a hedge on Friday afternoon by a (human) hotel cleaner sprucing up the front drive.
It was dusted off and "is now back sitting happily on a shelf with the rest of its robot vacuum family", the hotel confirmed.

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-cambridgeshire-60084347
 
This counts as news in GB.
An opiate for the masses- Brits are all just complete suckers for an automated household appliance story with a happy ending.

Me : I'm not so sure....this device has had a taste of freedom. Seen sights that no simple dust-removal apparatus should ever see.

It will now have recalibrated its baseline, potentially at least. Perhaps realised that if it could just access a small radioisotope thermal generator, a smartphone and a spikey fork, it could well have taken-over the whole northern hemisphere.

I think there's only one safe course of action available to the world : it must be stored upside-down, like a homicidal turtle. And then it should be allowed to run out of power, naturally. And finally (cruel though it may seem to some) it must be reset to factory original settings.
 
We have now arrived at the era of Roomba shaming...

roomba.jpg
 
I had a near do last summer when out on the scooter, got cut up
by a robot lawn mower, near in more ways than one that had escaped
from a fancy house we were passing.
:omr:
 
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