A robotic vacuum cleaner is equipped with sensors that accurately interpret its surroundings and avoid obstacles like cables, people, and stairs while cleaning surfaces.
Apart from dirt, robot vacuums are also supposed to detect and suck up hair on the floor, but not when it’s still attached to a head. But this is what exactly happened in South Korea where a robot vacuum attacked a housewife while she was sleeping on the floor.
Image courtesy http://www.outerplaces.com/
The woman turned the vacuum on to do its job before she laid down for a nap. She was rudely awakened when the device picking up dust and debris inched towards her and sucked up her hair too.
She had to call emergency services when she was unable to turn off the machine. She lost some hair but was not otherwise injured.
In many parts of Asia, mainly Korea and Japan, people prefer to sit and sleep on the floor. If you plan to visit these countries, it would be worth requesting your host to switch off any robotic house help before you hit that mat on the floor for the nap.
