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Robotics Idle

Couple Reports 'Intruder' To 911. It Turns Out To Be Their Roomba Vacuum Cleaner (cnn.com) 85

Posted by EditorDavid from the clean-getaways dept.
An anonymous reader quotes CNN: A North Carolina couple was watching a movie in their bedroom when they suddenly heard loud noises coming from downstairs. Worried that it was an intruder, the two called 911.

The couple waited for police to arrive, hoping their 2-year-old daughter sleeping in her room wouldn't get up to check on the noise, said Thomas Milam, the husband, in his Facebook post shared to Forsyth County Sheriff's Office's page... Minutes after they called 911, police entered the home and began to search for an intruder. When the 911 operator told Milam to go downstairs to talk to the police, he said, the officers just had one question.

"Is this Roomba yours?"

Police had apprehended the suspect: the couple's brand new robotic vacuum. Milam said in the Facebook post that the vacuum had turned itself on in the night and gotten stuck in the hallway, where it had been repeatedly banging against the walls and making the sounds the Milams feared was an intruder.
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Couple Reports 'Intruder' To 911. It Turns Out To Be Their Roomba Vacuum Cleaner More

Couple Reports 'Intruder' To 911. It Turns Out To Be Their Roomba Vacuum Cleaner

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  • You can fix a dirty carpet (Score:4, Insightful)

    by Anonymous Coward on Saturday December 28, 2019 @02:38PM (#59565260)

    But, you can't fix stupid.

  • Robot Vacuums wake up in power Outages (Score:5, Informative)

    by williamyf ( 227051 ) on Saturday December 28, 2019 @02:58PM (#59565304)

    Whenever there is a blackout, my robot vacuum (ecovacs) springs to life. Its objective is to try to find its (now missing) charging pod/pad. As soon as the electricity returns, the charging pod/pad "re-appears", and if it has enough juice, the vacuum will eventually find it.

    Is a common ocurance in Caracas. I've learned to manually turn the vacuum off before going to sleep, and turn it back on in the morning, to do the scheduled cleaning.

    Chances are that if those people in north carolina had a small glitch in the electricity (an interruption lasting a few seconds would do), their vacuum turned itself on without programming, and then got stuck (as is mentioned in the story). And as it got stuck, it keept making noises even after the electricity returned... And if this roomba was a new gift, is clear that they did not had time to "vacuum-proof" the house*, so it getting stuck is even more probable.

    An interruption of a few seconds can be caused by a transient event, like a tree branch touching briefly a line, triggering an automatic protection in the grid, that after a while resumes electricity with no human intervention.

    * Vacuum-proofing sounds more daunting than it really is. You have to do things with your rugs (get rid of the light ones, the ones that have threads in the sides, and the ones that slide), furniture placement (so that there are no dead ends for the vacuum), cables (bundle and protect them, so that the swipers do not get tangled), fridges (the vacuum loves to get stuck between the lower end of the door and the floor, one can lift the fridge, or, as I did, put a little plastic that will trigger the bump sensor sooner) and other things. Sounds like a lot of work, but is actually very easy, and leads to a nicer house.

    • You mean like this?:

      https://youtu.be/o3kN6OMZLCk [youtu.be]

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by Calydor ( 739835 )

      It seems like the issue you describe should be easily fixed in future models by including a small battery in the charging pod that can send a message to the vacuum meaning that the external power has gone out, check every 15 minutes but otherwise just sit still.

      • Or you could just put your vacuum on a UPS. That would be the proper nerd thing to do.

        That said, you will take my (corded) Dyson when you pry it from....well, you know...

      • It seems to me that this is becoming so widespread that new models will not take long. Few people heard about such gadgets five years ago, and it is in every second house now. I also have my own comparevacuumcleaner [comparevacuumcleaner.com]. Yes, it is small and has a number of inconveniences, but it’s still better for me than one of their Dyson lines.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by tlhIngan ( 30335 )

      Whenever there is a blackout, my robot vacuum (ecovacs) springs to life. Its objective is to try to find its (now missing) charging pod/pad. As soon as the electricity returns, the charging pod/pad "re-appears", and if it has enough juice, the vacuum will eventually find it.

      That's a completely boneheaded way to do it - and probably done by a cheap developer who didn't stop to think it through.

      After all, if the robot went to the charging pad to charge, unless it moved off said pad, an action it would certain

      • I agree with you. I was just relying the info on how things work now. and no, no firmware updates or hacked firmwares for said vac. having said that, for the price, and as a person who has no pets, satisfied with the cheapo vac

    • You have to do things with your rugs ([...] and the ones that slide),

      Don't your rug salespeople lay heavy pressure on you to get anti-slip underlay for any rug that you buy? The last time I brought a rug, they did, and to be honest, it was not a hard sell.

  • ...why is this news?

    I hope they had to pay for misusing an emergency number.

    • Re: (Score:3)

      by Nkwe ( 604125 )

      I hope they had to pay for misusing an emergency number.

      There are worse kinds of misuse of 911 such as trouble at the drive through calls [ranker.com]. I would agree that these kinds of calls should be charged for. However in the Roomba case, the owner legitimately thought there was a threat. It's not the first time - here is another example [washingtonpost.com]. I suspect that the police would rather deal with a few Roomba mistaken identity calls than deal with the aftermath of someone getting hurt or killed because they didn't call 911 and encountered an actual intruder.

      • Calling the police on your Roomba runs a substantial risk of getting you or your pet dog shot to death.

        • Re: (Score:2)

          by hawk ( 1151 )

          or your Roomba . . .

          "Tonight at 11: local families loving Roomba tragically shot by police!"

          hawk

      • And if it was some mentally disabled kid that could not follow police directions. . . They would have used all those guns they had out and ready. Because what is more likely, a suspect criminal that just keeps banging even when confronted by the police, or a mentally handicapped person banging away and not responding to people speaking to them?

    • I hope the robot had to pay for the distress it caused. It's time to stop blaming human error for everything and start teaching these robots a lesson.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by sjames ( 1099 )

      That wasn't misuse, it was a mistake. They thought there was an intruder in their home so they called 911. Misuse is calling 911 when McDonald's gets your order wrong or because they preempt your favorite show.

  • When the story repeats on Slashdot, the Roomba will be armed, and dangerous. It will still be stuck in the basement.

  • I'm surprised they didn't shoot it.

    • "He kept moving around, and didn't follow our orders to show us his hands."

      The Police spokesman said the shooting was entirely justified, and blamed the Roomba, saying "He should have shown us his hands."

      An enquiry is underway looking into whether the color of the Roomba was a factor, with a local activist saying "They wouldn't have reloaded twice if it was white."

      Film at 11.

  • For wasting tax money with their nonsense. Because that's one pathological level of anxietly.

    I've been telling everyone we're in an anxiety epicdemic for years. I still don't know what causes it, but I do know people weren't so afraid of literally everything up until the mid-2000s.
    That is also, when the imaginary property insanity started, when entertainment became shit, when every country suddenly became openly surveillance-obsessed, and when everything somehow became "good is bad" "wires crossed" retarded

    • Re:Sooo... Are they paying, or agreeing to get the (Score:5, Funny)

      by 93 Escort Wagon ( 326346 ) on Saturday December 28, 2019 @05:12PM (#59565632)

      I've been telling everyone we're in an anxiety epidemic for years.

      Oh great. As if I didn't have enough things to worry about already...

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by gtall ( 79522 )

      You say that now but wait until cats get smart enough to control those Roombas, no one will be safe. That "commercial" of the cat riding the Roomba was only one of their practice sessions.

      • Why do you think that they don't control them? My parents bought a floor mopping robot [pat.org.uk]. Every time I visit my parents, this fluffy piece of animal rides on it as if it were his personal Tesla)) At least they have symbiosis and mutual assistance - the robot perfectly removes his hair from the floor. My mother doesn't have to do this with her hands every day. This is the only benefit of all this.
    • Yea it sounds ridiculous, but this is what 911 is for, Helping people in times of need.

      So you say why not investigate with a baseball bat or handgun? If it is an intruder there is almost no way it ends well for either party. One may wind up injured or dead and the other financially liable for those damages. Bringing in law enforcement avoids this, even if it is a false alarm it is what they are paid and trained to do - it is their job.
      • Right, just let the 2 year old fend for themselves while you cower in the bedroom. When the police do show up you would have a dead or fucked up child. Not the solution I would want. And that is if the police don't end up shooting you or you 2 year old in the process anyway.

  • The world's first 9-1-1 response to an AI-based disturbance.

  • What's next?

    - 95% of geek news site are TERRIFIED about this new innovation!
    - EditorDavid thought he'd posted a non-dupe... until he saw THIS

  • These people will never be heard from again. Did you notice that the police never thought to look inside the Roomba? That's where you'll find the intruder.
    Now that it has tasted human flesh, it's only a matter of time for the family.

  • Seriously, why did they not just check with Fox News to see what was going on?

  • If burglars really were that dumb (Score:4, Insightful)

    by 93 Escort Wagon ( 326346 ) on Saturday December 28, 2019 @05:15PM (#59565644)

    If burglars were really all dumb enough to make lots of noise when they broke into houses, the problem would sort itself out reasonably quickly.

    • A clumsy but smart burglar will hack the roombas upfront to get people accustomed to hearing a lot of noises downstairs.

  • What kind of parent cowers in their bedroom just hoping that their toddler child doesn't go down to investigate the noise... We've officially reached peak beta liberal when adults hear something go bump in the night and just panic into calling 911 and then hide under the covers with no regards for their children.

    • Re:Whole new level of cowardice... (Score:4, Insightful)

      by h33t l4x0r ( 4107715 ) on Saturday December 28, 2019 @06:13PM (#59565806)
      Right because this story would have ended so much better with gun-toting hillbilly dad in charge.

      • Re: (Score:1)

        by bblb ( 5508872 )

        There wouldn't have been any story with a gun toting hillbilly dad in charge... that hillbilly would've grabbed his shotgun, told his wife to grab their daughter, lock the door, and call the police and then proceeded to set about defending his home... ultimately having a good laugh when he discovered the Roomba doing its thing and sounding the all clear to his wife and apologizing for wasting the dispatch operators time.

        • Sure but with a 2.4% chance of shooting one or more of himself, his wife, his child, or his vacuum cleaner.
        • RTFA. The guy had a gun. What this actually proves is that people with guns are fucking jumpy idiots and thinks everyone is out to get them.

          • Re: (Score:1)

            by bblb ( 5508872 )

            Nah... all this proves is that liberal pussies are pussies regardless of military service and firearms ownership, and that anti-gun twats are too stupid to think for, or defend, themselves.

            If gun ownership made someone a "fucking jumpy idiot" who thought "everyone is out to get them", then this guy would've charged downstairs with his gun and run right past the Roomba as he went out the door to check the bushes for his neighbor before firing warning shots from his porch like Joe Biden suggested.

            Bonus points

            • You must be stupid - we're not afraid of inanimate objects. We're afraid of the inanimate brains with their fingers on a trigger. Do you really think gun control is about the guns? It's about keeping them away from idiots like you.

              The guy got his gun for a Roomba attack - that's ALREADY more jumpy than NOT getting a gun out. Just today, a strong wind blew off a metal sheet from my backyard shed while I was inside. I didn't know what the sound was, but it sounded like a sharp crack. I didn't immediately a

              • Re: (Score:1)

                by bblb ( 5508872 )

                Owning guns and using guns has nothing to do with thinking everyone is out to get you. That makes as much sense as saying that carrying a condom is because everyone is out to fuck you or that carrying money is because everyone is out to charge you or that carrying a spare tire in your care is because every tire is going to blow out. You carry money so that you can buy things when you need or want to, you carry condoms so you can have safe sex when you need or want to, and you carry a gun so that you can def

                • The fact that you try to compare guns to condoms, spare tires, and money illustrates the levels of retardedness needed to justify an unnecessary obsession with guns.

                  No, gun control isn't about the guns, you idiot. You like to jump on the AR15 nonsense, but other gun control policies around the world also target handguns. How can we be "conditioned to be afraid" when you ADMIT that handguns are "responsible for exponentially more deaths each year" (even though people shooting churches, nightclubs and conc

                  • Re: (Score:1)

                    by bblb ( 5508872 )

                    The fact that you just typed "retardedness" instead of "retardation" pretty clearly illustrates the level of intelligence you're working with.

                    It's obviously about the guns, dumbass... not a single policy ever put forth in the name of gun control worked to limit criminal access to firearms. Every single policy has only served to restrict the access of law abiding citizens to firearms. Ispo facto, it's not about keeping bad people from owning guns because they're dangerous, it's just about taking away guns.

                    No

                    • No, things don't "fall down when people are moving around in the dark" dipshit... things fall down when an external force knocks them over.

                      You are singularly dense. I didn't realize I had to spell everything out in minute detail. OF FUCKING COURSE things fall down when something knocks them over. That happens, for example, when things bump into things in the dark. I really didn't realize I had to spell out that connection.

                      Have a nice life, you shit for brains.

                    • Re: (Score:1)

                      by bblb ( 5508872 )

                      Enjoy your mum's basement, you fucking troll.

  • What an ingenious business plan. Have a device that walks around at night of its own accord in a land of shoot-on-sight gun lovers.
  • I thought that you are supposed to call Tom Selleck when there is a "Runaway" robot. He is a specialist in that field. As it's possible Gene Simmons hacked the robot and made it have have ill intent.

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