Robot vacuum cleaner records woman in bathroom and footage ends on Facebook

The recordings were made by iRobot company’s Roomba series devices and were picked up by MIT Technology Review, which states it has access to 15 images.

According to the post, iRobot confirmed that the images were generated from their own products, but from “custom development robots with hardware and software modifications that were not and were never found in products for purchase.”

Recordings were made in the test program. The company said in a statement that the vacuum cleaners were delivered to “paid employees” who signed the approval documents that their footage, including video, would be recorded for AI training purposes.

However, the article in the scientific journal says that in addition to posting the images on Facebook, they were also shared on internet forums and Discord, an audio, video and text communication application often used by gaming communities and developers. Shares took place in 2020.

Sensitive images were the responsibility of the employees. According to iRobot, the devices were labeled with a bright green sticker that read “video recording in progress,” and it was up to paid workers to “remove anything they find sensitive from any area where the robot is operating, including children.”

In addition to the images of the woman in the bathroom, bedrooms and kitchens were also recorded with automatic markings on certain objects such as TV, vases, plants and chandeliers.