Perhaps she would prefer this photo to remain private. A woman was recently exposed on social media for having been resting in her toilet, according to reports MIT Technology Review. The photo in question, taken at about a foot high, was taken not by someone else in the house, but by a robotic vacuum cleaner: the iRobot Roomba j7. Other shots were also fired in the process.
Cameras for better navigation
Increasingly sophisticated robot vacuum cleaners are equipped with cameras that allow them not only to avoid obstacles, but also to identify them in order to better optimize the cleaning strategy. In some models, eg Roborock S7 MaxV UltraIt’s also possible to access the camera remotely to check what’s going on in the house, but it goes without saying that no one outside the home should be able to access the photos, without the user’s permission at least.
In the case of the photos from the Roomba j7, iRobot indicates that it has at least obtained permission to collect the photos. In fact, the robot vacuum cleaner manufacturer wanted to react after its broadcast, and spoke through the voice of Colin Angel, its CEO, on the linkedin. First of all, it specifies that these images are from 2020 and, above all, that they come from the development of Roomba j7.
Also in this letter, we learn that development bots differ from commercially sold ones because they include specific components and software in order to collect data intended to enrich and improve their functionality. Obviously the users are aware, especially since they are logically employees or collaborators of the company where these models are not sold: one could therefore imagine that they are well acquainted with the characteristics of these models.
Permission to collect, but not to publish
On the other hand, none of these users likely signed up for the data thus collected to be published on the Internet, but iRobot declines any responsibility for the publication of the images. They were to be used to train the artificial intelligence behind the Roomba j7’s obstacle recognition, and to remain covert. Unfortunately, the company outsourced the image processing and one of the selected companies did not honor their contract. iRobot says it has since ended that collaboration.
According to the MIT Technology Review, the service provider’s employees responsible for the leak were also fired, but the story above all reminds us that we should always be wary of data-collecting software. iRobot also reports offering a commercial version of the Roomba j7, but it’s unlikely to be a huge hit after this story.
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