An apparently freedom-loving vacuum robot has kept the Austrian town of Wieselburg in suspense and also kicked up dust in the media.
The device escaped from a grocery store at the beginning of the week and was found again after a search call, as Ingrid Pruckner from the Wieselburger Schmankerlladen told the German Press Agency on Thursday. The robot has been cleaning the shop for a few weeks, where Pruckner gave it the nickname Fluffy.
A surveillance video from the store shows Fluffy’s escape: At seven o’clock sharp, when the robot has usually finished cleaning, the store’s sliding door opened and closed once for its morning test run. The vacuum cleaner rolled out onto the main square. “He took advantage of the moment,” said Pruckner.
Reappeared on the garbage
When Pruckner noticed that the robot had fled, he was nowhere to be found outside. An appeal on Facebook and a cover story in the Viennese free newspaper “Heute” followed. A woman then reported that a rubbish collector had removed Fluffy from a sidewalk as supposed rubbish.
Finally, the device was found in the municipal collection center and handed over to the owner, as an employee confirmed. Pruckner gave him a sticker in case Fluffy should escape again. (zis/SDA)