ECJ EUROPEAN Cleaning Journal

Taking a nap on the floor while her robot vacuum cleaner took care of the housework turned out to be a bad idea for a South Korean resident.

She woke up in agony when the vacuum began sucking up her hair.

The vacuum stopped running a few minutes later and the unnamed 52-year-old was able to call the fire department of Changwon city where she lives. Paramedics attended the scene and managed to disentangle the woman's hair from the machine. She escaped with only minor injuries.

In South Korea it is fairly common for people to sit down or take a nap on the floor. It appears that the robot vacuum mistook the woman's hair for dust and attempted to remove it.

Robot vacuums have sensors that enable them to steer clear of obstacles and avoid stairs while detecting dust and debris on the floor. They have been available to purchase since 1997 and some countries have embraced the technology more than others. In 2013, for example, North America had the largest uptake of residential robotic vacuum cleaners followed by Europe and Asia Pacific.

According to online research analyst ReportsnReports.com the residential robotic vacuum cleaner market in South Korea is predicted to grow by18.15 per cent between 2013 and 2018 due to a reduction in the amount of time people have to carry out household activities.