We'll look back on this moment and say, "This is when the robot apocalypse began."

A woman in South Korea was taking a little nap of the floor of her apartment when her vacuum-cleaning robot that looks like a large frisbee decided to activate itself.

The vacuum-robot is fitted with sensors that seek out dust and follicles to hoover up and sure enough, the thing spotted the woman's hair and went right for it.

In a panic, the woman called the fire brigade as the robot had sucked up her hair. Eventually, paramedics managed to free her from the clutches of the evil robot.

iRobot Corporation, who develop and sell the famous 'Roomba' vacuum robot that everyone knows, have issued a statement on the matter.

"The robotic vacuum cleaner that got tangled in the hair of a woman from Changwon, South Korea is not an iRobot product. The safety of our customers is paramount for iRobot, and all of the company’s products undergo strict development processes and testing before going to market. This includes safety mechanisms in Roomba that deactivate its cleaning system when it is not placed on the ground."

South Korea is known for having odd fears and misconceptions about technology.

For one, fan death is a widely-held belief in South Korea that leaving an electric fan on when you sleep can cause death. Yes, really.

Only recently, Korean technology giants Samsung admitted that their new Smart TVs have been recording everything you say in front of it.

So, y'know, robots eating people's hair in South Korea suddenly doesn't seem so crazy.

 

Via Guardian.co.uk