Smart home device data used as court testimony
The gist
A Taiwan man used his robot vacuum's live camera to record his wife's intimate encounter and won about US$16,000.
The same data got him a five-month jail sentence.
How it unfolded
- 2022MIT Technology Review revealed images from development versions of iRobot's Roomba J7, including a woman on a toilet; test-household images had gone to a data-labeling contractor, where workers posted them in private social media groups.
- Sep 2023A husband in Taiwan suspected his wife of having an affair; he found a used toothbrush at their holiday home, and garage video showed an unfamiliar man driving his wife there.
- After Sep 2023He opened their robot vacuum's app to speak with her and saw an intimate encounter through its live camera; he recorded the feed and used it to win about US$16,000 from his wife and her lover for infringing on his marital rights.