A robotic cleaner in Austria that could no longer face its mundane, banal existence jumped onto a kitchen stove where it proceeded to catch on fire, ending its own life in a flurry of flames and excitement that comes in stark contrast to its humdrum life.
The local fire brigade reported it was alerted to a house fire at around 1.30pm on the 9th November, and having entered the premises wearing breathing equipment, found the pile of ashes on top of the hotplate of a wood-burning stove.
The 44-year-old owner had apparently left the device switched off on an adjacent worktop, before going out with his family.
Left to its own devices, the robot reactivated and wheeled itself into the afterlife.
Thoughts are with the family, but one can only think that if the Roomba had seen my top 10 list of robots that compared it to robot icon R2-D2, then things could have turned out differently.
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