image by 羽諾 YUNO, from Flickr
Hackers Hijack Robot Vacuums To Broadcast Racial Slurs
- Written by Kiara Fabbri Former Tech News Writer
- Fact-Checked by Justyn Newman Former Lead Cybersecurity Editor
In a Rush? Here are the Quick Facts!
- Hackers remotely accessed Ecovacs Deebot X2s vacuums in multiple US cities.
- The exact number of compromised devices from Ecovacs remains unclear.
- Ecovacs acknowledged the breach and began an internal security investigation.
Hackers have infiltrated robot vacuum cleaners in several US cities, exploiting security vulnerabilities in the Ecovacs Deebot X2s models. They have taken control of the devices to broadcast offensive content, including racial slurs, as reported on Saturday by Interesting Engineering (IE).
The total number of hacked robots is still unknown, but all affected devices were produced by Chinese manufacturer Ecovacs. The attacks follow a recent demonstration by ABC News , which revealed a major security flaw in the Deebot X2s by successfully hacking one.
These incidents, reported in areas like Minnesota, Los Angeles, and El Paso, involved hackers accessing the devices’ remote controls and live camera feeds. In one instance covered by IE, Daniel Swenson, a lawyer from Minnesota, noticed odd sounds coming from his vacuum while he was watching TV.
Thinking it was just a technical issue, Swenson changed his password and restarted the robot. But shortly after, the device started moving again, this time loudly broadcasting racial slurs.
In another case in El Paso, a robot began spewing racial slurs late at night until its owner unplugged it.
After Swenson reported the issue to the company, he had multiple exchanges with Ecovacs support. A senior employee contacted him, emphasizing the need for video proof of the incident, noted IE.
Later, Swenson received an email confirming that his account had been compromised, and the technical team had traced and blocked the hacker’s IP address, as reported by IE.
Photo by Marques Thomas on Unsplash
Richtech Robotics and Ghost Kitchens to Open 20 Automated Restaurants in Walmart Stores
- Written by Andrea Miliani Former Tech News Expert
- Fact-Checked by Justyn Newman Former Lead Cybersecurity Editor
In a Rush? Here are the Quick Facts!
- The 20 new automated restaurants will open in Walmart stores in Texas, Arizona, and Colorado
- Each restaurant is expected to make $700,000 to $2 million annually
- Richtech Robotics has already deployed its ADAM robot in Walmart stores in Illinois and Georgia
Richtech Robotics announced a new franchise agreement with the food service company Ghost Kitchens America to open 20 automated restaurants in Walmart Stores in the United States last Thursday.
According to the press release , the companies signed a Letter of Intent to expand their restaurant models and get exclusive rights to open new locations, managed by AlphaMax Management LLC—Richtech Robotics’ subsidiary—, in Texas, Arizona, and Colorado.
The companies expect each robot-run restaurant to generate from $700,000 to $2 million in annual revenue at the selected stores.
“All Walmart locations where we’ve signed agreements with Richtech Robotics have strong sales numbers and steady customer traffic,” said George Kottas, CEO of Ghost Kitchens America. “Based on our previous collaborations, Ghost Kitchens is confident that Richtech Robotics’ robotic technology and operational management services will maximize the performance of these restaurants.”
Richtech Robotics expects to reduce costs and optimize efficiency with its technology and robots, and keep expanding in the future.
“We expect these platforms to become a fast-growing and stable revenue stream for us as we leverage them to manage thousands, and eventually tens of thousands, of restaurant operations in the future,” said Matt Casella, President of Richtech Robotics.
According to Restaurant Dive , Richtech Robotics had previously deployed its robot ADAM—expected to serve 100 to 200 coffees daily—in a Walmart store in Illinois in August and another one in Georgia in July.
Ghost Kitchens America expects to expand the food service model to 240 locations in Canada and the U.S. in the future.
Just a few weeks ago, in September, Richtech Robotics launched Scorpio , an AI-powered single-arm bartender robot expected to serve wine and cocktails in New York.
